NEWS - ASIA PACIFIC
Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Begins Shipments of Marine
Sox Scrubber System “Dia-Sox” Aker, WEF to Launch Ocean Preservation Center
M N
itsubishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., a member of Mitsubishi Heavy
Industries, Ltd. (MHI) Group, based in Yokohama, has increased
production capacity for its marine SOx scrubber system that reduces
sulfur oxide (SOx) from the exhaust gas of ships, and begun shipments
of the DIA-SOx C Series tower and DIA-SOx R Series tower from
partner fabricators in China and Taiwan, respectively.
The C Series tower shipped this time is designed to be fitted on LPG
carriers and large oil tankers, while the R Series tower is on ultra-large
container ships with capacity of 20,000 TEU(1) and 14,000 TEU.
DIA-SOx is a brand launched by Mitsubishi Shipbuilding. The
cylindrical C Series has been jointly developed with Mitsubishi Kakoki
Kaisha, Ltd., and the rectangular R Series with Mitsubishi Hitachi Power
Systems, Ltd. (MHPS). Both series utilize a multi-stream configuration
that can treat exhaust gas from multiple engines simultaneously.
The fabricator in China that manufactured the C Series tower has
numerous track record of supplying high quality, reliable products
for MHI Group, and has increased its capacity to be able to respond
to the clients’ requests for short delivery times and multiple slots. The
Taiwanese fabricator that manufactured the R Series tower is a long-
standing business partner of MHPS, and has an outstanding quality
management system.
Mitsubishi Shipbuilding has received more than 50 orders to date for
jointly developed systems (including both the C Series and R Series).
For 18 of the ships among them, Mitsubishi Shipbuilding also provides
engineering services for installation of the scrubber.
With new SOx emissions regulations coming into effect across the
globe in 2020, Mitsubishi Shipbuilding has been receiving a steady
stream of inquiries from customers worldwide, and responds to various
demands with expanding production capacity including those two
partner fabricators.
Going forward, Mitsubishi Shipbuilding will continue providing such
marine SOx scrubber system, and also as an engineering company
offering engineering services for scrubber installation for retrofittings
and newbuilings, for ships built by MHI and by the others in order to
contribute to the further development of ocean transport, and reduce
the environmental load that is increasing on a global scale. •
orwegian industrial investment giant Aker Group has together
with the World Economic Forum announced the formation of a
center “dedicated to harnessing the advances of technology to preserve
our ocean and improve the environmental footprint of ocean industries.”
Aker Group in its portfolio has the oil and gas companies Aker BP
and Aker Energy, and oilfield services and construction providers Aker
Solutions, Kvaerner, and Akastor, and also the FPSO owner Ocean Yield.
As part of the new initiative to preserve the ocean and improve the
environmental footprint of the ocean industries, the company plans to
establish the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Norway (C4IR
Norway), as part of the initiative to preserve the ocean.
“Through public-private partnerships, the Centre will develop
governance frameworks and solutions for a sustainable and profitable
ocean economy, using digital technology ranging from Artificial
Intelligence (AI) to Blockchain,” the company said.
The C4IR Norway will join the WEF’s global C4IR Network and
collaborate with the Government of Norway and the High-Level Panel
for a Sustainable Ocean Economy.
According to Aker, the Centre will provide a platform for partnerships
on governance policies, research and business solutions that can
accelerate the application of science, data, and technology in the public
interest. The Centre will be an independent non-profit foundation,
financed initially by founding partner the Aker group.
The Centre will at first be based at the Aker headquarters at Fornebu,
Norway, before moving into the World Ocean Headquarters, an ocean
cluster being developed by Aker and REV Ocean. The Centre will
officially open on 1 January 2020.
“Aker has gained valuable experience through engaging in cross-sector
partnering between its own commercial and non-profit entities, such
as REV Ocean, Ocean Data Foundation and VI Foundation. Once
operational, the Centre will be open to new partners and projects from
both the public and the private sector,” Aker said.
Aker President and CEO Øyvind Eriksen said: “The ambition with this
Centre is to leverage our offshore expertise and the Nordic model of
collaboration between the public and the private sector to accelerate the
application of technology that can reduce the industry’s environmental
footprint. Only through collaboration between business, government,
and NGOs will we unlock the great potential that resides in digital
technology to promote sustainable development – for our societies, for
value-creation, and for the environment.”
To reach the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the ocean
will need to provide the world with more food, jobs, energy and
raw materials. According to OECD estimates, the value of the ocean
economy could exceed USD 3 trillion by 2030, providing more than 40
million jobs. However, fulfilling this potential will require safeguarding
and improving the health of the ocean.
Top minds to help achieve SDGs
“Building a sustainable ocean economy is one of the most important
tasks and greatest opportunities of our time. To mitigate the threats to
a healthy and productive ocean, we need to move faster,” underlined
Vidar Helgesen, Norway’s Special Envoy to the High Level Panel for a
Sustainable Ocean Economy.
“The Norwegian government welcomes the new technology center
at Fornebu as an essential contribution to ocean health and wealth. It
can bring together actors from business, academia and civil society in
developing ground-breaking ocean solutions.”
Today, Aker stressed, the ocean is under immense pressure notably
due to climate change, pollution and overexploitation, with declining
biodiversity as a result. Saving the marine ecosystems will require
innovative policies, good governance, technology, research, and new
business solutions, based on sound scientific data. •
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