Tsugaru Strait News

Russian and Chinese warships held their first joint patrols in the western Pacific Ocean over the past week, Russia's defense ministry said on Saturday, a move Japan said it was monitoring.Moscow and Beijing, which staged naval cooperation drills in the Sea of Japan earlier in October, have cultivated closer military and diplomatic ties in recent years at a time when their relations with the West have soured.The naval maneuvers, which Russia said ran from Sunday through Saturday…

A group of 10 naval vessels from China and Russia sailed through a strait separating Japan's main island and its northern island of Hokkaido on Monday, the Japanese government said, adding that it is closely watching such activities.It was the first time Japan has confirmed the passage of Chinese and Russian naval vessels sailing together through the Tsugaru Strait, which separates the Sea of Japan from the Pacific.While the strait is regarded as international waters, Japan's ties with China have long been plagued by conflicting claims over a group of tiny East China Sea islets.

The tragic events in Japan have evoked a large scale international relief effort as the nation continues to deal with the enormity of the disaster. World-wide, maritime nations have been quick to respond and ships of all types have been deployed off the coast of Japan, providing humanitarian assistance to victims of the devastating earthquake and tsunami. Australian-built ships are among this number, playing their own part in the relief effort. Both Aomori on Honshu and Hakodate on Hokkaido, the traditional home ports for Incat-built 367.5-ft catamaran Natchan World, have been hectic.

The Natchan Rera, the first of Incat’s 112 metre Wave Piercing Catamarans, has been recognized at Europe’s annual ferry industry event, the Shippax Ferry Shipping Onboard Conference, attended by some 300 ferry shipping executives. Japan’s Higashi Nihon Ferry won the coveted ShipPax Hispeed Concept Award, recognizing the implementation of an integrated ferry system with state-of-the art port terminals as well as the largest diesel powered high speed ferry with separate truck and car decks.

The Natchan Rera is a breath of fresh air in Japanese sea travel, the new Incat-built high speed ferry’s entry into service on 1st September bringing a completely new concept in ferry travel to those crossing Tsugaru Strait between the islands of Hokkaido and Honshu. The 61-nautical mile run across the Strait takes just 95 minutes, approximately half the time currently taken by conventional ships. While passengers are reaching their destination twice as quickly, Higashi Nihon Ferry is also changing the quality of time passengers spend on board from one of simple transportation to that of a high-class comfortable hospitality-focused experience.

The first of Incat’s landmark 367 ft. Wave Piercing Catamarans, Natchan Rera, has been delivered to Higashi Nihon Ferry and is currently on her delivery voyage to Japan. Ordered in May last year, the largest vessel ever produced by Incat will operate across Japan’s Tsugaru Strait between the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido, approximately halving the time currently taken for voyages between Aomori and Hakodate by existing ships and greatly enhancing the convenience of regular passenger services. In service the Wave Piercer offers a crossing time of one hour and 45 minutes on the 61 nautical miles passage. The largest catamaran ever built in Australia…