Ehime News

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL)  announced that 20,000 TEU containership, MOL Truth(Note), one of the world's largest containerships, has received the "Ship of the Year 2017" award from the Japan Society of Naval Architects and Ocean Engineers (JASNAOE). The award is given for the highest levels of technology, design, and social responsibility among vessels made in Japan by JASNAOE. The MOL Truth earned high evaluations as a cutting-edge "eco ship" that not only exemplifies MOL's safe operation and environmental conservation policies, but also makes full use of the most advanced telecommunication and IoT/AI technologies. In addition, the judges regarded her as a historic milestone in Japan's shipbuilding industry because Imabari Shipbuilding Co., Ltd.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL)  announced that one of world's largest containerships, the MOL Truth, was delivered at the Saijo Shipyard of Imabari Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (President: Yukito Higaki, Headquarters: Imabari-shi, Ehime Prefecture) on October 31. The MOL Truth is the first containership with a capacity of over 20,000 TEU built in Japan, and the fifth in a series of six 20,000 TEU containerships that are operated by MOL. On October 25, it was named the MOL Truth. The new containership is 400m long, with a breadth of 58.5m, and has a loading capacity of 20,182 TEU. It will ply the Asia-Northern Europe trade as part of THE Alliance.

The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) will provide a total of $28.3 million in syndicated loans with French bank BNP Paribas to help a major Danish shipping operator’s unit buy cargo vessels to be built by leading Japanese shipbuilder Imabari Shipbuilding, Jiji Press  reported. The state-owned JBIC aims to revive the domestic regional economies relying on the shipbuilding industry by giving financial support for vessel exports at a time when the industry faces a global slump due to oversupply, the report quoted informed sources as saying. According to the report, under the export deal brokered by Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co.…

Japan’s port of Matsuyama welcomed NYK-operated M/V Nord Neptune, the first panamax coal carrier to visit the port, on June 10, 2017. The Ehime prefectural government and the Shikoku Regional Development Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism recently completed an international logistics terminal project to reconstruct the port by deepening the berth to 13 meters. To help the berth accept large vessels, NYK provided technical support through Sumiseki Trading Co. Ltd. which operates a coal center at the port.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) announced that its group company MOL Techno-Trade will exhibit BARI-SHIP 2017 which is held at Imabari, Ehime from May 25th - 27th, 2017 with Satake Corporation. Satake Corporation designed and developed "Viable Organism Analyzer (VOA1000)" which can detect number of viable organisms in the ballast water, based on ballast water discharge standard (D-2) of the Ballast Water Management Convention which will enter into force in Sep 8th, 2017. Satake's test method "Pulse counting FDA" has been approved the guidance on ballast water sampling and analysis for trial use in accordance with the BWM Convention and Guidelines (G2) by IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), 68th session in May 2015.

Over three times in July, NYK hosted safety promotion conferences for shipowners and ship-management companies at the NYK head office in Tokyo and at Imabari city in Ehime prefecture. These conferences are held every year in two months from July, as part of the “Remember Naka-no- Se” safety campaign, which draws on the lessons learnt by the Diamond Grace oil spill in July 1997 to encourage all NYK Group employees to bear in mind the importance of safe operations. This year, a total of 177 participants from 82 companies gathered at the conferences. Under the slogan "Brush Up on Safety Awareness,” participants reconsidered how to improve safety by enhancing crew member awareness of onboard dangers, and exchanged ideas to prevent the recurrence of accidents and troubles.

Last month we were offered an in-depth discussion on marine salvage with Captain Gregg W. Baumann, U.S. Navy, Director of Ocean Engineering, Supervisor of Salvage and Diving. Captain Baumann and his team have a long history regarding difficult missions accomplished, including most recently the location and filming of the lost TOTE containership El Faro. What is the scope of the responsibility of the Supervisor of Salvage & Diving; Director of Ocean Engineering? The responsibilities of the Supervisor of Salvage & Diving…

Over three dates in July, NYK hosted a safety promotion conference for shipowners and ship-management companies at the NYK head office in Tokyo and at Imabari city in Ehime prefecture. This conference is held every year as part of the “Remember Naka-no-Se” safety campaign, which draws on the lessons learnt by the Diamond Grace oil spill in July 1997 to encourage all NYK Group employees to bear in mind the importance of safe operations. This year, a total of 180 participants from 79 companies gathered at the conference. Under the slogan "Think, Act and Be Safe,” participants reviewed actual collisions and incidents of engine trouble to prevent any recurrence.

Tsuneishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. finished building an 82,000-mt D/W type bulk carrier Ultra Lion on January 7, 2015, marking the completion of the builder’s 200th Kamsarmax model vessel. Built by Tsuneishi Group Shipbuilding, Inc. at Zhoushan City in the Zhejiang Province of China, the Ultra Lionwill be delivered to buyer KambaraKisen Co., Ltd. The first Kamsarmax bulk carrier was completed in February of 2005. After 9 years, 11 months and 200 ships, the Kamsarmax vessels account for the top share of more than 28% of all the 80…

NYK says it has hosted a safety promotion conference for shipowners and ship-management companies at the NYK head office in Tokyo and at Imabari city in Ehime prefecture. This conference is held during July and August every year as part of the Remember Naka-no-Se safety campaign,which draws on the lessons learnt by the Diamond Grace oil spill in July 1997 to encourage all NYK Group employees to bear in mind the importance of safe operations. A total of 147 participants from 69 companies gathered at the conference to discuss the slow-steaming of vessels, in addition to international rules such as the ballast water management convention.

Classification society ClassNK issued the first Statement of Compliance for a ship recycling facility in Japan to Miyaji Salvage Co. Ltd.. certifying that the facility and its recycling procedures are fully in compliance with the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009 (Hong Kong Convention). This marks the first time that a ship recycling yard in Japan has achieved certification in line with the convention. Miyaji Salvage Co. Ltd. was established in Tadotsu, Nakatado District, Kagawa Prefecture in 1976. Among the recycling facilities at Miyaji Salvage include a 25,000m2 ship recycling yard, a 450m wharf, and a 250t crane vessel, which are used in the dismantling and recycling of coastwise vessels and harbor loading facilities.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) and Hakata Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., of Imabari, Ehime Prefecture, have agreed to collaborate in the joint development of a 1,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) container carrier. The two companies have received the first order for the carrier, for two vessels to be used for time chartering by Korea Marine Transport Co., Ltd. (KMTC) of Korea. Going forward the two companies intend to establish a framework advantageous for competing in the international feeder container ship market as a way of expanding their businesses. Under the collaborative agreement, MHI will be responsible for hull form development and conceptual design of the container carrier…

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) signed an agreement with Imabari Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. in Imabari, Ehime Prefecture, Japan, under which MHI licenses production and marketing of deck machinery. Through licensing, MHI aims to expand market share of deck machinery based on the company's technology and, at the same time, respond to requests from Imabari, which looks to enhance business through deck machinery production. The production of licensed machinery is scheduled to be started in April 2013.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL; President: Koichi Muto) today announced the first use of a new silicon-based anti-fouling paint for a 38,000-class bulker now under construction at the Minaminippon Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. Shitanoe Works (Usuki-shi, Oita Prefecture). When completed, the new vessel will sail under a long-term charter with Doun Kisen Co., Ltd. (Namikata-cho, Ehime Prefecture). This new fluoropolymer foul release (*1) coating, called “Intersleek900,” was developed by International Paint Ltd.

Seattle-based Crowley Marine Services continues to support the U.S. Navy's Office of the Superintendent of Salvage (SUPSALV) as prime contractor for Phase II of its Ehime Maru recovery project. Phase II, which began in mid-October, involves support of the Navy's Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit One (MDSU) for recovery operations of the Japanese fishing vessel Ehime Maru, which sank in February after a U.S. submarine resurfaced beneath it off the coast of Honolulu. State and federal laws do not allow for the ship to be left in shallow water or returned to its original location when the Navy's recovery operations are complete. Therefore…

Crowley Marine Services has successfully concluded work as prime contractor for the U.S. Navy’s Ehime Maru recovery and relocation operation this week with placement of the ship at its final resting site approximately 12 miles off the island of Oahu in Hawaii in more that 6,000 ft. of water. The Navy contracted with Crowley to design, engineer and execute the plan to lift the Ehime Maru from the shallow water recovery site, transport it to deepwater and lower it to the ocean floor. The Ehime Maru sank in 2,00 ft. of water on February 9, when it was struck by the USS Greeneville, a Navy submarine practicing an emergency-surfacing maneuver off Diamond Head.

