Naval Architects Vote NYK Coal Carrier 'Ship of the Year'

'Soyo', an NYK-owned coal carrier, has been selected as the 2012 "Ship of the Year" by the Japan Society of Naval Architects and Ocean Engineers (JASNAOE).

JASNAOE’s “Ship of the Year” award has been presented every year since 1990 to a Japan-built vessel that the society considers to be the most technically advanced, well-designed, and socially conscious.

Soyo was honored for its innovative air-lubrication system and its proven impact on CO2 reduction. This new air-lubrication system reduces CO2 emissions by taking some of the main engine scavenging air (combustion air) from the main engine’s turbocharger and leading it to the vessel’s bottom to reduce the frictional resistance between the vessel’s bottom and the seawater. A system featuring this scavenging air bypass is expected to be effective in reducing CO2 on large vessels having deep drafts.

The NYK Group is currently looking to equip car carriers with this eco-friendly system.

The system was jointly developed by NYK, Oshima Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., and the Monohakobi Technology Institute, an NYK Group company, in cooperation with the National Maritime Research Institute. System development was subsidized through Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's “Support for Technology Development from Marine Vessels for Curtailing CO2” project, among others.

NYK Line say they will strive to install this system on other types of vessels.