Japan’s new research vessel is called “Mirai II”
Japan’s first Arctic research vessel is currently being built and is scheduled to start operations in 2026. The icebreaker is being built for the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC). On February 22, 2024, the Minister of Science, Masahito Moriyama, announced the name of the ship. It will bear the name “Mirai II”, which translates as “Future II”. The name was selected from over 7,000 suggestions from the public.
At 128 meters long, the Japanese Arctic research vessel Mirai II will be slightly shorter than the Shirase, Japan’s Antarctic research vessel, which measures 138 meters. The new research vessel is designed to break up sea ice as thick as 1.2 meters and will be equipped with observation and research equipment on board, including a weather radar. In addition, it will serve as a base for underwater drones.
As the effects of climate change become ever more apparent and international interests in the Arctic increase, Japan also aims to contribute to Arctic research.
With the aim of disseminating its scientific findings and contributing to the formation of appropriate international regulations, JAMSTEC started building a research vessel with the ability to break sea ice.
Mirai and its eventful history
JAMSTEC’s oceanographic research vessel Mirai has been involved in research in the Arctic Ocean since 1998. However, due to its inability to break through sea ice, the ship’s use was limited to ice-free areas.
Originally named Mutsu, the ship was “Japan’s first nuclear-powered ship to produce significant technological knowledge and information”. The vessel was first launched in 1969. However, five years later, in 1974, a radiation leak occurred due to a shielding problem. In 1978, the Mutsu underwent a comprehensive safety review and the shielding was improved.
The Mutsu Science Museum shows the reactor room of the nuclear-powered ship Mutsu. (Photo: Mutsu Museum)
It reached the port of Sekinehama in 1988. After the performance had been increased in a series of tests, sea trials commenced in March 1990. In February 1991, the ship received the certificates of conformity in accordance with the law on the regulation of nuclear source material, nuclear fuel material and reactors. Japan’s nuclear-powered ship was thus finally completed, more than 20 years after its launch.
On four separate test voyages, the Mutsu sailed in the Pacific with various conditions and collected valuable data that could not be obtained on land. The total distance traveled by the nuclear-powered Mutsu was approximately 83,000 km, while the reactor was in operation for 2,252 hours.
But age was already an issue and the Mutsu was decommissioned and partially dismantled soon after. Her reactor is now kept and displayed at the Mutsu Science Museum in Mutsu City. The hull of the ship was converted into the oceanographic research vessel Mirai, which was subsequently handed over to JAMSTEC and is still in operation.
Heiner Kubny, PolarJournal
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