Imabari Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) have agreed to perform engineering of conventional vessels other than LNG (liquefied natural gas) carriers on consignment from Nihon Shipyard Co., Ltd. at MI LNG Company, Ltd. (MI LNG), their jointly operated LNG carrier engineering firm, augmenting MI LNG’s earlier business relating to LNG carriers. The new business arrangement will get underway starting in July.

The agreed engineering business is to include functional engineering of both traditionally fueled ships and conventional vessels that adopt alternative fuels such as LNG, as well as partial engineering of LCO₂ (liquefied carbon dioxide) carriers to be jointly developed by Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., part of MHI Group, and Nihon Shipyard.

Today, as initiatives toward decarbonization accelerate in the maritime industry, demand is growing for construction of LNG-fueled ships as an interim solution until conversion to new fuels is achieved. At the same time, demand is also taking shape for vessels running on alternative fuels such as ammonia and methanol. Meanwhile, LCO₂ carriers are garnering attention as effective means for transporting captured CO₂ safely and in large volumes, and demand for such ships is also expected to grow in the years ahead.

Imabari Shipbuilding aims to strengthen its engineering functions in order to drive further business expansion in ship construction at Nihon Shipyard, which it jointly operates with Japan Marine United Corporation, and to put the company in a solid position to take orders in these various new fields.

Through Mitsubishi Shipbuilding, which handles business in ship construction and marine engineering, MHI Group today undertakes business in equipment provision and engineering of fuel gas supply systems for LNG-fueled ships applying its gas-related technologies accumulated through construction of liquefied gas carriers. Going forward, Mitsubishi Shipbuilding will continue to apply MHI’s component technologies in growth areas such as new fuel conversion and LCO₂ carriers toward achieving their early commercialization.