Nippon Kaiji Kyokai News

Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group, and Nippon Steel Corporation have received the world’s first General Design Approval (GDA) from ClassNK for a breakthrough tank technology that enables the manufacture of large low-pressure liquefied CO₂ (LCO₂) cargo tanks without post-weld heat treatment (PWHT). The achievement marks a significant step toward scaling up CO₂ transport capacity to support global carbon capture, utilization and storage…

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), Kanadevia Corporation, and Yanmar Power Solutions have achieved a 98% methane slip reduction rate in onboard trials of LNG-fueled vessels, exceeding their initial target of 70%.The trials are part of the Green Innovation Fund Project ‘Development of Next-Generation Vessels’ led by Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).The project, which runs from fiscal 2021 through 2026, aims to combine methane oxidation catalysts…

Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group, and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) have acquired Approval in Principle (AiP) from Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK) for its jointly developed liquefied CO2 (LCO2) / methanol carrier. AiP acquisition for this type of carrier marks a world's first.Technologies for converting CO2 into fuel or chemical products are attracting attention as a means of utilizing CO2 in CCUS (Carbon dioxide Capture, Utilization and Storage).

The world’s first commercial-use ammonia-fueled vessel, Sakigake, has completed a three-month demonstration voyage, achieving a GHG-emission reduction of up to approximately 95%.The vessel was completed by Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) and IHI Power Systems (IPS) on August 23, 2024, in cooperation with Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK) as part of a Green Innovation Fund Project under Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).The development project of this vessel started in October 2021 and completed in August 2024…

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) and its partners Namura Shipbuilding and Mitsubishi Shipbuilding have secured an approval in principle (AiP) from Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK) for a large-size ammonia-powered ammonia carrier.The AiP was awarded for the ship’s ammonia fuel compatible design.The companies are developing the vessel in anticipation of wide use of ammonia as a zero-carbon fuel and hydrogen carrier, and in response to further demand for ammonia fuel transitions in power plants.The carrier…

Mitsubishi Shipbuilding, part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group, and Nippon Gas Line (NGL) have secured an Approval in Principle (AiP) from Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK) for a low-pressure type liquefied CO2 (LCO2) carrier to serve in coastal transportation.Demand for LCO2 carriers is expected to grow in tandem with CCS (carbon dioxide capture and storage) projects involving marine transport of CO2 captured in Japan to storage sites.Mitsubishi Shipbuilding and NGL received…

The shipping industry is looking into ammonia as an alternative fuel for powering ships, amid other ongoing plans to cut carbon emissions and achieve net-zero by 2050.Here is a list of companies with ammonia-fuelled ship projects:NIPPON YUSEN KAISHA (NYK)NYK, with IHI Power Systems and Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK), completed the world's first ammonia-fuelled tugboat, Sakigake, on Aug. 23. The vessel will operate in Tokyo Bay for three months.NYK is also building the world's first ammonia-fuelled medium gas carrier…

NYK and TB Global Technologies Ltd. (TBG) received a certificate for approval in principle (AiP) from Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK) for the ship-to-ship supply of fuel ammonia. The AIP was conferred last week at Gastech in Houston.The most distinctive feature of the boom is a TBG-developed emergency-release system that allows the connection between an ammonia-fueled vessel and an ammonia bunkering vessel (ABV) to be disconnected instantly in an emergency.In acquiring the AiP, NYK provided design data for its in-house developed ABV.

American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK) have issued approvals in principle (AiPs) for two types of low-pressure type liquefied CO2 (LCO2) carriers developed jointly by Japan’s industry majors.The LCO2 carriers have been developed by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (“K” LINE), Nihon Shipyard, Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line), Mitsui & Co, Mitsubishi Corporation and Mitsubishi Shipbuilding.The two LCO2 carriers that received AiP certifications are low-pressure type 50…

NYK’s ammonia-fueled tugboat Sakigake is commencing operation in Tokyo Bay.The vessel was the subject of a conversion project undertaken by NYK and IHI Power Systems, in cooperation with Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK), and will be the world's first ammonia-fueled tugboat in commercial use.It is undertaking a three-month demonstration for NYK Group company Shin-Nippon Kaiyosha.The vessel’s predecessor, the LNG-fueled tugboat of the same name, was completed in August 2015 as the first LNG-fueled vessel in Japan.

A bunkering boom jointly developed by NYK and TB Global Technologies (TBG) for the ship-to-ship supply of fuel ammonia received Approval in Principle (AiP) from Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK).NYK says the development will significantly enhance the safety of supplying ships with ammonia, which is highly toxic, by employing TBG's technology to ensure the liquid does not leak.The most distinctive feature of the boom is its emergency-release system that allows the connection between an ammonia-fueled vessel and an ammonia bunkering vessel to be disconnected instantly in an emergency.

