The ship, named “Sakura Leader”, will be the first large LNG-fueled PCTC to be built in Japan, as it is scheduled for delivery in October 2020.
The ship got its name from the word “Sakura” which means “cherry blossoms”, the national flower of Japan. This name was chosen with the hope of realizing the developing environment with an environmentally friendly transportation and transferring it to future generations.
The car and truck carrier will be one of the world’s largest PCTCs, with a carrying capacity of around 7,000 units per journey, starting with vehicles manufactured by Toyota Motor Corporation.
Sakura Leader was selected as a model project by the Ministry of Environment of Japan and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, and will receive support from ministries for technical verification of CO2 emission reductions during travels.
As a result, NYK plans to migrate all future newly built PCTCs to next-generation environmentally friendly ships such as LNG-fueled ships and aims to lead the construction of a clean mode of transport in the maritime industry. In 2023, an LNG-fueled coal carrier will be delivered.
