Operator for latest Japanese icebreaker appointed
Japan’s newest research icebreaker, currently unnamed, will be operated by Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd (MOL) during construction and after completion. This was announced by the company’s president and chief executive officer, Takeshi Hashimoto. However, the owner of the vessel will remain the Japan Agency for Marine and Earth Science and Technology JAMSTEC.
Japan’s research ambitions in the polar regions are particularly focused on the Arctic with the new ship. The icebreaker will be built with ice class PC-4, which means it can traverse thick one-year ice with inclusions of multi-year ice at a steady speed of 3 knots. As research tasks, JAMSTEC and MOL stated that the vessel will “support sustainable growth, utilization and conservation of the Arctic region through in-depth study of atmospheric, meteorological, oceanic and sea ice factors.”
The tasks that fall to MOL with the selection include assembling and providing the crew both during the construction phase and later in operational service when the ship will be functional. In addition, MOL will provide its expertise in operating the vessel with liquefied natural gas (LNG), as this is one of the group’s goals, MOL said in a press release.
The duties of a crew before a ship is commissioned are more varied than one might think. Even during the construction phase, MOL must monitor the correct implementation of the construction plans. This also allows the crew to immediately familiarize themselves with the peculiarities and functioning of the individual parts of the ship. Usually, the pre-commissioning crew is also the crew that operates the vessel in action afterwards.
It is no coincidence that Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd was chosen. MOL is a very well-known group in Japan and also internationally, operating in the field of maritime technologies and ship operators. According to its own information, the fleet of the entire group comprises 697 ships of various types. In addition to the core company MOL, the group itself consists of a further 508 companies which either belong in part or in full to MOL or act as independent suppliers. More than 8,700 people are employed within the group, according to the company’s website.
In MOL’s press release, CEO Takeshi Hashimoto states that the company is fully aware of the importance of the new tasks and the ship. “The group will contribute to a better future for the Earth through safe operation of the vessel and creation of an international research platform,” it says. The company still has some time to achieve its goals, as the ship officially is not scheduled to enter service until November 2026.
Heiner Kubny, PolarJournal
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