Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. announced that on December 2, the next-generation coal carrier, Kurotakisan Maru III, which will serve Electric Power Development Co., Ltd (J-POWER; President; Toshifumi Watanabe; Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo),was delivered at Oshima Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (President: Eiichi Hiraga; Headquarters: Saikai City, Nagasaki Prefecture). J-POWER President Watanabe and MOL President Hashimoto and their wives attended to the naming and delivery ceremony and the ship embarked on its maiden voyage.

MOL will operate the vessel, which will transport coal for J-POWER plants. The name of the Kurotakisan Maru III is derived from Mt. Kurotaki in Takehara-shi, Hiroshima Prefecture, where J-POWER’s Takehara thermal power plant is located, and harkens back to its predecessors, the Kurotakisan Maru (delivered in 1981) and the second-generation Kurotakisan Maru (delivered in 1995).

The Kurotakisan Maru III is the first vessel in the “EeneX” ^{(Note 1)} series of next-generation coal carrier based on Japanese shipbuilding’s accumulated know-how and technology in development and construction of coal carriers, along with MOL’s expertise in operating these vessels. Adoption of a double-hull structure eliminated the need to fill cargo holds with ballast water, reducing the risk of marine pollution and minimize cargo contamination with salt and rust. In addition, the vessel is equipped with an SOx scrubber to reduce its environmental impact.

MOL offers the optimal “stress-free” transport service for customers and the environment, by achieving both safe and stable transport of an important energy resource for Japan and cost-effective performance.