Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. yesterday announced that on June 26, it refueled its operated coal carrier HOKULINK (Note 1) with biofuel at Yeosu Port in South Korea. The HOKULINK, which transports coal for Hokuriku Electric Power Company (President: Koji Matsuda; Head Office: Toyama-shi, Toyama Prefecture), then began technical trial voyages using biofuel.

The biofuel used for this refueling is ISCC-EU (International Sustainability & Carbon Certification Note 2) certified and is a blend of 30% organic resources derived from living organisms (biomass), such as waste cooking oil, and mineral oil (B30). It is expected to reduce CO2 emissions during navigation by approximately 30% compared to conventional fossil fuels (Note 3). This marks the first use of B30 in a technical trial navigation by a Japanese electric power company. The use of biofuels requires no modifications to conventional marine diesel engines, making them an effective alternative to fossil fuels and an effective means of reducing GHG emissions. Based on the environmental strategy in its BLUE ACTION 2035 management plan, the MOL Group will continue to proactively adopt clean fuels with the aim of decarbonizing marine transport.

In addition, the low-carbon attributes of this voyage will be tradable as certificates through the MOL Group’s marine transport carbon inset program, BLUE ACTION NET-ZERO ALLIANCE.