Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group company Mitsubishi Shipbuilding has delivered the large ro-pax ‘Keyaki’, to the Shin Nihonkai Ferry Co and Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency (JRTT), from MHI’s Enoura yard.
The new ferry will serve on a shipping route between the cities of Otaru in Hokkaido and Maizuru in Kyoto Prefecture. The Keyaki is the first ferry in Japan to adopt MHI’s latest energy-saving hull form, including a Katana bow and buttock-flow stern hull with ducktail, designed to reduce water resistance. Hull resistance is further suppressed by an energy-saving roll-damping system combining an anti-rolling tank and fin stabilisers. Together these innovations are estimated to enable a 5% savings in energy compared to earlier vessels, with corresponding reductions in emissions.
The vessel is 199m long, and can carry 286 passengers plus around 150 trucks and 30 passenger cars. Service speed is 28.3 knots.
Image: Energy-saving ro-pax ‘Keyaki’ (source: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries)
