Tag: Japan

After a run of weak growth in crude oil demand Japan's three leading shipping companies are getting rid of 10 percent of their supertankers after a run of weak growth in crude oil demand that has undercut freight rates, the Nikkei reported.Nippon Yusen KK, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd are reducing their very large crude carriers (VLCCs) from 90 to 82, the business daily said.The VLCCs measure upwards of 330 meters in length, carry about 300,000 tons of crude, and cost around 10 billion yen ($128.29 million), the Nikkei said.Nippon Yusen has sold three of its 39 VLCCs to a Greek shipping company, each for about $37 million, the daily said.Kawasaki Kisen has sold one of its nine VLCCs to a South Korean firm for $37 million and Mitsui O.S.K. is considering disposing three of its 42 VLCCs by March, the Nikkei reported.VLCCs numbered 570 worldwide at the end of September, about 70 more than in 2007, making for about 17 percent increase in shipping capacity, according to shipping research firm Tramp Data Service Co, the paper said.But global crude oil demand grew less than 4 percent during this time, creating a capacity glut, the Nikkei ...

CargoGuitar is the product of an artistic collaboration from the Kobe Biennale in Japan We've seen plenty of shipping containers transformed into everything from offices, homes, and even a fancy restaurant outside of Paris. But here's an application we'd never thought we'd see -- the CargoGuitar is the product of an artistic collaboration from the Kobe Biennale in Japan, which converts a cargo container into an enormous, playable guitar. Artists Marcelo Ertorteguy, Takahiro Fukuda, and Sara Valente created this immersive sound experience that allows visitors to feel and see what it is like inside a giant guitar.CargoGuitar consists of eight giant steel strings stretched across the interior of the container in a half-twist design. The horizontal bar at one end of the strings holds them in place and frames the cargo entrance. The vertical end is outfitted with tuning pegs that can actually change the sound scales of the instrument! For those who want to practice their Freebird solo, CargoGuitar is in fact electric, featuring two 1/4 inch input jacks plugged into corresponding amplifiers.While exploring the inside of a massive guitar is a visual experience in itself, the artists were also interested in the kinetic vibrations and physical responses to ...

To spend $3bn per month on additional oil and LNG The International Energy Agency estimates Japan will need to spend $3bn per month on additional oil and LNG in 2012 if the country's nuclear power output falls to zero next year.The executive director of the International Energy Agency, Maria van der Hoeven, told reporters Wednesday.that Japan would need an extra 460,000 b/d of oil and 30bn cu m of gas in 2012 if the country continued to opt against nuclear power.The spike in gas demand has seen a rash of LNG carriers ordered this year, with many more expected to be placed in the coming monthsSource: Seatrade Asia

Major lines losing too much money in their container divisions The head of Japan's largest shipping line - Mitsui OSK - has said that a merger of the three major Japanese container lines into one entity "could be an option" to their financial problems.Koichi Muto, President of MOL, made the remark amid broad criticism of the way the bigger container lines on the Asia-Europe trades had demonstrated a "lack of self control" that was detrimental to themselves and the industry.Muto said the idea of a merger "could be an option, of course. At the moment there is no such discussion, but we should be flexible in every way". He added: "We roughly studied such a possibility, of course."He mentioned that all the major lines were losing too much money in their container divisions to be sustainable over the long term. MOL itself is set to lose ?4 billion (US$51 million) this year.K Line has the greatest exposure and has not joined the trend to charter ultra-large container ships through alliances. K Line is set to lose ?30 billion ($384m) this year.One obstacle to such a merger is existing service alliances between NYK and MOL."Now we are all alliance with partners, ...

Chinese fishing boat captain who refused to heed a coast guard inspection order China called on Tokyo on Tuesday to quickly and appropriately resolve the arrest of a Chinese fishing boat captain who refused to heed a coast guard inspection order in Japan's territorial waters.The boat was spotted by the coast guard near the Goto islands off Nagasaki in southwestern Japan and asked to stop with commands and signs in Chinese, but the vessel ignored the call, the Nagasaki Coast Guard Office said."China has noted relevant reports and is currently investigating and verifying the situation," foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a daily news briefing."This is an ordinary fishing incident. China hopes that Japan conscientiously protects the legal rights of the Chinese sailors and appropriately resolves this issue as soon as possible."The incident comes little more than a year after tensions between Japan and China flared up following a detention of a captain of a Chinese trawler that collided with Japanese patrol boats near disputed islands in the East China Sea.The clash stirred nationalistic frenzy in both countries and severely strained diplomatic relations.This time, however, the Chinese ship was detained in an area that is not a subject of territorial ...

