Beluga-Ace

On Aug 1, 2020, the crew of the 'Beluga Ace', which was enroute from Wellington to Hitachinaka, rescued 15 crew members from a fishing boat that was wrecked in the North Pacific Ocean. At 06:20 a.m., the 'Beluga Ace', while drifting, spotted smoke rising from a fishing boat, and safely rescued the castaways at 11 a.m. On Aug 2 at 4.10 p.m. they were transferred onto the sister ship of the fishing boat upon approval from authorities.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) announced that the MOL-operated next-generation FLEXIE series car carrier received the Good Design Award (*) 2018, from the Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organization (JDP). This year, MOL’s FLEXIE won the award for the first time in nine years as the only winner from the shipping industry. Judges highly evaluated the design, saying. “It’s great that the FLEXIE realized unconventional innovation as an outcome of re-defining the car carrier. It’s notable that the space onboard the vessel was rearchitected using the design concept. Flexibly liftable decks allow loading of vehicles with different heights. As a result, loading efficiency was improved by 6.25% from the conventional type of car carrier, and this enables the vessel to meet new transport needs. Another point-the FLEXIE realized accuracy and a high level of safety by adopting augmented reality (AR) and latest IoT technology in its operational system.”

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) on Marine Day, Monday, July 16, hosted a tour of the cutting-edge car carrier Beluga Ace at Harumi Pier, in cooperation with the Japanese Shipowners' Association (JSA), the shipping company said in a press release. The company welcomed about 360 elementary and junior high school students and their family members, who were selected in an online application process. The participants boarded the huge vessel – measuring about 200m long and 50m-high –and made their first stop in the engine room, where they listened to a presentation about the equipment, and a select few got to experience the start-up of the power generator. Then, participants observed a demonstration of high-precision loading of vehicles, and moved around the ship in some of the vehicles. After a greeting from the captain on the bridge, they got to see and touch nautical instruments and binoculars. Then, with specially made maps distributed at the reception desk on hand, they freely toured some onboard facilities such as the captain's quarters, a hydroponic vegetable garden, pool, and lounge. On the pier, meanwhile, students and their parents alike enjoyed a craft workshop session where they made replicas of the ship out of paper. In addition to about 130 MOL Group executives and employees, the vessel's crewmembers took part in the event to talk about what it's like to work at sea.