NYK Line commits to cut fuel usage and pollution

Japan's largest liner NYK Line (Nippon Yusen Kaisha) has pledged to spend 70 billion yen ($638 million) over the next six years on technologies to cut fuel usage and pollution.

The technologies include new engines, solar panels and plans to create an 'air cavity' between ship hulls and the waterline to reduce friction and fuel consumption, according to Bloomberg.

In a statement last week, the company said it aims to cut CO2 emissions by at least 10% per tonne-mile by 2013.

The company is also reportedly studying the use of wind, hydrogen and solar cells to replace the use of oil on all new vessels by 2050.

Companies that rely on fossil fuel are facing a difficult future, President Koji Miyahara was quoted saying.

If we didn't take steps like these, then someone else would come in and make decisions for us.

Half of the $638 million budget will be used on fitting less-polluting engines.

Some of the funds will also go into a project between NYK Line and refiner Nippon Oil Corporation to design a ship that will be partially powered by solar energy.

The leading Japanese companies said solar panels capable of generating 40 kilowatts of electricity would be placed on a 60,000 car carrier to be used by Toyota Motor Corp.

The solar panels should save up to 6.5% of fuel oil used in powering diesel engines.

NYK Line has already been adopting several different strategies to cut fuel consumption and pollution.

The company is currently working with institutes, shipyards and other parties to develop and deploy appendages that are optimised to individual ships as part of a strategy to increase propulsion efficiency.

NYK Line also actively maintains its ships to cut propulsion resistance from extraneous matter such as seaweed and crustaceans which adhere to hulls and propellers.

Japan's leading liner has also been running a "Save Bunker Campaign" as a means of conserving fuel and reducing CO2 emissions, according to its website.

A large number of factors play a part in determining how much fuel is consumed: weather and sea conditions, route selection, speed settings and distribution, status and age of ships and propellers, adjustment and maintenance of engines, improvements to ship form, selection of hull coatings, and use of fuel additives, it said.

Everyone involved – the crew, shipowner, ship management company, and onshore staff – must rethink their areas of responsibility and pool their insights to make improvements, it added.

Several shipping companies have moved to cut fuel consumption in the past year in response to surging bunker fuel prices and increasing environmental pressures.