On December 12, Japan’s Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation Award, one of the highest awards in the eco-services category, was presented jointly to Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha, the Monohakobi Technology Institute , and Oshima Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. in recognition of the NYK Group’s use of an energy-saving air-lubrication system on its vessels, the company said in its press release.
The awards ceremony was held in Tokyo at Eco-Products 2013, the largest environmental exhibition in Japan, and attended by NYK managing corporate officer Yasuo Tanaka; Iwashita Tatsurou, director and general manager of the Design Dept. at Oshima Shipbuilding; and Makoto Igarashi, president of MTI.
The awarded air-lubrication system effectively reduces CO2 emissions by use of bubbles generated by air released from the bottom of the vessel to lessen the frictional resistance between a vessel's bottom and the seawater. Moreover, in 2010 a new air-lubrication system that features a blower that provides air to the vessel bottom, thus reducing friction between the vessel bottom and the sea, was installed on two NYK Group module carriers. A system using the vessel's scavenging air was additionally developed and installed on a new coal carrier in 2012, thus demonstrating the viability of a system for large vessels having deep drafts. The NYK Group is also currently looking to equip newly built car carriers with this eco-friendly system.
Based on its environmental management vision — i.e., "to contribute to the global environment and the creation of sustainable societies by managing environmental risks and arriving at an optimal balance between environment and economy" — the NYK Group has become a tireless promoter of the development of innovative technologies and devices to improve vessel operation and thus reduce negative environmental impacts. Equipping vessels with air-lubrication systems has been highly commended both in Japan and abroad as an approach leading to the prevention of global warming.
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