The wall climbing robot for steel structures - developed by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Sumitomo Heavy Industries, and MOL Ship Management  to support ship inspection and maintenance - has completed a demonstration test and earned the Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK) Innovation Endorsement.The Innovation Endorsement is ClassNK's third-party certification program. It certifies and supports initiatives that contribute to the sustainable evolution of maritime and offshore businesses.The robot…

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…

Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK) has joined the major classification societies to amend its rules relating to the inspection of seawater-lubricated propeller shaft systems.The amendment means that ships with open seawater-lubricated propeller shafts that are built to ClassNK rules are subject to the same 15-year shaft withdrawal inspection periods as oil-lubricated shafts and sterntubes, subject to monitoring criteria.The announcement brings ClassNK’s requirements in line with those of other large class societies…

Japan's Mitsui O.S.K. Line has concluded a time charter contract with Shimizu Corporation for two crew transfer vessels (CTV) for an offshore wind farm at Ishikari Bay New Port. "This marks the MOL Group’s first entry into the CTV business. In addition, one of the CTVs, The KAZEHAYA, owned by MOL, is the first CTV in Japan managed and operated under International Safety Management (ISM) Code, which is the international standard of ship safety management system, certified by Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK )," MOL said.MOL Group company MOL Coastal Shipping, Ltd.

M/S. S.N. Corporation’s Unit-02 ship recycling yard at Shitalpur, Sitakunda is now the second ship yard in Bangladesh to become compliant with IMO's Guidelines for Safe and Environmentally Sound Ship Recycling. The certification process was undertaken by Nippon Kaiji Kyokai, establishing that S.N. Corporation was capable of the intensive procedural and performance standards required under the Hong Kong Convention (HKC). This process was assisted by GMS under its Sustainable Ship & Offshore Recycling Program (SSORP).

A vessel’s fuel consumption and CO2 emissions can be reduced by up to 7.3% by using voyage optimization software, a recent study shows. Moreover, the analysis shows that voyage optimization can improve a vessel’s CII by an average of 5-6%, enabling ships to maintain their ratings for an additional two to three years.NAPA, a maritime software and data analysis expert, and classification society Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK) announced the results of a joint study conducted with Marubeni Corporation…

NYK ordered its fifth liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) dual-fuel very large LPG/liquefied ammonia gas carrier (VLGC) from Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. (KHI). The ship will be built at the KHI Sakaide Works shipyard and is set for delivery in 2026.This vessel is the seventh in NYK's fleet of LPG-fueled LPG carriers and the fifth in a new type of vessel that is also capable of carrying ammonia and will be equipped with separate cargo tanks designed to carry LPG and ammonia at the same time to flexibly respond to various trade patterns.In addition to the LPG dual-fuel engine…

NYK finalized a contract with Keihin Dock Co., Ltd., an NYK Group company, to modify a tugboat to ammonia-fuel specifications. Sakigake, a tugboat currently fueled by liquefied natural gas (LNG) and operated in Tokyo Bay by NYK Group company Shin-Nippon Kaiyosha Corporation will be converted to operate on ammonia fuel by a target completion year of 2024.This R&D was initiated in October 2021 by NYK and IHI Power Systems Co., Ltd.

NYK ordered its fourth liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) dual-fuel very large LPG / liquefied ammonia gas (NH3) carrier (VLGC) from Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. (KHI). The ship will be built at the KHI Sakaide Works shipyard and is set for delivery in 2025.Like the LPG dual-fuel very large LPG / NH3 carriers already ordered by NYK, the vessel will be equipped with separate cargo tanks designed to carry LPG and ammonia at the same time to flexibly respond to various trade patterns.In addition to the LPG dual-fuel engine, the ship will have a shaft generator that can generate electricity during the voyage by using the rotation of the shaft that connects the main engine to the propeller.

NYK ordered f its third liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) dual-fuel very large LPG / liquefied ammonia gas (NH3) carrier (VLGC) from Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. The ship will be built at the KHI Sakaide Works shipyard and is set for delivery in 2024.Like our first two ordered LPG dual-fuel very large LPG / NH3 carriers, the vessel will be equipped with separate cargo tanks designed to carry LPG and ammonia at the same time to flexibly respond to various trade patterns.In addition to the LPG dual-fuel engine, the ship will have a shaft generator that can generate electricity during the voyage by using the rotation of the shaft that connects the main engine to the propeller.

A methane oxidation catalyst system developed by Hitachi Zosen Corporation, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL), and Yanmar Power Technologies Co. (YPT) has received approval in principle (AIP) from classification society Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK).The system reduces methane slip by placing a methane oxidation catalyst in a liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel engine and oxidizing the methane. This is the first time in the world that a methane oxidation catalyst system has received…

Japanese shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) announced that the bunkering vessel Techno Star, owned and operated by its group company MOL Techno-Trade, Ltd. (MOL Tech), has been operating using cleaner burning biodiesel fuel (BDF) supplied by Aburatou Shoji K.K.The MOL Group, which announced in June 2021 that it aims to achieve net zero GHG emissions by 2050, said it is exploring biomass as an effective alternative to fossil fuels.The BDF used on board Techno Star is fatty acid methyl ester generated through transesterification of collected waste cooking oil with methanol.