On July 31, the coal carrier Ushio, which NYK had ordered from Honda Heavy Industries Co., Ltd., was delivered at the Saiki Shipyard (Saiki City, Oita prefecture), according to the company's release.
This vessel is the NYK Group’s first coal carrier for domestic coastal transport by JERA. The ship will be operated by the NYK Group's Asia Pacific Marine Corporation based on a transportation contract between JERA and NYK. The vessel will serve as secondary transportation of overseas-delivered coal from a relay station within Tokyo Bay to the Yokosuka Thermal Power Station. The ship is designed to be environment-friendly and includes a hatch cover that can be kept closed during discharging operation as a dust-prevention measure.
The NYK Group will provide new services that seamlessly link oceangoing shipping and domestic coastal shipping through the operation of this vessel and realize an efficient secondary transportation network within Tokyo Bay to contribute to stable energy transportation.
In addition, with a view to address issues that are expected to affect future domestic coastal shipping around Japan, such as a decrease in the number of seafarers and long working hours of seafarers, the operation data of this vessel will be collected and utilized for research and development to realize autonomous ships in the future.
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 through business activities. On March 24, 2022, NYK released the updated “NYK Group ESG Story 2022,” which introduces initiatives for integrating ESG into the Group’s management strategies set forth in the "NYK Group ESG Story" and provides a partial explanation of the Group’s sustainable growth strategy from a long-term perspective.