Seaspan bunkers MOL-operated LNG-fueled car carrier in Vancouver

Canada’s Seaspan Energy and Japan’s Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) have completed LNG bunkering of the MOL-operated car carrier in Vancouver.

As disclosed, Seaspan’s 7,600 cubic meter (cbm) bunker vessel, Seaspan Garibaldi, delivered LNG to the 2023-built 7,000 CEU car carrier Lake Herman moored in English Bay on a ship-to-ship basis on March 1, 2025.

With this operation, MOL became the first Japanese shipping company to conduct LNG bunkering in Western North America. At the same time, this was the first case of bunkering an LNG-fueled car carrier in Western North America.

Yoshikazu Urushitani, General Manager of Marine Fuel GX Division, said: “Until now, there was no LNG fuel supply base in Western North America, and the deployment of LNG-fueled vessels was limited.

“We are very pleased that we have succeeded in the first LNG bunkering for a car carrier in Western North America in collaboration with Seaspan Energy, which will expand the range of areas where we can deploy environmentally friendly LNG-fueled vessels and provide customers with more options for expanding their clean supply chains. We will continue to conduct LNG bunkering based on the Ship-to-Ship basis to LNG-fuels vessels at other ports in Western North America.”

Harly Penner, President of Seaspan Energy, added: “We are proud to share in this milestone with MOL as Lake Herman is the first car carrier to be fueled by a Ship-to-Ship LNG bunkering in Western North America. We appreciate the trust from its customer and look forward to a long-lasting relationship.”

To remind, Seaspan Energy, a part of Seaspan Marine, received the first LNG bunkering accreditation issued by the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority (VFPA) in November 2024 and conducted the first ship-to-ship LNG bunkering in the Port of Vancouver in Canada on January 30, 2025, marking “the introduction of a low-carbon fuel alternative from the Port of Vancouver and beyond”.

The company’s first ship-to-ship LNG bunkering took place in December 2024 in the Port of Long Beach, signaling the beginning of its service offering on the West Coast of North America where the company operates a fleet of three 112-meter-long LNG bunkering vessels – Seaspan Garibaldi, Seaspan Lions, and Seaspan Baker.