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Nippon Foundation News

09 Jan 2024

Yanmar Developing Hydrogen-fueled Four-stroke Engine

(Image Yanmar)

Yanmar Power Technology Co., Ltd. (YPT), a subsidiary of Yanmar Holdings Co., Ltd., has embarked on the development of a hydrogen-fueled four-stroke high-speed engine for power generation for coastal vessels in Japan as part of the Nippon Foundation’s zero emission ship demonstration experiment. The engine utilizes hydrogen as a fuel, emitting no CO2 during combustion.In parallel with the hydrogen engine development, YPT will also work on the creation of a hydrogen engine-compatible hybrid electric propulsion vessel, combining hydrogen engine generators with batteries.

12 Dec 2023

ClassNK Grants AIP for Maneuvering Assist System

Scene of proposing avoidance routes (courtesy of Japan Radio Co., Ltd.)

Classification society ClassNK reports it has issued an approval in principle (AIP) for the “Advanced Maneuvering Assistant System”, the core technology for the autonomous navigation system, developed by Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd., Kawasaki Kinkai Kisen Kaisha, Ltd., Japan Radio Co., Ltd. and YDK Technologies Co., Ltd.The system automatically generates some routes for avoiding a collision with other ships on a monitored route when a collision with another ship due to OZT is predicted and assists the operator in avoiding the collision.

27 Nov 2023

K Line Conducts 1,000 Mile Autonomous Voyage Trial

Source: K Line

Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K LINE) and the Nippon Foundation have demonstrated autonomous navigation on a roro for a round-trip route of approximately 1,000 miles (1,600km) between Hitachi Port and Kushiro Port.The 11,413gt Hokuren Maru No. 2 sails the route routinely in service for operator Kawasaki Kinkai Kisen. Three autonomous voyages have been undertaken since October 1, 2023.“We confirmed that recognition, analysis, and decision making by the autonomous navigation system are executed with a high degree of accuracy in coastal navigation,” said K Line in a statement.

13 Oct 2023

ClassNK Contributes to Social Implementation of MASS

Image courtesy ClassNK

ClassNK is taking a leading role in the implementation of safe and efficient maritime autonomous surface ships (MASS) through a program of research, rule-development, technology trials and certification.While the regulatory framework covering MASS remains a work in progress, it is clear that autonomous ship technologies are already having a transformative effect on shipping.By autonomously executing certain functions that would typically be performed by crew – especially tasks


30 Aug 2023

Orca AI to Participate in Second Phase of Autonomous Ship Project

Source: Orca AI

Tel Aviv-based maritime technology company Orca AI is continuing its collaboration with NYK Group subsidiary MTI and partners in the second development stage of the MEGURI2040 project administered by the Nippon Foundation.MTI, alongside sister entity Japan Marine Science Inc, is spearheading the Designing the Future of Fully Autonomous Ships Plus (DFFAS+) consortium comprising 51 Japan-based companies that will work together on the next phase of MEGURI2040.While the OECD projects that maritime trade volumes could triple by 2050, a skilled crew shortage is growing globally.

29 Jun 2023

Mejia Takes the Helm at WMU

Professor Maximo Q. Mejia, Jr. (Photo: WMU)

On 29 June, Professor Maximo Q. Mejia, Jr. assumed office as the eighth President of the World Maritime University (WMU). Appointed by the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), who also serves as Chancellor of the University, President Mejia assumes the role of Chief Executive Officer, overseeing and directing the academic programmes, operations and administration of the University. Professor Mejia is the first President from Asia and the first President who is a graduate of WMU.Regarding his appointment


16 Feb 2023

Japan Honors Autonomous Ship Initiative at Innovation Awards

©NYK

An autonomous ship initiative by a group of companies in Japan was recognized by Japan’s Cabinet Office at Fifth Japan Open Innovation Prize Ceremony on Wednesday.The companies receiving recognition are NYK and NYK Group companies Japan Marine Science Inc., MTI Co. Ltd., and Kinkai Yusen Kaisha Ltd.The received Japan’s Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Award at a ceremony hosted by Japan’s Cabinet Office. The four NYK Group companies are participating in


29 Sep 2022

Maersk Training, NaMICPA to Set Up GWO Training Center in Nagasaki

From left to right:
Kasper Hammer, Alex Nielsen, Maria Iben Matthiesen, Hiroshi Matsuo, David Skov, Hiroaki Nagatomi, Tonny MĂžller

