Mitsubishi Shipbuilding delivers large car ferry Keyaki

This is the first ferry in Japan to integrate the latest energy-saving hull form.

Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. has delivered the large car ferry Keyaki produced for Shin Nihonkai Ferry Co., Ltd. and Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency.

According to the company, the ferry was produced at the Enoura Plant of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’s Shimonoseki Shipyard & Machinery Works in Yamaguchi Prefecture. This will serve on a shipping route between the cities of Otaru in Hokkaido and Maizuru in Kyoto Prefecture.

Keyaki is the first ferry in Japan to adopt the latest energy-saving hull form, including a Katana Bow and buttock-flow stern hull with ducktail. Propulsion resistance is suppressed by an energy-saving roll-damping system combining an anti-rolling tank and fin stabilizers.

These innovations enable a 5% savings in energy compared to earlier vessels.

“Going forward, Mitsubishi Shipbuilding will continue to contribute to active use of sea transport and environmental protection, resolving diverse issues together with its business partners through construction of ferries that provide stable sea transport together with outstanding energy and environmental performance,” the company said.