Japanese shipping group Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) on January 9 held a naming ceremony for its newly built VLGC Lucent Pathfinder at Kawasaki Heavy Industries’ Sakaide Works.
The vessel is the seventh dual-fuel LPG carrier ordered by NYK and is designed to use LPG both as cargo and as marine fuel. After delivery, it will be chartered by BGN INT DMCC, one of the world’s largest LPG traders, for worldwide LPG trades.
Around 30 stakeholders attended the ceremony. BGN LPG Director Takayuki Koike formally named the vessel, while Wendy Jungsuk Kwon, an LPG trader at BGN, conducted the ceremonial rope cutting.
NYK said the name reflects the vessel’s role in supporting lower-carbon LPG shipping. “Pathfinder” represents progress towards decarbonisation, while “Lucent” was chosen to convey brightness and a safe future for maritime transport.
The Lucent Pathfinder is equipped with a dual-fuel engine capable of operating on heavy fuel oil or LPG. It also features a shaft generator system that produces electricity from the main engine’s rotational energy, reducing dependence on diesel generators and enabling near-continuous operation on LPG.
When operating on LPG, the vessel is expected to reduce sulphur oxide emissions by more than 95% and greenhouse gas emissions by over 20% compared with conventional fuel oil.
The ship has also been designed to transport ammonia, allowing it to potentially support future clean-energy supply chains alongside its core LPG trade.
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