Small Gas Carriers

In the Small Gas Carrier Division, IINO Gas Transport Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “IGT”) was established in 2007 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of IINO LINES, the result of an integration of a sales division at the Head Office and shipholding divisions at affiliated companies.

IGT has a fleet comprised primarily of small pressurized LPG carriers, providing unified marine transport services, from sales and ownership and management of ships to operation of domestic shipping within Japan and oceangoing transport in coastal waters.

Ship operations are diverse, ranging from LPG carriers (high-pressure type), ethylene carriers (refrigerated type), LNG carriers, and molten sulfur carriers, while cargos range from low-temperature cargos to high-temperature cargos, such as fuel gases including LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) and LNG (liquefied natural gas); petrochemical gases including ethylene, propylene, C4/5 fractions, and VCM (vinyl chloride monomers), and molten sulfur.

IINO Group's Small Gas Carrier Division began by transporting LPG in domestic waters aboard the TOHO MARU, Japan's first pressurized domestic gas carrier, which was completed in 1960. The division has since expanded its LPG transport activities and diversified cargo types, and as domestic distribution became increasingly integrated with distribution in Asia in response to customers' needs, the division is expanding geographically to add coastal waters to its existing domestic routes.

We are currently the domestic market leader in terms of volume of LPG and petrochemical gases transported domestically, and in 2005, we put into operation Japan’s second domestic LNG carrier, the NORTH PIONEER, while in 2021, we began operations for the KISAN ethylene carrier. The IINO Group has operated domestic ethylene carriers since 1967, and has two ethylene carriers in its fleet, together with the TAIKASAN (completed in 2017).

As the division responsible for small gas transport in both domestic and adjacent waters for the IINO Group, IGT will continue to rapidly and accurately respond to customer needs and provide high-quality and safe services.