  Although many
Japanese built and designed tugs have been sold overseas through the
years, we have not seen much written in the Western world about the
industry. Data is readily available from Japan's shipbuilding and maritime
industries on their large ocean-going ships such as dry cargo vessels and
tankers which consist of abt. 630 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling
11,691,174 GRT and 15,484,848 DWT(1). Very little information though
is available about the tugs and workboats most of our clients are
interested in. Although this should not be considered a comprehensive
study of the Japanese fleet, I hope that it provides some additional
information and resources. We hope to prepare similar reports on tugs
under other flags in the future.
Over the years, Japanese built, owned and/or operated harbor and ocean
salvage tugs have been sold not only to other Far East, Southeast Asian
and Arabian Gulf companies, but to western operators as far as the
Caribbean, Canadian Great Lakes and Europe. Japan has been a regular
market source for western operators seeking vessels especially relatively
recent vintage azimuthing drive harbor tugs. Although the land mass is
slightly smaller than California, the coastline stretches along
29,751km(1) and their tug fleet is second
only to the United States in the number of vessels. Japanese tug operators
also tend to replace older units with newbuildings more often than many
other international fleets.
Marcon International, as shipbrokers, currently tracks a total of 34
Japanese flag tugs with nine officially listed for sale built between 1982
and 1998.
Two examples of Japanese harbor / coastal tugs which have been sold
almost half-way around the world and re-flagged are the azimuthing 'Z-Peller' tugs
'Smit Tahiti' and 'Smit Bahama'. These were purchased in
1998 by Smit International (Curacao) and delivered from Japan to the
Bahamas by Wijsmuller Bros(2). The 30.8m x
8.8m, 3000HP 'Smit Tahiti' was originally built by Keihin of Yokohama in
1990 as the 'Kurobe Maru'. 'Smit Bahama' was originally the 36.2m x 9.8m,
3600HP 'Kitano Maru' built in 1989 by Sagami of Yokohama. Both tugs had
been originally built for Nippon Kaiyosha Ltd. (3)
 A third
example, although not previously Japanese owned but Japanese built, is the
6,000BHP, ice-classed, 43.7m push tug' which was built in 1977 by Hakodate
Dock in Hakodata 'Bilibino' for Far-Eastern Shipping Co.,
USSR. 'Bilibino' was on of four similar tugs including
the 'Baykalsk', 'Biryusinsk' and' powered by heavy fuel burning
eight cylinder Daihatsu 8DSM-32 engines with controllable pitch props in
kort nozzles built either by Nichiro Zosen or Hakodate Dockyard both of
Tokyo or by Hashimoto Zosen in Kobe. These tugs were designed to be linked
by articouple connection systems to 9,000 ton log barges working in the
Russian Far East.' was sold in 1996 to Portolos Salvage & Towage
Maritime out of Piraeus and then on to Upper Lakes Group / McAsphalt
Marine Transportation Ltd. in the Canadian Great Lakes through the
brokerage efforts of Marcon International. After purchase, the tug was
re-flagged to Canadian registry and refitted to push their new double hull
asphalt barge 'McLeod'. Of the four tugs in this class, she is the only
one we know left in operation. The articouple pusher tug-barge system, is
popular in Japan since 1972, has been used widely in the marine
construction field for moving and positioning dredgers, floating cranes,
dump barges, shuttle tug/barge units hauling limestone, etc. in place of
conventional towboats. The articouple unit installed on this tug initially
was a HC-900PDM, but this was converted to the new model KC-85S by the new
Owners. (Additional information on articouples below under section on
Japanese Tug-Barge Linkage Systems).
