On March 9, the coal carrier Kagura for the Chugoku Electric Power Co., Inc. (EnerGia) was delivered at Oshima Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. A naming and delivery ceremony took place on the same day and was attended by Shigeru Ashitani, representative director, vice president and senior managing executive officer of EnerGia; and Hitoshi Nagasawa, president of NYK.
Under a long-term transport contract with EnerGia, the vessel will use carbon offsets to theoretically reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to zero for the entire contracted voyage, making the marine transport of coal under the contract carbon neutral. Specifically, CERs (certified emission reductions) as credits (emission rights) for the GHG emissions of the entire contract voyage have been procured to offset the GHG emissions.
The ship's name, Kagura, is derived from Iwami Kagura, a masked traditional performance art loved by the people of Japan’s Chugoku region.