The Navy captain who led the salvage and recovery efforts of the Japanese fishing vessel Ehime Maru in Hawaii was selected as the recipient of the American Society of Naval Engineers (ASNE) Gold Medal Award for 2001. Capt. Bert Marsh, Director of Ocean Engineering and Supervisor of Salvage and Diving for Naval Sea Systems Command was selected for this award for his significant contributions to naval engineering for the five year period 1996-2001. During that time period, Marsh led several high-profile repair, salvage and recovery efforts including the recovery of an Egypt Air commercial airliner following its crash off the coast of New England in 1999…

Following objections from the Japanese government, the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Navy announced they will continue searching through Friday for nine people missing from a Japanese fishing vessel sunk by a U.S. submarine last week. The Japanese government objected when the Coast Guard announced on Wednesday it intended to end the search for the missing students, teachers and crew members from the teaching vessel, said Japanese Consul General Minoru Shibuya. Earlier on Thursday, the Coast Guard said it intended to call off the search for survivors from the wreck, which occurred when the USS Greenville surfaced into the Ehime Maru, a high school's training trawler, about nine miles off the coast of Oahu. The vessel carried 35 people; 26 were rescued.

Two civilians were at control stations on the USS Greeneville as the submarine shot to the surface and struck a Japanese fishing vessel, a U.S. Navy spokesman in Honolulu said on Tuesday. Commander Bruce Cole said the two were allowed to participate at the control positions and were among 16 civilians invited aboard the U.S. submarine for a brief training cruise last week. Earlier a Pentagon official, who asked not to be identified, had said a civilian was under careful supervision at the time of the accident and that the move was not highly unusual and apparently had no influence on the collision. Separately, Rear Adm. Craig Quigley…

Two of the civilians aboard a U.S. submarine that collided with a Japanese trawler -- one of whom pulled levers to surface the sub -- denied that they distracted the crew and contributed to the tragedy. Todd Thoman and John Hall praised the U.S. crew for how they conducted themselves before and after the incident last week off Hawaii's coast, and said they believed all the correct procedures had been followed. Nine people are still missing from the Japanese fishing trawler, the Ehime Maru, which sank in about 1,800 ft. (548 m) of water nine miles (14 km) off Diamond Head, Hawaii. Hopes for a rescue are fading. Thoman and Hall were among a group of 16 civilians on board the USS Greeneville, which was on a brief training mission when it surfaced beneath a Japanese fishing trawler.

The U.S. Navy, eager to keep its submarines hidden as much as possible, rejected three official recommendations aimed at preventing collisions like the one that sank a Japanese fishing boat off Hawaii on Friday, leaving nine people missing, feared drowned. The National Transportation Safety Board had faulted the Navy's submarine surfacing procedures, its way of reporting accidents and what the board deemed inadequate rest time for key watch officers while submarines are under way. When the Navy spurned all of its advice, the independent five-member board shut its books on the case, terming the Navy's response "Closed -- Unacceptable Action," documents made available on Monday showed.

The U.S. Navy on Sunday showed relatives of the nine missing people from a Japanese trawler sunk by a surfacing American submarine a video of the wreck, but there were no signs of remains. The video, taken by a deep-diving robot that located the Ehime Maru on the ocean floor, showed a ghostly pale ship against the black emptiness of the deep, but nothing else. The Ehime Maru, which was struck by the USS Greeneville as the fast-attack submarine made an emergency surfacing maneuver on Feb. 9, was sitting nearly upright on the ocean floor about 9 miles (14 km) off Diamond head on Oahu. The Navy's remotely operated submersible Scorpio II located the Ehime Maru late in about 2,000 ft. (610 m) of water off the coast of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean.

President George W. Bush has ordered a review of all policy on civilian activity during military exercises after the sinking of a Japanese trawler in a collision with a U.S. submarine near Hawaii. Two civilians were at control positions when the USS Greeneville rose rapidly to the surface, hitting the Japanese vessel, but Navy officials have said they were closely supervised. "What's going to be necessary is for (Defense) Secretary (Donald) Rumsfeld and the Defense Department to review all policy regarding civilian activity during military exercises ... particularly in light of the recent tragedy in Hawaii," Bush told reporters at the start of a budget meeting with Republican lawmakers at the White House.