Statistical data gathered for this report is primarily from Lloyds
Register(3), so there are some gaps in the
total numbers of tugs as Lloyds Register does not cover vessels under
100GRT. According to Lloyds, as of January 2002, there are a total of 835
tugs over 100GRT under Japanese flag totaling 2,127,789 horsepower with an
average fleet age of 1986. Following is a breakdown by horsepower:
ub-types, where provided by Lloyds, break down
to 9 anchor handling, 1 articulated, 28 fire fighting, 6 passenger /
un-berthing, 1 anti-pollution, 137 pusher-tugs, 8 salvage and 630 towing
('arranged for pulling').(3)
One problem in reviewing statistics regarding tugs and other workboats
both in the domestic and international markets is that we always seem to
be comparing 'apples and oranges'. There will always be gaps in
information provided. While the information contained in Lloyds Register
only covers vessels of over 100GRT, there are many tugs in service under
that gross tonnage. As a comparison, according to Lloyds Register, there
are a total of 1,053 tugs over 100GRT under U.S. flag totaling 3,018,359
horsepower with an average fleet age of 1971(3). In the United States, many vessels operating
strictly in domestic inland service such as Mississippi style inland river
pushboats are also not included in Lloyds Registry regardless of their
GRT. Figures are available from the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Army Corp. of
Engineers and U.S. Maritime Administration, however, here though tugs and
inland river pushboats are lumped together in a one tug / towboat
category. The U.S. Maritime Administration reports a total of 3,340 tugs /
towboats under 1,500HP totaling 2,464,621HP and 2,111 tugs over 1,500HP
for 7,273,218HP with a grand total of 5,451 vessels at 9,737,839HP(4). I am sure that the same discrepancies in
numbers also occurs in the Japanese towing industry and there are many
more tugs in their fleet than show up in Lloyds.
Lekko, in their 'Tugs -3000HP and Over, Edition 1995' reported the
Japanese fleet consisted of 134 tugs of over 3,000HP and over sailing in
1994 for a total of 476,280BHP and average of 3,550BHP up from 90 tugs and
a total of 372,110IHP in 1990. Tugs under 3,000 were not included in their
numbers and for 1994 the BHP (brake horsepower) values were listed against
IHP (indicated horsepower) values for previous years. For a more accurate
comparison, the 1994 values may be multiplied by 1.14 to roughly reach the
IHP values, but note that IHP values are influenced by factors other than
pure engine-output-calculations. This placed the Japanese tug fleet second
in number of vessels and total horsepower to the U.S. which for 1994
totaled 499 tugs and 2,272,930HP.(5) In
third and fourth place respectively were Panama (FOC -Flag of Convenience)
and Russia / former USSR with 93 and 76 tugs over 3,000HP in 1994,
respectively.
Thanks to Lekko for information. All figures
only apply to ships in the class of 3000IHP / 2600BHP and over. The 30 ton
bollard pull tugs with output less than 2600BHP/3000IHP are omitted.
Brief Background History
& Ports
Japan consists of an island chain between
the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean
Peninsula. The main islands, running from north to south, are Hokkaido,
Honshu (or the mainland), Shikoku, Kyushu, and Okinawa, which is about 380
miles southwest of Kyushu. About 3,000 smaller islands are included in the
archipelago. While the total comparative land area of 374,744km2 is
slightly smaller than the state of California, the coastline stretches
29,751km with abt. 1,770km of waterways. (1)
As of October 1995, the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and
Transport identified 133 important ports, having an important bearing on
national interests and 969 regional ports of which 35 were only shelter
ports which were designated as a place where small ships could take
shelter from storms. Major ports include Yokohama, Nagoya, Kobe,. Chiba,
Hakodate, Kitakyushu, Kushiro, Osaka, Tokyo, and Yokkaichi. Almost all
shipping is operated from coastal ports. The Inland Sea (Seto Naikai)
serves the major industrial areas of central Japan. Japan's rivers are
generally short and unnavigatable except in the lower reaches. (8)
The first recorded maritime contact from the West occurred about 1542,
when a Portuguese ship, blown off its course to China, landed in Japan. No
doubt there were previous unrecorded contacts from both inbound foreign
vessels and outbound Japanese fishermen and traders. We always tend to
forget that the seas of the world in the past were always more of a
highway than a barrier for most civilizations.
