On May 31, NYK took delivery of a new 180,000DWT bulk carrier, 'Shin Koho', at the Tsu Shipyard of Universal Shipbuilding Corporation. 'Shin Koho' will transport iron ore from Australia and other countries.
'Shin Koho' is 292 metres long, 45 metres wide, and has a designated load draught of 18.15 metres. Gross tonnage is 93,031.
'Shin Koho' is the first carrier in the world to be fitted with a hybrid turbocharger, which was jointly developed by NYK, the Monohakobi Technology Institute (MTI), Universal Shipbuilding Corporation, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
A turbocharger is a device that turns a turbine at high speed by utilising exhaust gas from the main engine, then drives a compressor by the turbine, and finally supplies combustion air to the engine. While utilising waste energy, a turbocharger boosts the output power of the engine by enabling it to aspirate at a level higher than that for the original engine displacement.
In addition to these basic functions, a hybrid turbocharger utilises the extra rotational power generated by the turbine for electric power generation. 'Shin Koho' can thus meet all its onboard electric power requirements for normal operation by using a hybrid turbocharger instead of diesel generators, and by reducing the use of the diesel generator, the hybrid turbocharger contributes to a further reduction of CO2 emissions.
The technology development of the hybrid turbocharger has been selected as a subsidised project by Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism under the "Support for Technology Development for Curtailing CO2 from Marine Vessels" project and supported by Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK) as part of assistance provided through a joint research scheme.
