Japan prepares to put into operation the world’s first electric oil tanker

The ship is named Asahi, 62 m long, 499 tons, has a capacity of 1,280 m³ fuel.

A special feature is that the train runs entirely on electricity because it is equipped with a Lithium-ion battery with a total capacity of nearly 3,500 kW, equivalent to 100 electric cars.

Compared to the Tankers Normally, Asahi makes less noise, reduces vibration, has more space for crew.

The ship is expected to serve the refueling of ocean-going ships in Tokyo Bay.

Compared with current conventional heavy oil tankers, electric tankers have the disadvantage of large construction costs. However, the advantage is that it is easy to operate and can reduce the number of crew members, contributing to solving the current shortage of human resources in the maritime industry.

Asahi Tanker, a Japanese shipping company, launched the world’s first all-electric tanker during the launching ceremony. (Photo: Asahi Tanker)

According to the previous plan, the tanker run on electric power will be developed by two subsidiaries of Kawasaki Heavy Industries in the Shikoku region of Japan and is expected to be completed by March 2023.

The electric tanker will be used by Asahi Tanker to carry oil in Tokyo Bay and can be requisitioned to provide power to port facilities in the event of a natural disaster.

The fact that countries are becoming more and more concerned about environmental protection with increasingly strict regulations has exploded the electric car industry around the world. The world’s first electric-powered tanker could be the beginning of the electrification trend in the shipping industry in the future.

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