During the next century, traders from Portugal, the Netherlands,
England, and Spain arrived, as did Jesuit, Dominican, and Franciscan
missionaries. During the early part of the 17th century, Japan's shogunate
suspected that the traders and missionaries were actually forerunners of a
military and economic conquest by European powers. This caused the
shogunate to place foreigners under progressively tighter restrictions.
Ultimately, Japan forced all foreigners to leave and barred all relations
with the outside world except for severely restricted commercial contacts
with Dutch and Chinese merchants at Nagasaki. This isolation lasted for
200 years, until Commodore Matthew Perry of the U.S. Navy visited Uraga
with his 'black fleet' of steam-driven paddle-wheelers in July 1853 and
forced the opening of Japan to the West with the Convention of Kanagawa in
1854.(9)(10)
Kanagawa was specified as one of the five open ports by The U.S.-Japan
Treaty of Amity and Commerce in 1858. The Port of Yokohama, located on the
southeast coast of Honshu, the largest of the four main islands, opened in
1859 and is now one of Japan's busiest deep water ports.(11) Within several years, renewed contact with
the West profoundly altered Japanese society. The shogunate was forced to
resign, and the emperor was restored to power. The 'Meiji restoration' of
1868 initiated many reforms. The feudal system was abolished, and numerous
Western institutions were adopted, including a Western legal system and
constitutional government along quasi-parliamentary lines. Kanagawa
Prefecture was established in the Meiji era in 1868 and Mitsubishi
Dockyard and Iron Works of Nagasaki started in the salvage business in
1893, rebuilding in 1897 a vessel of abt. 150 gross tons into this trade.
In 1898, the last of the 'unequal treaties' with Western powers was
removed, signaling Japan's new status among the nations of the world. In a
few decades, by creating modern social, educational, economic, military,
and industrial systems, the Emperor Meiji's 'controlled revolution'
transformed a feudal and isolated state into a world power.(9)(10) In 1901,
Mitsubishi Dockyard and Iron Works built the first steel, purpose-built
1,000IHP salvage ship';Ohura Maru' and worked on major salvage operations
not only in Japan, but also in Korea, China and Sakhalin Island.
Mitsubishi Kobe also started to run a salvage business in 1905 with their
salvage vessel';Arima Maru'. This was just a beginning for the up and
coming towing and salvage industry in Japan. (12)
Tug Owners and Operators
The 835 tugs in Lloyds
Register are divided between 418 ship managers / operators. Of course, as
is the case in many countries, vessels actually controlled in one fleet
may be officially registered under various owners, operators and managers.
A few of the ship managers with the largest number of tugs listed under
their name in Lloyds Register include Sanyo Kaiji with 19 vessels, Naiki
Eisen -17, Tokyo Kisen -16, Daito -14, Nippon Kaiyoshi -14, Yorigami
Maritime Construction -14, Nishi Nippon Kaiun -11, Fukada Salvage - 10 and
Dokai Tugboat -10. (3)
The NYK Group (Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha) established in
September 1885 covers tugboat and other port services locally in Japan and
includes the related or subsidiary companies Hoyo Kaiun Sangyo Co., Ltd.
(60% NYK ownership); Kaiyo Kogyo Co., Ltd. (100% ownership); Kaiyo Sangyo
Co., Ltd.(100% ownership); Naikai Tug Boat Service Co., Ltd. (44.53%
ownership), Nippon Kaiyosha, Ltd. (50% ownership); Sanyo Kaiji Co., Ltd.
