Osaka Gas Co., Ltd.(Osaka Gas; President: Takehiro Honjo) will begin to study LNG-fuel supply to the LNG-fueled tugboat^*1 which will be developed by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd.(MOL; President & CEO: Junichiro Ikeda).

Scheduled to be deployed in Osaka Bay in April 2019, this MOL-owned tugboat will be constructed by Kanagawa Dockyard Co., Ltd. (President: Takehito Ikoma), powered by LNG-fueled engines supplied by Yanmar Co., Ltd. (President: Takehito Yamaoka) and operated by Nihon Tug-Boat Co., Ltd. (President: Shigeshi Omori).

Osaka Gas plans to supply fuel to the tugboat by utilizing LNG tanker trucks. The specifics including supply methods will be examined in cooperation with related administrative agencies. This will be the first case of LNG fuel supply to a ship in the Kansai Region.

In October 2016, the International Maritime Organization decided to introduce tighter regulations on sulfur oxides (SOx) emissions in sea areas including Japan in 2020. Under the leadership of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Japan has been actively promoting LNG bunkering, which supplies ships with LNG, an environmentally friendly fuel, increasing the possibility of expanded consumption of LNG in marine transportation in coming years.

Through the development of the system of supplying LNG fuel to the tugboat in collaboration with MOL and other participating companies, Osaka Gas will enhance its expertise and know-how in LNG fuel supply to ships.

Promoting the wider use of natural gas, a clean energy resource, Osaka Gas will continue playing an active role in lowering the burden on the environment.

• *1 - Tugboat: a small boat assisting a large ship or a water structure in berthing at and leaving a quay or a jetty