Last Commercial Vessel at MHI Kobe Shipyard Christened and Launched

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.