(48.61% ownership); and Tomakomai Kaiun Co., Ltd. (100% ownership).(13)
Tokyo Kisen Co., Ltd. of Yokohama was established in 1947 and is
a tug boat operator in Tokyo Bay with fourteen boats at Yokosuka Port,
nine at Yokohama/Kawasaki Ports and five at Chiba Port. Towage accounted
for 65% of fiscal 2001 revenues and passenger boat services 22% compared
in 1999 when tug boat operations accounted for 93% of fiscal 1999 revenues
plus chartering of tug boats 1%. During the year ending March 2001, sales
at Tokyo Kisen Co., Ltd. were ¥14.97 billion (US$116.47 million). This was
a decrease of 3.1% versus 2000, when the company's sales were ¥15.45
billion. Contributing to the drop in overall sales was a decline in Shops
and Restaurants revenues and Passenger Boat Service (down 9.1% to ¥3.28
billion) . However, these declines were partially offset by the increase
in sales of Towage (up 0.9% to ¥9.75 billion). (14) (15)
 Daito Corporation, founded in 1934 to provide general agency
services for Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. has as it's major shareholder 'K'
Line Logistics Holdings, Inc. When its Chiba Steel Works were built in
1952, Kawasaki Steel Co., Ltd. purchased a fleet of tugs as an integral
part of the Chiba Port facilities. Tug services in the Port of Yokohama
started in December 1957 with the';VSP Daito Maru', the company's first
tug equipped with VSP and launched at the Port of Yokohama. Since then,
Daito undertook the operation of tugboats as owner's agents, and have been
engaged in this business in Yokohama, Kawasaki, and Chiba Ports for nearly
half a century. Their tug division operates about 13 tugboats based at
Yokohama Port (inclusive of those at Kawasaki Port) and Chiba Port,
providing various services including assistance in berthing/unberthing and
escort for safe passage of vessels near and/or inside the harbor limit.
Daito's experience in operation of tugs with so-called 'Z-Peller',
developed jointly by Daito and Niigata over 30 years ago, became the
mainstream of today's tugboats. Their harbor tugs have a crew of as small
as five operators each, but with the fully automated high powered engines
and a special maneuvering system, they are capable of sophisticated
operations including turning of a vessel 360 degrees on the same spot.
Their boats are also equipped with Daylight Radar, GPS (Global Positioning
System), doppler sonar speed log and a up-to-date radio communications to
lead the vessel safely in crowded traffic, even in reduced visibility. The
tugs are also equipped with fire fighting equipment to cope with possible
maritime disasters while providing services to oil tankers or LNG tankers
carrying dangerous cargoes. Several subsidiaries and related companies
include D.U.K. Tug Service Co., Ltd.; Yokohama Kawasaki Tug-Boat Co., Ltd.
and Nitto Tugboat Co., Ltd. (16)
 Fukada Salvage and Marine Works Co., Ltd. (17) was founded in July 1910 at Kure, Hiroshima
Prefecture under the name of Fukada Marine Industries. Due to Wartime
Industrial Adjustment Law, the company was merged into Japan Marine
Salvage Co. in May 1934. After the war though in 1949, Fukada seceded from
Japan Marine Salvage and re-incorporated the company in Kure, specializing
in salvage and rescue. Business activities slowly expanded to ocean civil
construction, offshore construction, ocean towing, barge transportation,
heavy cargo handling and transportation and oceanographic research. The
towing department was organized in 1968 and Deep Sea Research Group
organized in 1969. Included in their fleet mix are a series of impressive
floating cranes up to 3,600mt lift capacity, a total of thirteen salvage /
tug boats, five anchor shifting boats, three dive work boats, five
crewboats and ten deck barges (only 10 of the vessels appear in Lloyds
Register (3).
Although not strictly a conventional tug operator, Shin-Nippon Kaiji
Co., Ltd. (SNK Ocean) (18) was founded in
1975 as a ship owning subsidiary of Fukada Salvage and Marine Works Co.,
Ltd. to operate ships under harsh environments in search, rescue and
salvage works. SNK has completed many jobs such as set up / recovery of
ocean meteorological observation buoys, installation of seabed
seismographs, route survey, as well as submarine cable condition
inspection, support works for surface / underwater trials, offshore
construction, marine resources research / utilization and search /
recovery of shipwrecks / aircraft, etc. Their 462' x 118' submersible,
ocean deck barges';Ocean Orc' and';Ocean Seal', marketed by Fairmont, are
trading worldwide handling project and other specialized cargoes.
