Today, the NYK-operated coal carrier J Mare entered Tachibana port for the first time. The vessel was transporting coal loaded at the port of Newcastle, Australia, to the Tachibana power plant of Shikoku Electric Power Co. Inc.

J Mare was built at TSUNEISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES (CEBU), Inc., an affiliate of Tsuneishi Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. “Mare” in the vessel’s name means “sea” in Italian and embodies the beautiful scenery of the Seto Inland Sea, the sea area separating Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, three of Japan’s five main islands.

This vessel comes equipped with a scrubber system* that is compliant with the International Maritime Organization’s more stringent SOx emission regulation that became effective in January.** In addition, J Mare is expected to produce less CO2 emissions through the use of the energy-saving device MT-FAST,*** which was jointly developed in cooperation with Tsuneishi Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. and NYK subsidiary MTI.

In accordance with its medium-term management plan “Staying Ahead 2022 with Digitalization and Green” announced in 2018, NYK continues to contribute to a stable energy supply for local society through the operation of environment-friendly ships, thus realizing the sustainable creation of new corporate and social value.

-- About J Mare
Length Overall: 229 meters
Breadth: 32.26 meters
Summer Draft: 14.4 meters
Gross Tonnage: 43,241 tons
Deadweight Tonnage: 81,732 metric tons
Builder: TSUNEISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES (CEBU), Inc.

* Scrubber system
A system that effectively addresses the strengthened SOx (sulfur oxides) fuel regulation that entered into force in January. Scrubber systems use seawater and chemicals to remove sulfur from ship exhaust gases, effectively eliminating 97% of SOx emissions.

** SOx Global Cap regulations
SOx emission regulations based on the 2008 amendment of the 1997 protocol on ship pollution prevention (Annex VI of the MARPOL Convention). From January 1, 2020, the allowable limit of sulfur in ship fuel oil was reduced from 3.5% to 0.5%.

*** MT-FAST
MT-FAST is attached to a ship's hull just forward of the propeller and improves the flow of water around the propeller by reducing the swirling flow generated behind the propeller, thus improving propulsion efficiency and reducing fuel consumption by around 3–5 percent.

- The NYK Group is dedicated to achieving the SDGs through its business activities. This reduction of environmental loads and safe operation is one of the group’s initiatives and contributes to the below SDGs.