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Sunday, December 7, 2025

Ministry Of Land Infrastructure Transport And Tourism News

21 Oct 2025

NYK Conducts Crisis-Response Drill on Car Carrier

NYK Crisis-Management Headquarters. Ā© NYK

NYK and NYK Ship management Pte. Ltd. (NYKSM) conducted a drill on October 17 that simulated a response to an accident off the coast of Okinawa Island.The exercise featured a scenario in which a fire broke out in the cargo hold of a car carrier owned and operated by NYK and managed by NYKSM. During firefighting operations, the vessel also collided with a small craft. This drill was part of the "Remember Naka-no-Se" safety promotion campaign and was executed in close cooperation with external stakeholders…

21 Jul 2025

Japanese Shipowners to Donate Training Vessel to JMETS

Source: JMETS

Japanese ocean-going shipping companies, NYK Line, MOL and "K" LINE, along with the Japanese Shipowners' Association (JSA), have begun discussions regarding the donation of a large-sized training vessel to the Japan Agency of Maritime Education and Training for Seafarers (JMETS).The move is recognition of the importance of training and securing highly skilled Japanese seafarers to maintain and further develop maritime transport.As identified in the report by the Ministry of Land…

22 May 2025

NAVTOR Receives Japan Flag State Approval for Digital Logbooks

Ā© NAVTOR

NAVTOR is continuing to build momentum for its "Digital Logbook revolution" as Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) has awarded full flag state approval for the innovative solution. Japan joins other leading shipping nations such as Panama, Liberia, Marshall Islands, Malta, Cyprus and Singapore, amongst others, in endorsing the IMO compliant offering for registered vessels.Instead of crewmembers having to handwrite submissions into standalone…

21 Apr 2025

Imabari Maritime Fair ā€œBari-Ship 2025ā€

Imabari Maritime Fair, "Bari-Ship 2025" is schedule to be held from May 22- 24, 2025 at Texport Imabari (Imabari, Japan)."Bari-Ship" is the largest international maritime exhibition in Western Japan, held every two years in Imabari, Japan’s leading maritime city. The event serves as a venue for maritime industry professionals from not only Japan but around the world to gather, engage in business matching, and exchange information.This year's exhibition will be the largest ever…

11 Apr 2024

New Study Offers Safety Recommendations for Green Shipping Corridors

Ā© Zdenar Adamsen / Adobe Stock

A new report offers safety recommendations for ship owners and port authorities seeking to establish green shipping corridors.As the shipping industry continues to make progress toward its decarbonization goals, a number of green shipping corridors are being being set up as maritime routes that help to enable the use of low- and zero-emission lifecycle fuels such as methanol, ammonia and hydrogen, as well as other green technologies. To date, more than 30 green shipping corridors…

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

Ā© 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. (ā€œKā€ 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

ā€œDecarbonization 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 ā€˜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.ā€œIt is decarbonization.ā€Hiroaki Sakashita, CEO, ClassNK, is definitive when asked to discuss the biggest challenge facing shipowners today. ā€œDecarbonization 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. (ā€œKā€ Line) and Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK), to conduct test operations and measurements for a small scale demonstration plant of the ā€œMarine-based CO2 Capture Systemā€, 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 ā€œKā€ 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

Ā© 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.ā€œAs 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,ā€ said Chee Hong Tat,

01 Sep 2020

'K' Line to Trial CO2 Capture

Japanese shipping company Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (ā€œKā€ 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.