Although more multi-purpose ROV / Dive Support vessels than
conventional tugs, their 4,000BHP boats';Shin Nichi Maru' built in 1997 by
Ishii Zosen and';Shinryu Maru' built in 2000 by Shin Nihon Kaiji are
definitely set up for towing and recently quoted through Marcon on a tow
of a dead-ship from the U.S. Gulf Coast to Colombia. SNK's';Shinryu Maru'
not to be confused with a previous 28.5m 'Shinryu Maru', ex-Kano Maru
built in 1967 and hulked early 2000 by owners Kochi Marine (3). Joining the recently built
'Shin Nichi
Maru', 'Shin Ryu Maru' and 'Shin Sei Maru' will be the newbuilding
7,000BHP DP-2 anchor handling tug supply vessel 'Shin Chou Maru' designed
by Conan Wu & Associates and ordered from Niigata for delivery in
April 2003. Fukada Salvage is also active internationally and a member of
the International Salvage Union. The company is also involved in
non-salvage fields such as cable laying, ROV support and marine
construction projects not only domestically, but in the international
market. Over the years Marcon International has acted as shipbroker in the
sale to Fukada Salvage of three tug supply boats, two 3,500BHP AHTS from
Offshore Supply Association (OSA) of Germany and one 7,040BHP AHTS from
Essar Shipping of India.
Nippon Salvage Co., Ltd. (Nisalv) of Tokyo was established in
1934 on the foundation of preceding 40-year history of development and
integration of the then Japanese leading salvage companies which
originated in 1893. Tokyo Salvage Co. of 1917 together with Imperial
Salvage Co. of 1924 were taken over by Teikoku Kaiji KK of 1919. This
later company, together with Japan Marine Engineering & Salvage Co.,
was taken over by the Matsuda Co. established during 1906. Together with
Mitsubishi of 1890 and Yamashina of 1883, the Nippon Salvage Co. was
formed. Owners feel that the efficient salvage tugs and expertise built
for over 100 years to date contribute to their successful history. (12)
 Today,
Nippon Salvage operates the two most powerful ocean-going salvage tugs
available in Japan, maintaining a 24-hour, 365-day stand-by service.
Modern and traditional salvage equipment are also available, including
sophisticated pumps to transfer oils and chemicals as well as oil-spill
recovery devices. The company is mostly owned by Japanese insurance
companies and shipowners. Nippon Salvage is also active internationally
and a member of the International Salvage Union. The company is also
involved in non-salvage fields such as cable laying and submarine pipeline
construction not only domestically, but overseas. (19) Co-owners, Japan Ocean Tug Co., Ltd. and the
Nippon Salvage Co. launched their new 10,000BHP, 2,300 GRT class
ocean-going salvage vessel/tug';Koyo Maru' in February 1998 to replace the
8,000HP 1968 built';Koyo Maru' which was built during the';era of big
tugs' and since broken up. This vessel was owned by Japan Ocean Tug Co,.
Ltd. and had been bareboat chartered/operated by the Nippon Salvage Co.,
Ltd. since its launch in November 1967, also at the Mitsubishi Heavy
Industries Shimonoseki Shipyard.
The new 86m x 14.5m, 2300 GRT 'Koyo Maru' has a bollard pull of 120
tonnes, which at this time is the most powerful in Japan and is capable of
towing VLCC-class vessels. It was constructed at Mitsubishi Heavy
Industries, Ltd. Shimonoseki Shipyard & Machinery Works and after
outfitting delivered to The Nippon Salvage Co., Ltd. on 15th June 1998.
