On July 31, the coal carrier Ushio, which NYK had ordered from Honda Heavy Industries , was delivered at the Saiki Shipyard . A naming ceremony was attended by Masato Mizutani, executive officer, head of fuel operation management group of JERA  Nobuhiro Kashima, managing executive officer of NYK; and a number of related parties.

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.