Imabari Shipbuilding News

New Order for MAN’s Ammonia Engine

Imabari Shipbuilding will install a MAN B&W 7S60ME-Ammonia engine with SCR in connection with the construction of a 200,000 dwt bulk carrier for a joint venture between K Line, NS United and Itochu Corporation.The business represents one of the first projects for MAN Energy Solutions’ ammonia-powered engine that is currently under development in Denmark. MITSUI E&S will build the engine in Japan.Bjarne Foldager – Country Manager, Denmark – MAN Energy Solutions, said: “The interest in this revolutionary engine had been overwhelming…

MOL to Expand Fleet With 5 New LNG-fueled Capesize Bulkers

Japanese shipping major Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has decided to expand its fleet with the additional five newbuilding dual-fueled Capesize bulkers, which can burn either LNG or conventional marine fuel oil.Two of the vessels will be ordered to Nihon Shipyard and built by Imabari Shipbuilding, while there remaining three will be built by Chinese CSSC Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding.The vessels are slated for delivery from 2026 to 2027, according to MOL. Including these five vessels, MOL will add a total of 13 LNG-fueled Capesize bulkers in their fleet.

Nova Marine Carriers Acquires Japanese Ship Pair

Nova Marine Carriers group of Lugano, which is headed by the Bolfo Gozzi and Romeo families, announced the acquisition of two new ships,  finalizing the purchase in Japan of the (renamed) Sider Ambos, a 20,000 dwt bulk carrier, built in 2017, particularly suited to the steel and gypsum trades in which Nova Marine is engaged.A few days later a second 38,000 dwt vessel also joined the fleet. Built in 2012 by Imabari shipbuilding (and still in Japan) this ship has been renamed Sider Pera and will also operate under the cooperation agreement with the Greek Halkidon group.

Japan's NYK Takes Delivery of Seventh LNG-fueled PCTC

Japan's NYK Line has recently taken delivery of the LNG-fueled pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) Sweet Pea Leader at Tadotsu Shipyard Co., Ltd., a member of the Imabari Shipbuilding Group. This is NYK's seventh LNG-fueled PCTC, with NYK planning to introduce a total of 20 new LNG-fueled PCTCs by 2028 as a bridge-solution to achieve net-zero emissions of greenhouse gas (GHG) by 2050 for the NYK Group's oceangoing businesses."Like NYK's other LNG-fueled PCTCs, the vessel was named…

Japanese Yard Orders 16 HiMSEN Methanol Engines

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries - Engine & Machinery has announced that it recently signed a contract for 16 sets of HiMSEN methanol dual-fuel engines (8H32DF-LM) and selective catalytic reduction systems with Tsuneishi Shipbuilding in Japan.The engines are for four vessels which will be built at the Tsuneishi Zhoushan Shipyard in China, and the engines will be delivered to the shipyard starting in January 2025.Earlier this year, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries - Engine & Machinery signed…

Mitsubishi Inks Deal to Supply LNG FGSS Units for 12 Ships

Mitsubishi Shipbuilding received orders from Imabari Shipbuilding for 12 units of its Fuel Gas Supply System (FGSS), a liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel gas supply system for high-pressure dual-fuel marine engines. The equipment for 9 LNG-fueled car carriers and 3 LNG-fueled bulk carriers to be built by Imabari Shipbuilding Group will be continuously delivered from spring 2024.The FGSS ordered by Imabari Shipbuilding feature an optimized cargo space layout utilizing a modular design for exceptional space-saving and maintenance access…

Mitsubishi, Nihon Launch Effort to Design, Build an LCO2 Carrier

Mitsubishi Shipbuilding and Nihon Shipyard -- a Tokyo-based joint venture for ship design and sales between Imabari Shipbuilding  and Japan Marine United Corporation -- have started joint study for the development of an ocean-going liquified CO2 (LCO2) carrier. Nihon Shipyard is pursuing this project with the aim of completing construction of the vessel from 2027 onwards.Demand for LCO2 carriers is expected to grow in the future as a means to transport large volumes of CO2 safely for CCS (Carbon dioxide Capture and Storage) projects, in which captured CO2 is stably stored underground.

