‘Stellar Harmony’, a dedicated wood-chip carrier, has recently been delivered from the Iwagi Zosen shipyard, a member of the Imabari Shipbuilding Group, to Japanese operator NYK.
The vessel will transport environmentally and socially conscious wood chips mainly from New Zealand, Australia, North America, and South America under a long-term contract between NYK and Marusumi Paper.
Stellar Harmony comes equipped with hybrid fins (energy-saving equipment installed on the rudder to improve propulsion efficiency) and an energy-saving governor (equipment that saves fuel and reduces the load during main engine operation), as well as an eco-friendly main engine with specifications that improve fuel efficiency during low-load operation.
The ship will pump in seawater along its routes to collect microplastics floating in the ocean. The collected microplastics will be unloaded and analysed by the Chiba Institute of Technology and used for research to clarify the actual distribution of microplastics in the ocean.
