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Japan’s Inpex Corporation has held a naming ceremony for a 174,000 cubic metre LNG ship as supply constraints continue to mount with the Middle East crisis.
The Harmonic Breeze, built at Hanwha Ocean’s shipyard in Korea, features a dual-fuel LNG and diesel engine and is fitted with a system that re-liquefies excess boil-off gas generated during navigation. The ship will operate under long-term charter with MOL Encean, a subsidiary of Mitsui OSK Lines.
Inpex’s fleet includes the Oceanic Breeze, Pacific Breeze, and Symphonic Breeze, which serve the Ichthys LNG Project and the Prelude LNG Project.
Workers at the Ichthys LNG facility in Australia have voted against a new employment agreement, raising risks of strikes that could further impact supplies, according to reports. Australia is the largest supplier of LNG to Japan.
Around a fifth of global LNG supplies are being impacted by the ongoing disruption in the Strait of Hormuz.
While Japan only sources around 6% of its LNG from the Gulf, it is exposed to higher volatility with spot prices, raising overall import costs. LNG accounts for over 30% of Japan’s power generation.
Higher fuels costs would translate into electricity price hikes at a time when Japanese businesses are already struggling with inflation, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. Government efforts to curtail these price increases would exacerbate Japan’s macroeconomic and fiscal pressures.
Japan is discussing reviving domestic production of LNG carriers for the first time in more than 50 years to bolster its national security. The move would see Japanese shipbuilders return to a market that is currently dominated by China and South Korea.
With major disruption to Qatar’s LNG industry shining a light on geopolitical and supply chain risks, and increasingly stringent GHG regulations coming into force – amid escalating concerns with fossil fuels and methane leakage – running ships on LNG .
Japan-based NYK Line and Hokkaido Electric Power Co will jointly advance a demonstration project to decarbonise maritime transport fitted onboard a coal carrier.