Shoei Kisen Kaisha ink deal for Fleetwide install of NavFleet

NAVTOR secured an agreement with Shoei Kisen Kaisha, Ltd., one of Japan’s largest shipowners and managers, to deliver the NavFleet application across itsfleet of managed vessels. Shoei Kisen, a part of Imabari Shipbuilding, Japan’s largest shipbuilder, will introduce NavFleet to the existing NAVTOR digital ecosystem onboard its bulk carriers and container ships. This integrated system includes the NavStation digital chart table software (with automated Passage Planning), NavBox…

Eagle Bulk Buys Secondhand Ultramax for $27.5 Million

U.S.-based shipowner Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. on Tuesday announced it has purchased a 2015-built Ultramax bulk carrier for $27.5 million, as part of its fleet renewable program.The scrubber-fitted vessel, which was constructed at Imabari Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. in Japan, will be renamed the Tokyo Eagle and delivered to the company during the fourth quarter of 2022.As previously disclosed, the Eagle Bulk closed on the sale of the Cardinal (2004-built non-scrubber fitted Supramax) in August 2022.

Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Books First Order for LNG FGSS for High-Pressure Marine Engines

Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group, has taken its first order for LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) fuel supply systems (FGSS) for high-pressure dual-fuel marine engines, for installation on six LNG-fueled car carriers to be built by a group company of Imabari Shipbuilding Co., Ltd.The core components of the newly ordered FGSS are LNG fuel tanks, LNG fuel gas supply units and a control unit, and the package is designed with space-saving in mind…

Japanese Steelmaker to Charter Three 210,000-dwt LNG-fueled Bulk Carriers

Japanese steelmaker JFE Steel has signed long-charters shipping firms NYK Line, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines to charter three 210,000-ton LNG-fueled bulk carriers for transporting iron ore and coal from overseas locations to JFE Steel’s steelworks in Japan. JFE Steel said the charters would make it the first company in Japan to deploy LNG-fueled ships in the 210,000-ton class, and said the move would help it cut emissions.The ships, which have been designed by Nihon Shipyard and will be built by Japan Marine United and Imabari Shipbuilding…

Ever Given Begins Exit from Suez Canal

The Ever Given, one of the world's largest container ships, resumed its journey to leave the Suez Canal on Wednesday, 106 days after becoming wedged across a southern section of the waterway for nearly a week and disrupting global trade.The Ever Given started to head north in the late morning across the Great Bitter Lake, which separates two sections of the canal and where it had been moored with its Indian crew since being refloated on March 29.It then joined the back of a northbound convoy, passing the site of a ceremony where the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) and representatives for the ship signed the compensation settlement that allowed for its release.Tarek Alzeki…

Evergreen Takes Delivery of Two 12,000 TEU Ships

Evergreen Line took delivery of its sixth and seventh new 12,000 TEU class F-type containerships on December 15. Ever Forever was built at the Geoje Shipyard of South Korea's Samsung Heavy Industries, and Ever Far was delivered by Imabari Shipbuilding in Japan.The two new large containerships set sail in good order after the delivery procedures were completed. The ships’ 58,000-horsepower main engines are powering the technically advanced vessels to their allocated loading ports on Evergreen’s trans-Pacific services. Ever Forever will be put into service on the Asia-U.S.

ONE to Charter World's Largest Containerships

Singapore-headquartered container carrier Ocean Network Express Pte. Ltd. (ONE) said it has signed a letter of intent (LoI) with Japan's Shoei Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. for the 15-year charter of six new ultra large containerships (ULCS). The vessels, with capacity greater than 24,000 TEU each, are said to be the world's largest.The newbuilds will be built by the consortium of compatriot shipyards Imabari Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. and Japan Marine United Corporation for planned delivery…

Navios Maritime Acquisition Takes Delivery of New VLCC

Tanker operator Navios Maritime Acquisition Corporation has announced the delivery of the Baghdad, a new building VLCC of 313,433 dwt.Navios Maritime Acquisition said that the VLCC was delivered on October 28, 2020, from a Japanese shipyard. According to VesselsValue, the VLCC was built by Japan's Imabari Shipbuilding."The Baghdad has been chartered out to a high-quality counterparty for a ten-year period at a bareboat rate of $27,816 (net) per day. The charter party has an option for an additional five-year period at a bareboat rate of $29,751 (net) per day," the Greek shipowner Navios Maritime Acquisition Corporation said in a statement.It did not say who the client was, however, images of the vessel found online show AISSOT written on the hull of the VLCC.