Shuttle system beats the pipe Researchers in Japan have published a study on shipping CO2 to offshore storage sites, which could offer an attractive solution to industrialised nations which lack the appropriate geology, skills or infrastructure necessary to bury emissions.The work from Chiyoda Corporation, led by Professor Masahiko Ozaki of Japan's Department of Ocean Technology, Policy, and Environment, offers a technical prefeasibility study of CO2 transportation by ship, the design of ship equipment and injection methods suitable for offshore operations and their regulatory considerations.The argument is that offshore burial will bring into the fold those nations that do not have suitable local geology or the skills and infrastructure that come from having a domestic oil and gas industry, necessary to bury emissions. An offshore option could help accelerate the development and deployment of CCS and provide an economical alternative to lengthy seabed pipeline transportation.The only major offshore CCS project currently operating is Norway's Sleipner project which removes CO2 from natural gas and sequesters it in a sandstone repository at least 800 m below the sea bed. The Gorgon Gas project in Western Australia plans to also strip CO2 from the gas stream and bury it in a repository via a ...

India and Japan to step up Bilateral Military Exercises Maritime security, anti-piracy measures, freedom of navigation and maintaining the security of Sea Lanes of Communication to facilitate unhindered trade by the sea routes-are some of the issues that dominated the India-Japan Defence Ministers' Meeting in Tokyo last week. The delegation level talks, led by the Defence Minister Shri AK Antony and his Japanese counterpart Mr Yasuo Ichikawa, recognized the importance of sea lanes and decided to 'actively pursue consultations and cooperation in the field of maritime security both bilaterally and in association with all other countries in the region'.The Indian delegation included the Defence Secretary Shri Shashi Kant Sharma, the Indian Ambassador to Japan, Shri Aloke Prasad, the Vice Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral RK Dhowan and GoC-in-C, Central Command, Lt Gen VK Ahluwalia.Speaking at the meeting, Shri Antony said, Maritime Security challenges are becoming increasingly complex and varied. Shri Antony said India has substantially increased its anti-piracy deployment in the East Arabian Sea since November 2010. He, however, felt that concerted efforts of the world community, under a UN mandate, are necessary to effectively address the problem.Shri Antony said anti piracy efforts need to be supplemented by adoption ...

A 25 million tonne marine debris field created by the Japanese tsunami to reach Hawaii A 25 million tonne marine debris field created by the Japanese tsunami back in March currently afloat in the North Pacific is set to reach Hawaii by this winter, according to experts.The debris field was created as the Japanese tsunami receded from the land. Although heavier materials sank, the buoyant materials went on to form the huge rubbish mass which floated out to sea.NOAA has predicted possible trajectories for the debris field using OSCURS (Ocean Surface Current Simulator) Year 1 = red; Year 2 = orange; Year 3 = yellow; Year 4 = light blue; Year 5 = violet Photo: Courtesy of J. Churnside, NOAA; created using Google.Worryingly, the debris is moving more quickly than previously anticipated. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the University of Hawaii researchers have run a model using OSCURS (Ocean Surface Current Simulator) to estimate general direction and drift rate of debris.If their models are correct, debris could pass near or wash ashore in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands this winter and the rest of the archipelago in less than two years. Debris is estimated to reach the West ...

These eco-friendly ships that are expected to largely replace oil-fueled vessels The Japanese transport ministry will draw up safety standards for ships powered by liquefied natural gas to speed commercialization of the eco-friendly ships that are expected to largely replace oil-fueled vessels, ministry officials said.The ministry says natural gas emits 25 percent less carbon dioxide and up to 70 percent less nitrogen oxide than petroleum and costs only one-third as much. Yet currently only a few more 20 LNG ships are operating -- all as domestic vessels in Norway -- due to a lack of safety standards worldwide.In a bid to outpace similar moves to draw up safety standards in Europe and South Korea, the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry will focus on that work through fiscal 2016, and also take part in global rulemaking at the International Maritime Organization, according to the officials.The objective is to allow Japanese shipbuilders and shipping companies to seize an advantage by being the first to introduced LNG-powered ships in a big way, ministry officials indicated.Japan already has technology to manufacture LNG ships, so calls have been growing among shipbuilders and shipping companies for arrangements to promote its commercial use, the officials said.Requesting ...

MV Emily Manx ailed into the Ishinomaki port, on September 10 A MANX registered ship was the first ship to sail into a devastated Japanese port following an earthquake and tsunami in March.The MV Emily Manx, which is owned by local ship-owner Lars Ugland, sailed into the Ishinomaki port, which lies on the north eastern shores of Honshu, on September 10.The occasion was heralded by the port and the story made two Japanese newspapers - the Kahoku Shinbun and the Hibi Shinbun.The MV Emily Manx, which was carrying coal, set sail from Indonesia on August 30. Its first port of call was Sendai where it dropped off 20,000mt of cargo for the factory of the Nippon Paper Group Inc. The vessel then sailed to Ishinomaki and dropped around 24,000mt of coal.The fuel was intended to be used for the boilers to generate power for the main paper machine to re-produce paper for books for the Nippon Paper Group.10 executive officers from Nippon Paper Group, inclding the factory director Mr Kurata, welcomed the MV Emily Manx when she berthed at Ishinomaki. Mr Kurata said "We are gradually progressing and we will continue to work towards recovery from the earthquake."He thanked the ...