NYK Bulk & Projects Carriers, the bulker unit of NYK, has secured long term biomass fuel transport contracts from two new domestic power plants, Japanese media Kaiji Press reports.
One contract will see the company transport wood pellets for a new Japanese biomass power plant from 2021 when the plant commences operation, for a period of 15 years, while the other contract, awarded by another domestic power plant, is for transporting palm kernel shell (PKS) for a period of 10 years starting from this year.
NYK will deploy handysize bulkers or smaller bulkers below 20,000 dwt for the contracts.
“We will put particular emphasis on biomass-related cargo items such as wood pellets, PKS and wood chips. We have been undertaking transport of North American pellets since 10 years ago and accumulated knowhow as a pioneer. A stable procurement of fuels is quite important in biomass power generation. We will go all-out to get long-term contracts as biomass fuel transport is sure to grow markedly in the future,” said Motoyuki Nose, president of NYK Bulk & Projects Carriers.