Mitsubishi Hvy Ind : Last Commercial Vessel at MHI Kobe Shipyard Christened and Launched -- EMERALD ACE: Pure Car Carrier for Delivery to Mitsui O.S.K.--
March 08, 2012 at 09:14 pm EST
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March 09, 2012 No.1508
Tokyo, March 9, 2012 - The christening and launch of a
pure car carrier, named the EMERALD ACE, took place today
at the Kobe Shipyard & Machinery Works of Mitsubishi
Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), for delivery to Mitsui
O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. The ship represents the last
commercial vessel to be built at the Kobe Shipyard in
consequence of ongoing reorganization of MHI's
production structure in the company's Shipbuilding &
Ocean Development business segment. Delivery is slated
for late June.
The christening and launching ceremony was attended by
numerous guests and parties concerned. The list included
Mr. Koichi Muto, president of Mitsui O.S.K.; Mr. Takanobu
Ito, president of Honda Motor Co., Ltd., who together
with his wife performed the ship's tethering rope
cut; and Hideaki Omiya, president of MHI.
The EMERALD ACE, the vessel of hull No.1296 built
at the Kobe Shipyard, measures about 200 meters (m) in
overall length, 32.26 m in breadth and 34.52 m in depth.
The 60,200 gross tonnage vessel is capable of carrying
6,400 units (standard passenger cars) at a service speed of
20.65 knots. The vessel will be Mitsui O.S.K.'s first
ship to have a hybrid electric power supply system onboard.
By using power from an energy storage system consisting of
a large-size photovoltaic power generation system and a
lithium-ion rechargeable battery, the vessel at anchor can
prevent emission of exhaust gas from a diesel power
generator and thereby realize "zero" emission in
harbor.
The production structure reorganization in MHI's
Shipbuilding & Ocean Development business segment is the
company's initiative to respond to today's rapidly
shrinking shipbuilding market, attributable mainly to the
impact of the global economic crisis. Through this
initiative the company looks to shift production to higher
value-added products and establish a business structure
enabling it to weather demand fluctuations through enhanced
management efficiency. In the course of the initiative the
company is implementing production segregation among its
three shipyards and promoting maximum utilization of human,
facility and other operational resources.
Since its foundation in 1905, the Kobe Shipyard & Machinery
Works has primarily handled the construction of container
carriers, pure car carriers, submarines and deep
submergence research vehicles. Following delivery of the
EMERALD ACE, commercial vessel construction will be
concentrated at the Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works and
Shimonoseki Shipyard & Machinery Works. The Kobe Shipyard
will boost its competitiveness through establishment of an
enhanced operational structure, focusing on construction of
submarines and deep submergence research vehicles.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. is a diversified group organized around 4 business segments:
- manufacturing of systems and components for energy production units (42.6% of net sales): offshore wind turbines, pumps, turbochargers, reactors, compressors, aero-engines, gas turbines, nuclear power generators, etc.;
- shipbuilding and industrial construction (41.1%): construction of ships, land transport systems, machinery and industrial installations, environmental systems (industrial wastewater treatment systems, air pollution control units, marine pollution prevention systems, waste incinerators, etc.), handling equipment, machine tools, air conditioning and refrigeration systems, toll systems, etc.;
- construction of avionics, defence and aerospace systems (15.7%);
- other (0.3%).
Net sales are distributed geographically as follows: Japan (48.9%), Asia (17.4%), the United States (14.8%), Europe (9.4%), Middle East (2.9%), Central and South America (2.8%), Africa (1.3%) and other (2.5%).