Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) announced that on September 4, the naming and launching ceremony was held for the LNG-fueled ferry Sunflower Pirka, under construction at Naikai Zosen Corporation by MOL and MOL Group company MOL Sunflower Ltd.
The ferry was given the name “Sunflower Pirka” by Sueji Shinohara, chairman of the Hokuren Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives, with his wife, handling the ceremonial rope-cutting honors. The Sunflower Pirka is slated for delivery from Naikai Zosen in April 2025, and will then enter service on the Oarai-Tomakomai route operated by MOL Sunflower.
With the newbuilding ferry, the Sunflower Kurenai and Sunflower Murasaki already in service on the Osaka-Beppu route since 2023, and the sister ship Sunflower Kamuy, which is scheduled to enter service in early 2025 as the first ship on the Oarai-Tomakomai route, the MOL Group will operate a fleet of 4 LNG-fueled ferries on East-West routes in Japan.
Boasting Japan’s largest service route network and the most LNG-fueled ferries in operation, the group offers stable services in both logistics and passenger services. MOL Sunflower as a whole operates 10 ferries and 5 RORO vessels on 6 routes giving the company the Japan’s largest ferry fleet and most extensive route network, offering reliable service for both logistics and passengers.
The ferry will be able to reduce CO2 emissions by about 35% compared to vessels currently serving on the Hokkaido route, thereby contributing to the reduction of CO2 emissions in society as a whole, by adopting the Ishin hull form, which can use oblique headwinds as propulsion, and various other state-of-the-art technologies, such as energy-saving devices developed by Naikai Zosen, all of which will be adopted in addition to the installation of high-performance engines that use LNG fuel.
The ferry will also support Japan’s Modal Shift and solve the “2024 logistics problem” by providing more space for trucks than current vessels and more comfortable space for truck drivers by making all cabins private rooms.
