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Ministry Of Land News

07 Feb 2024

Kobe-Osaka Port Launches Demo of Hydrogen-Powered Crane

(Credit: MOL)

Kobe-Osaka International Port Corporation has launched a project to demonstrate rubber-tired gantry (RTG) crane, which uses a hydrogen-powered engine to demonstrate decarbonization of advanced cargo handling machinery.The project is said to be the first in the world to convert RTG crane's diesel engine generator to a hydrogen engine at Hanshin Port’s Kobe International Container Terminal (KICT), operated by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL).The initiative is led by the Kinki Regional Development Bureau of the Ministry of Land…

25 Jan 2024

Japan Takes the Lead on Ammonia as Maritime Fuel

Image courtesy NYK

Late last year Japanese maritime leaders – Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK), Japan Engine Corporation, IHI Power Systems Co., and Nihon Shipyard Co., Ltd. – signed a series of contracts to buid the world's first ammonia-fueled medium gas carrier (AFMGC) equipped with Japan-make engines. The target is a completed ship by November 2026.While the project is significant, hurdles remain, namely:While development work is underway, today there is not yet a dual-fuel ammonia engine on the market…

17 Dec 2023

Singapore and Japan Agree Green Shipping Corridor

Š torsakarin / Adobe Stock

The Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Singapore (MOT) and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan (MLIT) have signed a memorandum of cooperation to establish the Singapore – Japan Green and Digital Shipping Corridor.Japan is one of Singapore’s top 10 trading partners, and the trade volume between the two countries totaled S$65 billion in 2022.Under the collaboration, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) will work together with six Japanese ports – the Port of Tokyo…

30 Nov 2023

Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore Joins the Maritime Technologies Forum

Nick Brown, Lloyd's Register CEO, Teo Eng Dih Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) Chief Executive and Knut Arild Hareide, Norwegian Maritime Authority Director, General Shipping and Navigation.  Back Row (L to R): Niam Chiang Meng, MPA Chairman, Vassilios Kroustallis, ABS Senior Vice President, Global Business Development, Pierre Sames, DNV Senior Vice President, Strategic Development Director and Dr. M. Abdul Rahim, ClassNK, Corporate Officer, Managing Director, Europe and Africa. (P

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore has joined as an associate member, bringing regulatory and technological expertise to further support MTF’s objectives.Today, the Maritime Technologies Forum (MTF), whose founding members include ABS, DNV, Lloyd’s Register, ClassNK, Japan’s Maritime Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the Norwegian Maritime Authority and the U.K.’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency, welcomed the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) as an associate member…

14 Apr 2022

Using Storage Tanks from Older LNG Carriers Could Boost FLNG Production

Illustration:  LNG Carrier - Credit:Konstantin/AdobeStock

Maritime and offshore classification society American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) has granted its approval in principle (AIP) for an innovative concept for a floating LNG (FLNG) vessel utilizing storage tanks from older LNG carriers. The design, jointly developed by Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (“K” LINE) and JGC Corporation (JGC), supported by Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, involves transferring and reusing LNG storage tanks from spherical tank (Moss tank) LNG carriers in the hulls of new FLNG facilities.By re-using existing LNG vessels’ Type B storage tanks…

28 Oct 2021

Interview: Hiroaki Sakashita, CEO, ClassNK

“Decarbonization will change the structure of seaborne trade, ships’ specification and design, ships’ operation, and the economic mechanism of maritime transportation. It will profoundly affect all stakeholders involved in the shipping business.
Hiroaki Sakashita, CEO, ClassNK

While the maritime industry faces a long ‘to do’ list for the coming three decades, Hiroaki Sakashita, CEO, ClassNK, sees decarbonization as the definitive trend that will most dramatically impact the design, construction and life-cycle operation of ships.“It is decarbonization.”Hiroaki Sakashita, CEO, ClassNK, is definitive when asked to discuss the biggest challenge facing shipowners today. “Decarbonization will change the structure of seaborne trade, ships’ specification and design, ships’ operation, and the economic mechanism of maritime transportation.

20 Oct 2021

Yanmar Conducts High-Pressure Ship Refueling Test with Hydrogen

70 MPa high-pressure hydrogen refueling demonstration test. Photo courtesy Yanmar

Yanmar Power Technology (YPT) conducted what it touts as the world's first 70 MPa high-pressure hydrogen refueling of a ship using a demonstration test boat equipped with a hydrogen fuel cell system. The 70 MPa high-pressure hydrogen refueling was carried out in cooperation with Toyota Tsusho Corporation, using a specially licensed high-pressure facility and a newly developed prototype long hydrogen refueling hose. The 70MPa high-pressure refueling resulted in more than three times longer cruising time compared to the previous refueling process.

