Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK Line) and Japan Marine United Corporation (JMU) have added an actual sea performance guarantee clause to the shipbuilding contract for a new crude oil tanker. The aim is to ensure propulsion efficiency in actual sea conditions.
Since September 2020, NYK Line and JMU have been collaborating to develop a method for estimating a vessel’s propulsion performance in actual sea conditions before construction and to establish a technical and objective evaluation framework.
The newbuild vessel is scheduled for delivery in March 2026.
NYK Line said it is a standard practice – when concluding a shipbuilding contract – to confirm the guaranteed speed based on the relationship between ship speed and horsepower under calm weather and sea conditions (calm sea performance). However, because actual sea conditions do not fully align with these idealized scenarios, establishing an evaluation method for actual sea performance has been a formidable challenge.
During the first year of operation, NYK and JMU will conduct joint verification to compare and validate the guaranteed speed/power curve against actual sea performance.
In addition, the newly introduced actual sea performance guarantee clause incorporates an incentive mechanism that provides benefits to both parties, according to NYK Line, based on achievement levels.
In September 2020, NYK and JMU introduced a clause guaranteeing actual sea performance into the shipbuilding contracts for two newly built crude oil tankers.
Subsequent joint verification by both companies confirmed that the difference between the pre-agreed guaranteed speed/power curve for actual sea conditions and the actual results was minimal.
Building on this, the companies claim that they have established a method that analyzes and evaluates actual sea performance with greater precision.
