Japan’s IINO Kaiun Kaisha shipowner unveils that one of its ships, the very large crude oil carrier (VLCC) “Fujisan Maru” will observe greenhouse gases over the Indian Ocean.
The work is being coordinated by the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES), Idemitsu Tanker Co., Ltd. (Idemitsu Tanker) and IINO Kaiun Kaisha (IINO Lines), IINO lines said, as part of a project supported by the Environment Research and Technology Development Fund “Understanding atmospheric GHG and SLCF dynamics through multi-platform observations.”
According to IINO Lines, the vessel owned by IINO Lines and chartered by Idemitsu Tanker, has a main route from the Middle East to Japan and is suitable for observation over the Indian Ocean by the NIES.
The company now plans to install atmospheric monitoring equipment and conduct observations around the end of the financial year 2024.
NIES has been conducting shipboard observations in the Pacific Ocean for many years, but the Indian Ocean has remained an unobserved area.
Already the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) conducts high-precision observations of greenhouse gas concentrations using various platforms such as ground stations, commercial vessels and aircraft to monitor the distribution and increase of global atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases that cause global warming.
“We will contribute to the clarification of global GHG distribution and carbon cycle mechanisms through the observation of GHGs using vessels navigating wide areas, and work toward the achievement of carbon neutrality,” reads the IINO Lines statement.