05 Aug 2021

Japanese Project Tests Ship-based CO2 Capture System

Marine-based CO2 Capture System installed on board the Corona Utility. Photo courtesy Mitsubishi Shipbuilding

Mitsubishi Shipbuilding has been working in cooperation with Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (“K” Line) and Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK), to conduct test operations and measurements for a small scale demonstration plant of the “Marine-based CO2 Capture System”, in order to verify the equipment’s use. The equipment has now been installed on board the Corona Utility, a coal carrier for Tohoku Electric Power Co., Inc. operated by “K” Line, at MHI’s Honmoku Plant at the Yokohama Dockyard…

06 Jan 2021

South Korea Delegation Heads to Iran to Seek Release of Seized Tanker

A South Korean delegation is heading to Iran on Wednesday to seek the release of a chemicals tanker and its 20-member crew seized in Gulf waters by Iranian forces, Yonhap news agency reported.Iran denied on Tuesday it was using the ship and its crew as hostages, a day after it seized the tanker near the Strait of Hormuz while pressing a demand for Seoul to release $7 billion in funds frozen under U.S. sanctions.The seizure of the MT Hankuk Chemi has been seen as an attempt by Tehran to assert its demands, just two weeks before President-elect Joe Biden takes office in the United States. Iran wants Biden to lift sanctions that were imposed…

04 Nov 2020

Sakura Leader: New LNG-fueled Pure Car Carrier Enters Service

LNG-fueled PCC "SAKURA LEADER". Photo Courtesy Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd.

Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. completed installation of the first unit of an LNG (liquefied natural gas) fuel gas supply system (FGSS) for marine dual fuel engines, delivered in November last year, on the pure car carrier (PCC) built by Shin Kurushima Toyohashi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. The first LNG-fueled PCC built in Japan was delivered to Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha on October 28, 2020, and has entered service. During the construction period after the delivery of the FGSS…

28 Oct 2020

Meet the World's First Digital Smart Ship, the Japanese Built LNG-Fueled PCTC Sakura Leader

Photo: NYK

The run up to 2050 and dramatic reductions in emissions from ships will, by most expert’s thinking, be an evolution of small steps premised on melding new fuels and digitalization technologies. The recent delivery of the LNG-fueled PCTC Sakura Leader to NYK can be considered a sizable leap in this regard, as the ship has been designated as the world’s first digital smart ship.A Big Step Toward CO2 Reduction TargetsOn October 28, NYK took delivery of Sakura Leader, a pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) capable of navigating oceans with only LNG as the ship’s main fuel.

06 Oct 2020

Singapore Ramping Up LNG Bunkering Capacity

Š Igor Groshev / Adobe Stock

Singapore’s annual liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering capacity is expected to hit 1 million tonnes by 2021, as the world’s largest marine refueling hub transitions toward cleaner shipping fuels, a senior minister of state said on Tuesday.The push is part of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) aim to halve the sector’s greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 from 2008 levels.“As the maritime community continues the search for low or zero carbon fuels to meet the IMO’s 2050 goal, LNG is a viable transitional fuel to mitigate CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions from ships,” said Chee Hong Tat,

01 Sep 2020

'K' Line to Trial CO2 Capture

Japanese shipping company Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (“K” Line) said it will conduct test operations and measurements for a small scale ship-based CO2 capture system in a world-first demonstration project aiming to verify the equipment’s use at sea.The two-year project, called Carbon Capture on the Ocean (CC-Ocean), includes partners Mitsubishi Shipbuilding and ClassNK and is being conducted with support from the Maritime Bureau of Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), as part of its assistance project for research and development of marine technological advancements.The demonstration involves converting the design of an existing CO2 capture system for onshore power plant to marine environment…

09 Jul 2020

Japan to Develop Offshore Wind Farms at 30 Sites in 10 years

Japan will craft new rules and support infrastructure in a drive that aims to build offshore wind farms at 30 sites during the next decade, the Nikkei business daily said on Thursday.Industry Minister Hiroshi Kajiyama is expected to announce policy measures soon to target the goal, the paper said, without identifying sources.The new policy aims for three or four projects each year with total generation capacity of 1 gigawatt (GW), from the financial year starting in April 2021 until fiscal 2030/2031…

21 May 2020

Video: NYK Trials Remote Tug Operations

(Image: NYK)

Several companies within Japan's NYK Group have partnered to test the remote navigation of a tugboat in Tokyo Bay.The tugboat, operated by NYK's Shin-Nippon Kaiyosha Corporation, was equipped with a manned remotely controlled system and put to the test by NYK and its group companies MTI Co. Ltd., Keihin Dock Co. Ltd., and Japan Marine Science Inc. (JMS).During the trials, the tug was operated remotely from an operation center in the city of Nishinomiya, approximately 400 kilometers away.