Maersk Training and Nagasaki Marine Industry Cluster Promotion Association (NaMICPA) have signed a consultancy agreement, in which Maersk Training provides support to NaMICPA, establishing a training center in Nagasaki, Japan. The preparations for the training center in Nagasaki are funded by the Nippon Foundation. The collaboration is the next step in securing NaMICPA as the region’s leader in Basic Safety Training and Basic Technical Training programs certified by the Global Wind Organisation (GWO)


31 May 2022

Yokogawa, Mitsubishi to Build Robots for Offshore Platform Inspection

Credit:  Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

Yokogawa Electric Corporation and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd (MHI) have been selected by the Nippon Foundation, a private, non-profit grant-making organization, to develop an automatic robotic inspection system to predict hazards on offshore oil and gas facilities, and improve the safety of inspection work on offshore platforms."The use of a wide variety of robots to enable unmanned operations and thereby reduce the risk of performing inspections on offshore platforms has long been considered


11 May 2022

Autonomous Containership Trialed in Japan

(Photo: Orca AI)

An autonomous containership was recently trialed in the congested waters off Japan's east coast, marking another stepping stone on the path toward full-scale commercial adoption of autonomous vessel technologies.The 749-gross-ton vessel Suzaku, powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning technologies from Israel-based Orca AI, completed 40 hours of navigation with full autonomy being activated 99% of time.The test run was performed by The Nippon Foundation in partnership with the Designing the Future of Full Autonomous Ships (DFFAS) consortium


15 Feb 2022

Tech File: Inside the Furuno ‘Future Bridge’

Augmented Reality: According to Matt Wood, a product that is just starting to emerge is Furuno’s AR100, an augmented reality device. AR100 merges multiple technologies: camera, ECDIS, radar, GPS, heading, satellite compass, doppler speed log and satellite doppler speed log ... merged into a heads-up display. Wood admits “it’s not a regulatory requirment, but there are companies that want to embrace it.” Furuno has intentially started small and inexpensive. “We’re looking at, ballpark, $25,000 to

With autonomous navigation and remote electronics management, Furuno is on a digital transformation journey to help revolutionize the maritime industry. Matt Wood, National Sales Manager, Furuno USA takes a deeper dive.In 1938, Kiyotaka Furuno founded Furuno Electric Shokai Ltd., the predecessor of Furuno Electric Company. Today Furuno is best known as a radar and navigation company with nearly 90 percent of its business in the maritime sector. “We are still principally a family-owned


18 Jan 2022

World’s First: Fully Autonomous Ship Navigation Systems Tested on Coastal Ferry in Japan

Credit: MHI

The Nippon Foundation, Mitsubishi Shipbuilding, and Shin Nihonkai Ferry Co., Ltd. have informed they've completed a demonstration test of what the companies say is the world’s first fully autonomous ship navigation systems on a large car ferry, conducted on the Iyonada Sea from Shinmoji, Kitakyushu City, on January 17.The demonstration was part of MEGURI 2040, a project promoting the development of fully autonomous vessels supported by The Nippon Foundation. "This test demonstrated the world’s first fully autonomous navigation system


12 Dec 2021

Nippon Foundation, DeepStar Launch Joint Decarbonization R&D Program

From left: Yohei Sasakawa, Chairman, The Nippon Foundation; Mitsuyuki Unno, Executive Director, The Nippon Foundation; Shakir Shamshy, Director, DeepStar; and Pat Toomey, Manager, DeepStar. Image courtesy The Nippon Foundation

The Nippon Foundation signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the offshore technology development consortium DeepStar to establish a joint research and development program focused on decarbonization in offshore oil and gas, with a focus on renewable energy and the environment.The initial program budget is up to $10 million through 2026, and the overall plan is to develop technologies for commercialization.“I am very pleased that we have been able to conclude this new memorandum of understanding,” said Mr. Sasakawa.

13 May 2021

Profiles in Training: Dr. Michael Ekow MANUEL, Professor, World Maritime University

Dr. Michael Ekow MANUEL, Professor, World Maritime University

The global seafarers crisis takes center stage at the World Maritime University (WMU), as Dr. Michael Ekow Manuel discusses the importance of seafarers, seafarer training and the MarTID 2021 survey.While many maritime professionals have the theoretical ‘salt in their veins’, a career at sea seemingly predestined by family ties and/or geographic proximity, that is not the case for Dr. Michael Manuel, Professor, WMU. Hailing from Ghana, Dr. Manuel from a young age had a fascination with vehicles and everything that moves, but ships were not his focus, rather airplanes.

02 Dec 2020

WMU PhD Candidate Ambrose Wins Goldman Environmental Prize

Kristal Ambrose (Photo: WMU)

Kristal Ambrose, a PD candidate at the World Maritime University, is the recipient of the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize 2020. The award is the world’s foremost environmental prize and honors outstanding environmental activism through community and citizen participation on critical sustainability issues facing the planet.Ambrose founded the Bahamas Plastic Movement in 2013 to develop solutions to plastic pollution and to educate young people on the importance of a clean and healthy ocean.

