Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL; President & CEO: Jotaro Tamura, Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo) has entered into an agreement with Japan Airlines Co., Ltd. ("JAL"), Lloyd's Register Group Limited ("Lloyd's Register"), and REGENT Craft Inc. ("REGENT") to jointly develop processes for vessel certification and operational approval, with the aim of commercializing REGENT's fully electric vessel "Seaglider" in Japan. This initiative marks the first collaboration in Japan with a classification society toward the commercialization of Seaglider vessels.
Seaglider vessels are fully electric next-generation vehicles that combine the characteristics of maritime vessels and aircraft. They are classified as wing-in-ground (WIG) crafts that fly a few meters above the sea, taking advantage of ground effect (Note 1). Designed to deliver high-speed transportation at speeds of up to 300 km/h, together with superior energy efficiency and zero-emission operation, Seaglider vessels are being developed as an innovative and sustainable transportation infrastructure solution for both passenger and cargo services, particularly for coastal city connections and regional island routes.
MOL and JAL aim to develop new passenger and cargo transportation markets for Seaglider vessels. In addition to the investments in REGENT (Note 2), MOL and JAL will combine their accumulated knowledge in safe operations with REGENT's technological expertise to ensure safety and reliability essential for commercialization of Seaglider vessels. (....)