NYK to Build Double-Hull VLCC
December 18, 2003
NYK has decided to build a 300,000-DWT double-hull VLCC (large-sized crude oil tanker) as follows:
| Deadweight Tonnage (DWT) | : | 300,000 mt |
| Gross Tonnage (G/T) | : | 155,600 tons |
| Length Overall | : | 333 m |
| Breadth Extreme | : | 60 m |
| To Be Built at | : | IHI Marine United Inc. |
| Date of Completion | : | December 2005 |
With this newbuilding, NYK has started to adopt a double-hull fuel tank from a viewpoint of protecting the marine environment. The width between the outside hull and the inner wall of the fuel tank is 2 meters - the same as is the case with cargo tanks. This is an epochal structure for a VLCC to be adopted in Japan for the first time in order to give top priority to environmental protection. NYK intends to adopt the same structure for all new VLCCs to be built hereafter.
(Structure of double-hull fuel tank)
Upon its completion, this vessel is to be operated on a long-term contract made with Kyushu Oil Corp. Together with Tsurusaki, another VLCC in operation on a long-term deal, the duo will play a role in NYK's crude oil transport services.
NYK's new VLCCs to be built from 2004 now number nine, including the following eight already on order:
| Date of Completion | Shipyards | Contract with | |
| June 2004 | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd | .Fuji Oil Co., Ltd. | |
| July 2004 | Universal Shipbuilding Corporation | Nippon Oil Corporation | |
| *1 | October 2004 | IHI Marine United Inc. | Cosmo Oil Co., Ltd. |
| November 2004 | Imabari Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. | Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K. | |
| *2 | February 2005 | IHI Marine United Inc. | Cosmo Oil Co., Ltd. |
| March 2005 | Imabari Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. | Free | |
| March 2005 | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. | Free | |
| *1 | July 2005 | Universal Shipbuilding Corporation | Cosmo Oil Co., Ltd. |
| Note: *1 To be co-owned with Kyoei Tanker Co., Ltd. *2 To be co-owned with Shinwa Kaiun Kaisha, Ltd. |
|||
The shift to the double-hull structure is one of the targets of NYK's "Environment Action Plan" for the protection of the marine environment. NYK is thus pushing ahead with the construction of double-hull VLCCs.
The completion of the above-mentioned eight VLCCs now on order by the end of 2005 will boost the number of NYK's double-hull VLCCs to 25, accounting for more than 80 percent of NYK's VLCC fleet. In order to have completed the shift of its VLCC fleet to a complete double-hull structure by the end of 2007, NYK is now drawing near to concluding negotiations with a major shipbuilder regarding the additional construction of several double-hull VLCCs. NYK will significantly move up the disposal of its single-hull tankers no matter how well they are conditioned.