Classification Society ClassNK has concluded a joint research agreement for developing advanced condition-based maintenance (CBM); a new maintenance and management system to be used for the machineries of autonomous ships, as well as to further establish a new classification survey scheme based on CBM.
Classification Society ClassNK has released its “Guidelines for the Inventory of Hazardous Materials (Ver.4.00), the development of which will be required for ships over 500GT after the Hong Kong Convention enters into force.
ClassNK announced its participation in the Getting to Zero Coalition highlighting its aspiration on achieving a greener and more sustainable future for the shipping industry. ClassNK supports that its participation in the initiative will boost and strengthen its GHG-emission targets.
MOL and Oshima Shipbuilding have jointly obtained ‘Approval In Principle (AIP)’ from ClassNK for the design of a hard sail system. The system converts wind energy to propulsive force with telescopic hard sail. As MOL said, the system is crucial for the ‘Wind Challenger Project’, which MOL and Oshima Shipbuilding are leading.
In order to comply with the new sulphur limit for fuel oil used on board ships, starting on 1 January 2020, fuel oils with a sulphur content of 0.50% or less will be supplied worldwide for bunkering. For this reason, ClassNK published a booklet with precautions regarding the change-over to compliant fuel oils.
Japanese firms Osaka Gas and Daihatsu Diesel received an Approval in Principle from ClassNK for their joint project on an LPG Reformer for marine engines. This was the first AIP granted in Japan for such equipment. The LPG Reformer is designed to convert LPG into synthetic methane gas equivalent to the kind found in LNG.
As cyber security for ships is entering a practical stage, ClassNK has established a cross-sectional cyber security project team made up of ship and security experts, in order to accelerate its cyber security service amid an expanding need of the shipping industry.
As global environmental regulations are becoming more stringent and the shipping industry seems to be showing a growing interest for green options, ClassNK has released its guidelines for wind-assisted propulsion systems for ships. Wind-assisted propulsion systems for ships are developing further every day.
Alpha Ori’s SMARTShip received Type Approval from Class NK. A mid size gas carrier ‘Hourai Maru’, delivered on 11th March, 2019 was the first ship certified with a ClassNK approved SMARTShip. This Internet of Things platform aims to enable the on board operation of various systems with different degrees of autonomy. It is already installed on over 30 ships, while another 60 vessels are at various stages of the set-up process.
Eco Marine Power along with the Furukawa Battery Company of Japan announced that the FCR series of high performance and recyclable batteries have been accepted for use on classed or to be classed vessels with Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK). The FCR series of batteries will now be used as appropriate for EMP projects and supplied as replacement batteries as needed.
