MOL announced that the second of Japan’s first two LNG-fueled ferries, the Sunflower Murasaki, owned by MOL and operated by its group company Ferry Sunflower Co., Ltd., entered service on April 14. The vessel is a sister ship to the Sunflower Kurenai, which began operation in January, and will ply the Osaka-Beppu route between Sunflower Ferry Terminal (Osaka Prefecture) and Beppu International Tourist Port (Oita Prefecture) as a replacement for the existing vessel Sunflower Cobalt.
Compared to earlier ferries, the new vessel offers greater transport capacity and convenience for both cargo and passenger transport. In freight transportation, it has greater capacity to load trucks and provides a larger, more comfortable room for truck drivers. In addition, the floor area of the Grand Bathroom is doubled and the number of seats in the restaurant was enlarged by 1.5 times, and spacious and open public areas including a three-layer atrium
were newly created. The new ferry is intended to promote and enhance the company’s “Casual Cruise Concept”.