New LNG-powered 7,000 CEU car carrier joins K Line’s roster

February 27, 2025, by Sara Kosmajac

Japanese shipping player Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line) has bid welcome to a 6,900 CEU liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) that was constructed by compatriot Shin Kurushima Toyohashi Shipbuilding.

As disclosed, the car carrier, dubbed Oceanus Highway, was delivered on February 27, 2025, following a christening ceremony at the yard.

The newbuilding possesses a gross tonnage of 75,259 GT and features a length of 199.95 meters, a beam of 38 meters, a depth of 38.07 meters and a draft of 9 meters.

Owing to the fact it can run on liquefied natural gas, Oceanus Highway is expected to achieve ‘significant’ emission reductions.

The PCTC is hoped to accomplish a 25% reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and even greater decreases in particulate matter (PM), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulfur oxides (SOx), in line with the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) NOx Tier III and SOx guidelines.

Specifically, as per K Line, Oceanus Highway could slash NOx emissions by 80-90% by using exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) in addition to liquefied natural gas, while potentially completely removing SOx pollutants.

According to K Line, the newbuilding purchase was financed through the “Zero-emission Accelerating Ship Finance” framework, which is jointly operated by the Development Bank of Japan (DBJ) and the country’s classification society Nippon Kaiji Kyokai—also known as ClassNK. The green financing program was established to contribute to the maritime industry’s decarbonization goals.

The program is reportedly based on a scoring model that evaluates ships through the lens of decarbonization, environmentally friendly performance and innovation. DBJ then offers investment and loan plans based on these findings. It is understood that this was the first time K Line utilized this framework.

Oceanus Highway is part of a series of 7,000 CEU PCTC deliveries that K Line has marked since last year; and part of an eight-unit-strong order that the Japanese shipping major placed in September 2021 at three yards: Nihon Shipyard, Shin Kurushima Dockyard and China Merchants Jinling Shipyard.

This came just a few months after the company took delivery of its ‘first-ever’ LNG-powered PCTC, the Century Highway Green, which was constructed by Tadotsu Shipyard, part of the Imabari Shipbuilding Group, and handed over in March 2021.

In October 2024, the Tokyo-headquartered company welcomed the 200-meter-long LNG-fueled car carrier Poseidon Highway, considered to be K Line’s first new PCTC to obtain ClassNK’s ‘Fire fighting and electric vehicle’ notations. The month before that, Nereus Highway—built to the same specifications as the previous two sister units—joined K Line’s fleet after being handed over by China Merchants Jinling Shipbuilding.

In late November 2024, K Line held a handover ceremony for the Pontus Highway. As informed, the vessel was fitted with the latest dual-fuel electronic control engine, 7X62DF-2.1 iCER, created by Switzerland-based engine manufacturer WinGD, projected to cut methane slip when using LNG fuel.

K Line welcomes new LNG-powered 7,000 CEU car carrier

Vessels

To bolster its climate neutrality ambitions, K Line has established an “Environmental Vision 2050- Blue Seas for the Future” action plan with a set 2030 interim target of improving CO2 emissions efficiency by 50% compared with 2008, surpassing the IMO target of 40%.

K Line plans to realize this through a ‘diverse’ range of initiatives, including the use of low- or zero-carbon fuels like ammonia, hydrogen, bio-LNG and synthetic fuels. As part of this effort, in January 2025, the company joined the e-NG Coalition, an international alliance promoting the role of electric natural gas (e-NG or e-methane) in the transition towards a net-zero carbon future.