15 Sep 2020

Charting Terradepth's Big Ambitions in the Unmanned Vehicle Space

The Terradepth leapfrog concept. Graphic from Terradepth.

Ocean mapping at scale is the target of a new unmanned systems player started by two ex-US Navy SEALS. They have big ambitions, from new building unmanned vehicles to creating the intelligence that will drive them to changing how accessible ocean data is. Elaine Maslin learned more. The pace of change in the ocean mapping space has been fast in recent years. New entrants have come into the scene offering “force multiplier” mapping using autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and unmanned surface vessels (USVs).

20 Jul 2020

New Depth Map Over the Arctic Ocean

© Uryadnikov Sergey / Adobe Stock

Details of a new depth map of the Arctic Ocean have been published in the nature journal Scientific Data. The new portrayal of the Arctic Ocean floor is in the form of a digital gridded database and comprises Version 4.0 of the International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO).The gridded compilation has been completed under the auspices of the Regional Center for the Arctic and North Pacific Ocean of The Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project. This Regional Center


01 Jul 2020

SOI: Amidst Pandemic, Seafloor Mapping Zooms Ahead

A striking image of Hollardia goslinei. This is a species of deep-water spike fish native to Hawaii. ROV footage of this species occurring in Australia puts it very far away from its known 'home' range. © Schmidt Ocean Institute

Scientists working remotely with Schmidt Ocean Institute (SOI) have completed a first look at deep waters in the Coral Sea, despite the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. As one of the only at-sea science expeditions to continue operations, the team has discovered the deepest living hard corals in Eastern Australian waters, sighted fish in new regions and identified up to 10 new marine species.SOI’s R/V Falkor spent the 46 days in the Coral Sea Marine Park, one of the largest protected areas in the world.

22 Jun 2020

Map of World's Seafloor Takes Shape Despite Crisis

© allexxandarx / Adobe Stock

Plans to map the entire ocean floor by 2030 are going ahead despite the challenges of the coronavirus crisis, officials leading the project said, with almost a fifth covered so far.Scientists say the topography of the ocean floor is less well known than the surfaces of Mars, Mercury or Venus and that charting the depth and shape of the seabed will help understand the impact oceans have on the earth’s climate.As the world’s ocean economy grows in coming years, data will also be vital to boost knowledge of marine ecosystems and marine life as well as future food supply patterns.Seabed 2030


12 Jun 2020

The Nippon Foundation Grant for Work on Unmanned Ship Navigation System

Photo Courtesy Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co. and Shin Nihonkai Ferry Co.

Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co. and Shin Nihonkai Ferry Co., have successfully applied for grant aid under the "Joint Technological Development Program for the Demonstration of Unmanned Ships" sponsored by The Nippon Foundation.Funding in hand, the companies will co-develop underlying technologies and systems to enable unmanned ship navigation in the future, with the tangible results of the project being a prototype system installed on a vessel to be operated by Shin Nihonkai Ferry


29 Apr 2020

Fugro Mapping Arctic Waters off Norway

Photo: Fugro

The Norwegian Hydrographic Service has awarded Fugro another hydrographic survey contract as part of the MAREANO seabed mapping program, financed by Norway’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries, and the Ministry of Environment.Fugro said it has already completed 10 surveys for the program since 2006 and acquired over 140,000 km2 of data. This latest survey will collect high-resolution, high-density multibeam echosounder and sub-bottom data to produce seamless datasets for the Norwegian mapping program.

31 May 2019

Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE Winner Annouced

(Photo: GEBCO-NF Alumni)

The GEBCO NF- Alumni Team was announced as the $4 million grand prize winner of the Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE, a three-year global competition that challenged teams to advance deep sea technologies for autonomous and unmanned, fast and high-resolution ocean exploration. The team's winning concept includes the use of a unique unmanned surface vessel (USV) / autonomous underwater vessel (AUV) and associated combination of communications hardware and software to process and transmit data remotely.

10 Dec 2018

Scientist Pool Data to Create the $3B Ocean Map

© peteri/Adobe Stock

For experts in the field of ocean mapping it is no small irony that we know more about the surfaces of the Moon and Mars than we do about our planet's sea floor."Can you imagine operating on the land without a map, or doing anything without a map?" asked Larry Mayer, director of the U.S.-based Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping, a research body that trains hydrographers and develops tools for mapping."We depend on having that knowledge of what's around us - and the same is true for the ocean


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