NYK will participate in “Japan Maritime Cluster Collaborative Research on Evaluation of Ship Performance in Actual Seas”, or “OCTARVIA Phase 2”, led by Japan’s National institute of Maritime, Port and Aviation Technology.

Twenty-three Japanese companies in the fields of shipping, shipbuilding, and the maritime affairs, in addition to meteorological organizations, will participate in this project. The first meeting was held on March 15 to discuss research implementation and how to proceed. In the future, we will invest about 260 million yen in this joint research over the two years ending March 2024.

Phase 1 of OCTARVIA ran from November 2017 to March 2021 to develop a method for accurately evaluating ship performance, such as speed and fuel efficiency in sea areas with waves and winds that are expected to be seen during the ship design stage. This initiative will lead to efficient sea transportation and a reduction of environmental burdens such as greenhouse gas emissions. NYK was conducting research on propulsion performance in actual sea conditions even before the start of OCTARVIA and participated in Phase 1 of OCTARVIA by providing operational data from actual ships in actual sea areas. NYK has also contributed to the establishment of indices that can be evaluated and compared objectively.

This project consists of the OCTARVIA Conference and OCTARVIA2, both of which have a different number of participating institutions, and NYK will participate in these together with NYK Group company MTI.

The results obtained in Phase 1 of OCTARVIA (actual ship estimation, measurement, evaluation method, calculation program, etc. in actual sea areas) will be disseminated to shipping companies and shipyards, including those not participating in the project. We will also try to negotiate with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Towing Tank Conference (ITTC)* to promote international standardization.

We will promote further technical research on the deliverables developed in Phase 1 of OCTARVIA. Specifically, we will study the application of the evaluation method for life cycle ship performance ** 　developed in Phase 1 to ships using alternative fuels. In order for each participating organization to verify the performance of actual vessels in actual sea areas, we will link the data with the IoS-Open Platform (IoS-OP)*** promoted by Ship Data Center Ltd. (ShipDC)**** and the meteorological and oceanographic data service POLARIS,***** a weather and ocean data service for the maritime industry provided by the Japan Weather Association.

On February 3, 2021, NYK released the NYK Group ESG Story,****** which aims to further integrate ESG into the company’s management strategy and promotes activities that contribute to the achievement of the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) through business activities. To strongly promote ESG management, NYK will promote this project as a member of Phase 2 for the advancement of sea transportation around the world and to create new value as a sustainable solution provider.

* International Test Tank Conference (ITTC)
An international voluntary organization that proposes recommended methods for predicting fluid performance of ships and marine structures through water tank tests and numerical simulations.

** evaluation method for life cycle ship performance
An evaluation method of life cycle fuel consumption from a ship as for a main engine, related to the cumulative main engine fuel consumption, which is calculated from the fuel consumption, transportation distance, and freight volume of the main engine (main engine) for a certain period.

*** Internet of Ships Open Platform (IoS-OP)
A universal platform that enables the sharing of vessel operational data among shipbuilders, manufacturers, and related service providers without compromising profits of data providers.

**** Ship Data Center Co. Ltd. (ShipDC)
A company established in 2015 by Class NK with the aim of maximizing opportunities to utilize big data in the entire maritime industry.

***** POLARIS
Service that provides the high quality meteorological and oceanographic data provided by the Japan Weather Association through a huge database that accumulates detailed meteorological and oceanographic data of the entire globe.

****** NYK Group ESG Story
A guideline detailing concrete efforts to integrate ESG into management strategies of the NYK Group.
Details: NYK Issues the NYK Group ESG Story