18 Mar 2020

Sakashita Takes the Helm at ClassNK

Hiroaki Sakashita has been appointed as President & CEO as well as a Representative Director of classification society ClassNK,

Hiroaki Sakashita has been appointed as President & CEO as well as a Representative Director of classification society ClassNK, effective March 18, 2020. Current Senior Executive Vice Presidents Tetsuya Kinoshita, Junichiro Iida, and Dr. Toshiyuki Shigemi will continue in their present roles on the team, joined by Hirofumi Takano and Taira Narisawa as Executive Vice President.Koichi Fujiwara has been appointed as Chairman of the Board of Directors, leaving the post of Representative Director, President & CEO.

05 Feb 2020

NYK Orders 2nd LNG-Fueled PCTC

Japanese shipping and logistics company Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) has placed an order to build a second LNG-fueled pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) with Shin Kurushima Dockyard Co.The shipbuilding contract was signed at NYK’s head office on January 31. The vessel is scheduled to be delivered in 2022 and will become NYK’s second LNG-fueled PCTC."With this new vessel, NYK will be able to provide more customers with a low-carbon transportation mode, and the company will continue its efforts to reduce its environmental load and contribute to the realization of a sustainable society," said the shipping company.It said that NYK…

05 Jan 2020

Toshiba Delivers Fuel Cell System to Ship

The provider of energy industry solutions Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation (Toshiba ESS) announced that the company has delivered a mobile 30kW hydrogen fuel cell system, which volume per unit power output is reduced to 1/3 compared to the stationary fuel cell systems, to a fuel cell ship.The fuel cell ship, which passed the Temporary Navigation Permit Inspection of Japan Craft Inspection Organization on October 30, has started demonstrations of the verification by NREG Toshiba Building Corporation and Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology (TUMSAT).The newly mobile 30 kW pure hydrogen fuel cells system developed by Toshiba ESS will be available to install for vessels, railways and trucks. Hydrogen is used as fuel, allowing electricity to be generated without CO2.

24 Dec 2019

Mitsubishi Delivered First LNG FGSS Fueled PCC

FGSS module (Photo: MHI)

Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. has delivered the first LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) fuel supply system "FGSS (Fuel Gas Supply System)" for dual fuel marine engines. This system will be installed onboard the first LNG fueled pure car carrier (PCC) built in Japan, which is currently under construction at Shin Kurushima Toyohashi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd.The FGSS is an LNG fuel gas supply system developed by Mitsubishi Shipbuilding utilizing LNG and vaporized gas handling technology developed through its long experience on the construction of LNG carriers…

21 Nov 2019

MOL Orders Japan's 1st LNG-Fueled Ferries

Japanese shipping giant Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) and its subsidiary Ferry Sunflower Limited have unveiled plans to construct Japan’s first two LNG-fueled ferries.Mitsubishi Shipbuilding will receive the order for the newbuild ferries that are designated to serve the Japanese market.Ferry Sunflower will charter the ferries after delivery and launch them on its Osaka-Beppu route from the end of 2022 through the first half of 2023, as replacements for vessels currently in service.The ferries will be equipped with high-performance dual fuel engines  and will provide passengers with comfortable accommodations and reliable schedules. What's more…

24 Sep 2019

NYK Places Order for World’s Largest LNG-Fueled PCTC

During the keel laying ceremony, second from left; Takaya Soga, managing corporate officer of NYK (Photo: NYK Group)

NYK has placed an order for the world largest pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) capable of navigating oceans with only LNG as the main fuel. A keel laying ceremony was held on September 20 at Shin Kurushima Toyohashi Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., and NYK managing corporate officer Takaya Soga and other related parties were in attendance. The ship is scheduled to be delivered in 2020 and will be the first large LNG-fueled PCTC to be built in Japan.To minimize a reduction in vehicle loading capacity caused by the installation of LNG fuel tanks…

04 Oct 2019

MOL Gets AIP for Wind Challenger Design

Japan’s shipping major Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and Oshima Shipbuilding have jointly obtained Approval in Principle (AIP) from Nippon Kaiji Kyokai  (ClassNK) for the design of a hard sail system.The system converts wind energy to propulsive force with telescopic hard sail, and is a fundamental technology of the "Wind Challenger Project"  that MOL and Oshima Shipbuilding are spearheading.Along with other participating organizations, MOL and Oshima Shipbuilding have played a central role in research and development on the Wind Challenger Project, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by using wind energy.Obtaining the AIP marks…

29 Oct 2019

'eTug' Powered by Battery, Hydrogen Fuel Cell

Photo courtesy of e5 Lab Inc

Tokyo Kisen Co., Ltd. and e5 Lab Inc. have jointly developed the new concept design of “e5 Tug,” electric propulsion harbor tugboat powered by large-capacity battery and a hydrogen fuel cell.The e5 Tug is a harbor tug fully electrified and designed to minimize environmental footprint and is equipped with a propulsion system running on “e5 powertrain platform”, devised and planned by e5 Lab, which utilizes a large-capacity battery system as a main power source and a hydrogen fuel…