NYK Line and IHI Power Systems have donated parts of a 6L28AHX-DF engine, developed by IHI Power Systems, which was used for Japan’s first LNG-fuelled tugboat ‘Sakigake’ to Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology (TUMST) and the Japan Agency of Maritime Education and Training for Seafarers (JMET).
Shinichi Motoda, Dean of Faculty of Marine Engineering, TUMST said: “Thanks to the cooperation of NYK and IHI Power Systems, we received the engine parts of the 6L28AHX-DF, the first LNG-fuelled ship engine in Japan. We will introduce our students to this technology, which was a pioneer of gas engines. We would like to express our deepest gratitude to everyone involved.”
Noriaki Tajima, President, JMETS said: “NYK and IHI Power Systems have given us some of the engines used in their LNG-fuelled tugboat Sakigake to assist in the education of the engine department. These parts will be effectively utilised as teaching materials in a training course for the fourth-grade maritime engineer’s license at the National Tateyama Maritime Polytechnical School and courses on low flashpoint fuelled vessels at the Marine Technical College. We would like to ask for your continued warm support and understanding.”
Toru Motoda, Deputy Division Director and GM Marine Power System Business Division, IHI Power Systems added: “Together with NYK, we are very honoured to be able to donate to TUMST and JMETS some of our engines from Japan’s first LNG-fuelled ship, Sakigake. We hope that students responsible for the future shipping industry will gain a deeper understanding and learning through hands-on experience. We also hope that this donation will help increase interest in carbon-neutral initiatives and contribute to a sustainable future.”
Atsuhiko Kurosawa, GM Fuel Solution Group, NYK concluded: “We, together with IHI Power Systems, were delighted to hear that TUMST and JMETS will be taking this opportunity to use a part of the engine of Sakigake, the first LNG-fuelled tugboat in Japan. We are very happy that this engine, which has contributed to the popularisation of LNG-fuelled vessels in Japan, will be used again by students responsible for the future of the Japanese maritime industry. We will continue our various activities to be a flag bearer for the decarbonisation of the world through co-creation with members of the Japan maritime cluster.”
Sakigake was completed in August 2015 at the Oppama Plant of Keihin Dock Co and operated in Tokyo Bay for about eight years as Japan’s first LNG-fuelled tugboat. The vessel is currently being converted to an ammonia-fuelled tug with even lower GHG emissions by a consortium that includes NYK and IHI Power Systems. The consortium is working on the development of a demonstration project for the commercialisation of vessels equipped with a domestically produced ammonia-fuelled engine. The project has been selected as a Green Innovation Fund project by Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation (NEDO).
The donated items will be used for human resource and technological development at TUMST, where they will be displayed at the Meiji Maru Maritime Museum on the Etchujima campus and used as test subjects for next-generation engine development. JMETS will use the items at its National Tateyama Maritime Polytechnical School (Chiba Prefecture) and Marine Technical College (Hyogo Prefecture) as practical training equipment for license acquisition and for human resource and technological development.
The two companies are sharing knowledge and technology gained from their business activities through cooperation with maritime educational institutions nationwide. The companies will also support and promote the development of future human resources and the further growth of the Japanese maritime industry.
Image: Presentation Ceremony at TUMST. From left: Kazuhiko Fukuda, Atsuhiko KurosawaShinichi Motoda, Toru Motoda (Source: NYK)