Imabari Launches LNG-fueled Car Carrier for 'K' Line

Imabari Shipbuilding Group's Tadotsu Shipyard in Japan has launched a new liquefied natural gas (LNG)-fueled car carrier vessel for compatriot shipping company Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. ("K" Line).Construction is ongoing with an estimated delivery within the 2020 fiscal year.The main engine on this vessel is a dual-fuel diesel Mitsui MAN B&W ME-GI engine with exhaust gas recirculation system (EGR) to apply with MARPOL Annex VI NOx Tier III.The vessel, ordered by "K" Line in December 2018…

ClassNK Grants AIP for LPG Dual-fuel Bulker

Classification society ClassNK granted Approval in Principle (AIP) for a 180,000 DWT liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) dual-fuel bulk carrier concept design developed by Imabari Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. in cooperation with Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd.The AiP was granted to the concept design based on ClassNK’s Guidelines for Ships Using Low-Flashpoint Fuels and its Rule Part GF (regulation for ships using low-flashpoint fuels) incorporating “International Code of Safety for Ships using Gases or other Low-flashpoint Fuels (IGF Code), the current IMO Res.

Interview: Toyohisa Nakano Discusses "K" Line Green Initiatives

Last year Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (“K” Line) – one of the world’s largest and most influential ship owners with 478 ships comprising 40.5 million DWT and more than 6,000 employees – celebrated its 100th anniversary. Toyohisa Nakano, Executive Officer, in charge of Ship Technical and Environmental Affairs for “K” Line, is a 30+ year veteran of the company. He discusses with Maritime Reporter & Engineering News the ship owner’s strategy to meet ever-tightening ship emission regulations.Please provide an overview of the ships you have on order today.We placed an order for 210…

ClassNK AiP for Design of LNG-Fueled Bulker

Classification Society ClassNK granted an Approval in Principle (AiP) based on its Rule Part GF which adopts IGF Code (regulation for ships using low-flashpoint fuels) to NS United Kaiun Kaisha, Ltd. and Imabari Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. for their joint project on the concept design of an LNG-fueled capesize bulker.The main features of the design announced by Imabari Shipbuilding are as follows.“By installing two Type C LNG tanks at the stern, which are considered to be cost competitive and are comparatively easily to install…

MHI Mulls Selling Flagship Shipyard

According to a report in JIJI Press, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries  is considering selling one of its largest shipbuilding plants in Japan to reduce costs.According to the report , the Japanese conglomerate is weighing the sale of the Koyagi plant in the southwestern city of Nagasaki to Oshima Shipbuilding Co., the third biggest shipbuilder in the country.With the sale, Mitsubishi Heavy would effectively withdraw from construction of large vessels carrying resources such as liquefied natural gas. The Koyagi plant, founded in 1972, stopped building liquefied natural gas vessels in September this year and now focuses on LPG ships.Nikkei reported that while shipbuilders in South Korea and China make moves to realign…

Japanese Shipbuilding Giants to Merge

Japan's biggest shipbuilders Imabari Shipbuilding and Japan Marine United (JMU) have formalized their business alliance by agreeing to enter into a capital tie-up amid blockbuster mergers in South Korea and China.According to Jiji Press, with the alliance, the shipbuilders aim to strengthen their international competitiveness at a time when South Korean and Chinese rivals are going through major realignment to grow stronger.Under the basic deal Imabari Shipbuilding plans to buy a nearly 30 pct stake in JMU via a shares purchase. The duo plans to finalize the agreement within the 2019 fiscal year, ending in March 2020.The partners will establish a new company that will design, build and market commercial vessels, including tankers, cargo ships and vehicle carriers.

"K" Line Launches 200,000 DWT Bulker

At the Marugame business headquarters Imabari Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., the 200,000-dwt ton Cape size bulker "CAPE DISCOVERY" has been completed.The ship is compliant with the Common Structural Rules for Bulk Carrier (CSR-BC) for bulk cargo ships, and the main institution is equipped with an electronically controlled engine with enhanced anti-corrosion measures, in order to save energy, the operators have installed WAD (Weather Adapted Duct) in front of the propeller and Hybrid Fin behind the propeller.Furthermore…

Liberian Registry Opens Japan Office

The Liberian Registry opened a full-service office in Imabari, Japan, as part of the continued expansion of its presence in Asia.Led by Eiji Okazaki, President of the Liberian International Ship and Corporate Registry (LISCR) Japan, the Imabari office is comprised of key staff trained to handle ship registrations and technical issues locally. He has been leading the Tokyo office since 2017, and has helped develop the office to now being one of Liberia’s major and most active locations.The office-warming party was held on October 3…