Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and its group company, Ferry Sunflower, have conducted the naming and launching ceremony for the ‘Sunflower Kamui’, the first LNG-fueled ferry to be introduced on the Oarai-Tomakomai route.
As the third LNG-fueled ferry in the Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Group, it will be delivered in December and is scheduled to start operating on the overnight service by early 2025. Another vessel is also scheduled to commence service in 2025. Thus, by 2025, including the two vessels operating on the Osaka-Beppu route, the company will operate a total of four LNG-fueled ferries.
The ‘Sunflower Kamui’ is the first of two LNG-fueled ferries currently under construction at Naikai Zosen Corporation, named by Tomokazu Marutani, chairman of the board of directors of Seicomart, a convenience store chain operating mainly in Hokkaido.
The design concept, “Protecting our irreplaceable earth and seas, while connecting the traditions we have inherited with the future we are forging, and continuing to illuminate people’s lives,” has led to the adoption of the beautiful blue of the sea and sky as an accent color. The design, inspired by the “dawn sea” and the “light illuminating a new era,” represents “a ship stepping into a new future.” The ship name ‘Sunflower Kamui’ was chosen in reverence to the Ainu culture and inspired by its operating area, Hokkaido.
Notice
This article was generated using automatic translation by GPT-4 API. The translation may not be accurate.
