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Nippon Yuka Kogyo's SKY-System Receives Approval from MLIT

October 21, 2014

On October 21, Nippon Yuka Kogyo Co. Ltd. (head office: Yokohama; president: Kazutoshi Kamata), an NYK Group company, received approval from Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) for the SKY-System® (ballast-water management system*) that the company developed with Katayama Chemical, Inc. (head office: Osaka; president: Hirohiko Katayama).**
 
The SKY-System (patent under registration) makes use of Peraclean Ocean,*** a chemical treatment that sterilizes aquatic organisms and bacteria contained in ballast. This is the very first system to reliably sterilize organisms irrespective of the quality of the ballast water — e.g., seawater, brackish water, freshwater, ice-cold water — enabling the ship to take on and discharge ballast water in areas around the world.
 
The energy-efficient system is easy to maintain and can be installed on all types of vessels without dry-docking. Moreover, it is a simple, integrated unit that requires only a small space, so it is easy to install during operation without significant remodeling. In this sense, it is a breakthrough ballast-water management system that requires minimal off-hire (or none, in most cases) and minimizes installation cost.
 
The NYK Group will continue to make use of new approaches in the safety and environmental field based on NYK’s medium-term management plan “More Than Shipping 2018.”
 
 
* Ballast-water management system
Ballast water is seawater that ships carry to maintain balance. Ballast water is normally taken on in ballast tanks in the ship’s bottom at the unloading port, and then discharged at the loading port. This system disinfect marine organisms carried in ballast water so that local ecosystems are not affected by foreign organisms.
 
** Katayama Chemical, Inc.
Founded in 1908 and is known for its advance technology for environmental protection.
 
*** Peraclean® Ocean

A biodegradable biocide developed by Evonik Industries (Germany) and Katayama Chemical Industries for environmentally sound ballast-water treatment. The biocide is applicable in water of any salinity and can quickly decompose active substances.

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