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Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (Head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Eizo Murakami; hereinafter NYK Line), Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. (Head office: Higashi-ku, Nagoya; President & Director: Satoru Katsuno; hereinafter Chubu Electric Power), Toyota Tsusho Corporation (Head office: Nakamura-ku, Nagoya; President & CEO: Jun Karube; hereinafter Toyota Tsusho), and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (Head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Tadaaki Naito; hereinafter NYK Line) announce today that the four companies have begun joint discussions on the commercialization of a new business to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a marine fuel to ships in the Chubu (central region) of Japan.

LNG is expected to become an important alternative to heavy fuel oil due to its relatively low emissions* of air polluting substances and greenhouse gases, which will enable ships to meet increasingly stringent international regulations on emissions. The four companies will jointly discuss specific LNG customers and supply methods in preparation for the commercialization of LNG bunkering business. 

*Compared to heavy fuel oil, the use of LNG can reduce emissions of sulfur oxides (SOx) and particulate matter (PM) by approximately 100%, nitrogen oxides (NOx) by as much as 80%, and carbon dioxide (CO2) by approximately 30%.

The first commercial product of the J-Marine NeCST* ship navigation support tool has been installed on board Asuka II, a cruise ship owned and operated by NYK Cruises Co. Ltd. Having a variety of integrated operational information on a large screen display on the bridge is expected to result in safer voyages.

J-Marine NeCST, jointly developed by NYK, MTI Co. Ltd., and Japan Radio Co. Ltd., has been tested on NYK Group operated ships and completed trials at sea, and will begin to be used on Asuka II during its 39-day '2018 Oceania Grand Cruise' from January 28.

Rapidly gathering accurate information and properly managing it is a very important initial action in an emergency. Prior to J-Marine NeCST, information was mainly received by email or telephone, but the crisis management center and offices on land will now have prompt access to a wide range of useful data.

From an early stage, the NYK Group has been focused on making use of big data and is currently taking advantage of data analysis to address a variety of issues. The NYK Group aims to achieve further high-quality safe operation by merging technology and the wealth of data the company has accumulated over the years.

* J-Marine NeCST (NeCST is pronounced 'Next')

A ship navigation support tool that allows users to easily plan routes using the handwriting function of the electronic navigational chart, in addition to managing and sharing operational data using integrated information such as meteorological and hydrographical forecasts.

A wholly owned NYK subsidiary company, International Car Operators N.V. (ICO), will install up to 11 wind turbines on the grounds of a finished-car logistics terminal that ICO owns and operates in Zeebrugge, Belgium. The installation will be done together with the Port of Zeebrugge and Engie Electrabel, a local electricity and gas supplier, and the turbines are planned to begin operation in mid-2019.

The generators will be placed in an area suitable for wind power generation, and produce power efficiently without disturbing terminal operations. This installation is also in line with the energy policy of Belgium, which proactively encourages the use of renewable energy.

The NYK Group has already implemented environmentally friendly initiatives at a number of finished-car logistics terminals. Solar panels have been installed, LED port lights have been introduced, and water used to wash cars is being recycled. By implementing wind power generation, we get one step closer to our goal of operating "green??? terminals.

To reduce negative impacts of the supply chain on the environment, the NYK Group will continue to proactively promote its Green Terminal policy globally.

-- Reference Information

International Car Operators N.V. (ICO) - http://www.icoterminals.com/en

ICO, a wholly owned NYK subsidiary company in Belgium, operates terminals for finished-cars in the ports of Zeebrugge and Antwerp, two important hubs for importing and exporting finished cars in Europe. In addition to its cargo handling service, ICO also provides value-added services such as inspection before car delivery and installation of accessories.

Port of Zeebrugge - https://www.portofzeebrugge.be/en

Engie Electrabel - http://corporate.engie-electrabel.be/