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Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (head office: Tokyo; president: Tadaaki Naito; NYK), MTI Co., Ltd. (an NYK Group company; head office: Tokyo; president: Yasuo Tanaka; MTI), and Japan Engine Corporation (head office: Hyogo; president: Michio Shimizu; J-ENG) have seen progress in their joint research to improve safety and optimize maintenance for marine engines.

The three companies began their research in December 2016 with the aim to pursue further safety and economic efficiency by taking advantage of operational big data resulting from collaborative work among engine manufacturers and users.

Since the start of the project, NYK, MTI, and the engine maker J-ENG have shared, monitored, and analyzed operational big data from SIMS2, a second generation ship information management system developed by NYK and MTI and allowing data-sharing among workplaces on land and sea in real time, including detailed hourly updates on shipping operations, data related to fuel consumption, and machinery condition.

During the project, some problems that may have resulted in serious engine damage have been discovered at an early stage, thus confirming that this joint research could contribute to safer operations.

In the next stage, the companies will develop a more advanced accident prevention system by combining J-ENG???s expertise, which includes developing, manufacturing, and after-sales service, with the NYK Group???s efforts to identify potential problems and prevent breakdowns in advance.

In addition, by incorporating J-ENG's technical expertise into the NYK Group???s condition diagnosis, which uses big data to examine the condition of the inside of a combustion chamber, the quality of maintenance will be improved and its frequency will be optimized as a shift is made from conventional time-based maintenance to condition-based maintenance.

The NYK Group collaborates with shipbuilding companies, equipment manufacturers, universities, and research institutes to make use of big data in innovative solutions that further enhance the safety of vessels.

J-ENG offers analyses of ship data to help customers to operate and prevent accidents in advance, and then feeds back user-derived data for its own design and development of UE engines* to improve reliability and performance.

The three companies will continue their efforts for improved safety and economic transport by taking advantage of operational big data and each company???s expertise.

* UE engine

Among the three major brands of low-speed marine diesel engines, the UE engine is the only Japanese brand, and is completely developed, designed, manufactured, marketed, and serviced by J-ENG.