The Hitachi Zosen Group has announced that its marine engine subsidiaries Hitachi Zosen Marine Engine and IMEX fixed data in test results of trials, affecting more than 1,300 marine engines.
Following an internal investigation, the company found that doctored fuel consumption rate data was submitted to customers following shop trial tests, with a possible impact on the calculation of NOx emissions also noted.
"Through the interviews to relevant personnel, it was confirmed that the data was altered at the time of shop trial test to keep the fuel consumption rate within the permissible range required in the customerʼs specification and to reduce data variability," said Hitachi Zosen in a statement. "As the NOx emission verification tests were also conducted at the same time, there is a possibility that this may also affect the calculation of NOx emissions."
950 Hitachi Zosen Marine Engine units and 416 IMEX units have been flagged for investigation. The company said it would promptly establish a special committee composed of external experts to establish what happened and prevent future recurrence.
"Currently , we are verifying whether there have been violations of laws, regulations, standards, etc. related to the subject engines," added Hitachi Zosen. "We will continue to carefully investigate and report the impact on NOx emission regulations established by the Act on Prevention of Marine Pollution and Maritime Disaster and the International Maritime Organisation, as well as the impact on CO2 emission regulations."
Customers will be contacted individually to discuss next steps.
