Safety Enhancement on Sister Vessels of the Containership MOL Comfort

June 27, 2013

TOKYO- Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL; President: Koichi Muto), together with shipbuilder, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and the classification society (Nippon Kaiji Kyokai, ClassNK), will continue the thorough investigation to find the cause of the MOL Comfort incident, which occurred on June 17 on the Indian Ocean.

We have decided to take extra preventive measures as it may take some time to identify the cause. For the six sister vessels (*1) that we operate, we have already started the operational precautions to reduce the stress on the hull. These vessels sufficiently fill the safety standard required by ClassNK in compliance to IACS (*2), but we will conduct upgrade works to further strengthen the hull structure at the earliest timing. This will enhance the strength of the hull twice as much as the safety standard mentioned above.

The vessels will phase-out from the service for the upgrade works and the sailing schedule will be revised accordingly.

(*1) MOL Creation, MOL Charisma, MOL Celebration, MOL Courage, MOL Competence, MOL Commitment

(*2) International Association of Classification Societies: International gathering of class societies to formulate international unified standards (including hull strength)