Mitsui O.S.K (MOL) has launched its first hybrid ship in Japan which runs on hydrogen and biodiesel fuels.

The ship is a breakthrough in technology and is fully functioning whilst reducing CO2 emissions significantly. The ship is 33 metres in length, 10 metres in width, 1.4 metres in draft and can travel at speeds up to 10.5 knots. Compared to a fossil fuelled ship, it is also capable of reducing CO2 emission by 53-100%.

MOL have provided the ship with an excellent design, so that it is able to operate in a variety of different ways, through using either hydrogen fuel cells, lithium-ion batteries, or biodiesel fuel.

The ship is expected to start servicing as a passenger ship in Fukuoka in April 2024.

Furthermore, MOL has further plans after their work on the ship and has announced their partnership with Shell, where they will focus on developing alternative maritime solutions and handling carbon emissions. They will do this through researching into the possibility of using bio and synthetic fuels as a way to create decarbonisation pathways, following in the footprints of MOL’s ship.