SUNFLOWER MURASAKI © Mitsubishi Shipbuilding

LNG-powered SUNFLOWER MURASAKI has entered service

FerryOita-based Ferry Sunflower's second LNG-powered ferry, SUNFLOWER MURASAKI entered service on the Osaka-Beppu route on 14 April 2023. She is a sister ship to SUNFLOWER KURENAI, which entered service in January 2023 on the same route.

SUNFLOWER MURASAKI/SUNFLOWER KURENAI can carry up to 716 passengers and 137 trucks at a service speed of 22.5 kn.

MOL's wholly owned subsidiaries MOL Ferry and Ferry Sunflower will be amalgamated on 1 October 2023 to become a new unnamed ferry company. The new ferry company will operate a total of four LNG-powered ferries.

"Murasaki" means purple, and the SUNFLOWER MURASAKI was named after former Osaka Shosen Kaisha's MURASAKI MARU (1,598 gt, built in 1921) on the Osaka/Kobe-Beppu route.

In the March issue of Shippax INFO we had an extensive report on SUNFLOWER KURENAI.