JMU hands over new eco-conscious 158,954 dwt Suezmax tanker

Yokohama-based shipbuilding major Japan Marine United Corporation (JMU) has handed over an environmentally friendly 158,954 dwt Suezmax tanker to Marshall Islands-headquartered Ambroisie Shipping.

As informed, the vessel, christened as Aesop, was delivered on April 4 at the shipbuilder’s Tsu shipyard, located in Mie prefecture. The Bahamas-flagged newbuild boasts a length of 274.3 meters, a breadth of 48 meters and a depth of 23.15 meters. It possesses a gross tonnage of 83,175 GT.

It is understood that the tanker is the inaugural unit of a newly developed series centered around ‘enhanced’ fuel efficiency. According to JMU, the newbuilding was fitted with exhaust gas cleaning systems (EGCSs), or scrubbers, which are pollution control devices designed to remove sulfur oxides (SOx) from the ship’s exhaust gases before they are released into the atmosphere.

In addition to this, Aesop is said to be compliant with the Tier III nitrogen oxide (NOx) standards as well as with the Phase 3 requirements of the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI).

Per Japan Marine United Corporation, the tanker has been equipped with an array of the company’s proprietary technological solutions that are said to help vessels save energy.

These include the Super Stream Duct, which reportedly cuts energy consumption by approximately 3%, the Surf-Bulb, claimed to improve propulsive force and slash energy use by approximately 3-7%, and the advanced low viscous resistance fin (ALV-Fin), which is described as a solution that enables better propulsive efficiency and improves fuel consumption.

As divulged, other environmental compliance features include the installation of an electronically controlled main engine, a ballast water treatment system, as well as an inventory of hazardous materials (IHM).

The year 2025 for the Japanese shipbuilder has thus far been peppered with a number of ship deliveries, with JMU having closed the first quarter with at least seven vessels handed over to their respective owners. To remind, in the first week of February, the company rolled out the red carpet for a 211,981 dwt bulk carrier named Mount Anjin, which was constructed for Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS).

The following week, Tokyo-headquartered shipping titan Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line) welcomed a liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered dual-fuel dry bulk carrier, SG Twilight. On February 20, JMU turned over the 181,000 dwt bulker, Sakura Queen to compatriot Green Spanker Shipping.

Finally, the shipbuilder closed the first quarter with the March deliveries of Mount Yotei, a 211,928 dwt bulk carrier also built for EPS, of Danish shipping giant A.P. Møller – Maersk’s 12,800 TEU boxship Maersk el Bosque, Taipei-based Interasia Lines’ 3,055 TEU container vessel called Interasia Tribute and of the 93,691 GT bulker Frontier Hope, which had been booked by Southern Route Maritime, an arm of Japanese shipping player Nissen Kaiun.