The new 'Koyo Maru' has two controllable pitch propellers in fixed Kort
Nozzles combined with specially designed rudders, bow thruster as well as
joystick control system. Equipment also includes DPS and an Integrated
Navigation System, which boosts the efficiency of maneuvering in towing
operations. In addition, the sophisticated bridge system, BRS1A registered
at Class NK, has minimized crew requirements when maneuvering. (20)
Vessels in the Nippon Salvage fleet include the 8,200BHP, 68.98m x
12.6m 'Seiha Maru No.2' built in 1979 (rebuilt July 1983) powered with
twin Makita 6KSLH647 driving twin fixed pitch props; 2,000BHP, 33.9m x
8.4m 'Hayashio Maru No.2' built in 1979 and powered by two Daihatsu DS-22
with twin fixed pitch props in kort nozzles; single screw 1,600BHP 51.0m x
8.3m 'Wakashio Maru' built in 1978 (rebuilt January 1993) and powered by a
Akasaka DM-33 driving a controllable pitch prop. (19)
Propulsion Machinery
All of the main engines for Japanese flag tugs
shown in Lloyds Register are of Japanese manufacture with the exception of
one 26m firefighting tug built in 1982 by Ishihara which is powered with
three U.S. manufactured General Motors GM16V92TI. The most popular diesel
manufacturer seems to be Niigata with over half of the market share at 439
tugs, followed by Yanmar at 141 tugs, Daihatsu with 95, Hanshin with 48,
Fuji with 41 and Akasaka with engines in 18 tugs of 100GRT or more. (3)
Niigata
Since its establishment in June 1895, Niigata
Engineering Co., Ltd. has been serving a range of industrial sectors, from
plant engineering and construction to power systems and industrial
machinery. The first engine was developed a century ago. Since Niigata
Engineering built Japan's first industrial diesel engine, the company has
strived to develop and produce leading-edge power systems, and it has
grown to become a major Japanese engineering company. In the field of
prime movers, Niigata Engineering has built a total production system to
manufacture diesel engines, dual-fuel engines, lean-burn gas engines and
gas turbines from basic materials to finished products. Their marine
engines are designed to meet a wide range of needs and horsepower. Niigata
has manufactured and distributed a total of 22,000,000PS in various medium
and small size diesel engines throughout the world since the introduction
of the first diesel engine in Japan in 1919. (21) Niigata's medium and high speed marine
engines range from their model 6NSF-M producing 308kW (abt. 413BHP) at
2100RPM to the 16MG46HX which produces 13,180kw (abt. 17,674BHP @ 450RPM)
and slow speed marine diesels ranging from their 6M26BET (625kw @ 400RPM)
to the 6M42GTE (2794kW @ 250RPM). The Niigata -S.E.M.T. Pielstick diesels
consist of the 6PA5L 1588kw @ 1200RPM to the 18PA5V 4766kW @ 1200RPM and
the 12PA4V-200VGA and 16PA4V-200VGA producing 2118kW and 2824kW
respectively at 1550RPM. (22) The Niigata
medium
 peed models such as the 6L28HX producing about 1800BHP each,
6L25BX producing abt. 1300BHP, 6L25CXE producing abt. 1300 -1500BHP and
the 6PA5 producing abt. 1700BHP each seem to be the most popular models of
Niigata diesels in the Japanese fleet. (3)
It is difficult to come up with more detailed statistics on the number of
exact engine models, as this data was not always accurately entered into
the database.
Yanmar
Yanmar Diesel Engine Co., Ltd. of Osaka was
founded in March 1912 as Yamaoka Hatsudoki Kosakusho and adopted the
Yanmar brand name in 1921. The red Yanmar-tombo is the king of the
dragonflies in the Japanese countryside. The dragon fly is the symbol of
plentiful harvests and the name Yanmar was chosen as the image of
plentiful harvests. In 1933 they developed their first practical small
diesel engine and in 1952 changed the company name to Yanmar Diesel Co.,
Ltd. (23)
 (23)
With Lloyds showing Yanmar diesels in 141 Japanese tugs, they have the
second largest market share in tugs over 100GRT. Most popular engine
designations used in the Japanese tug fleet are the 1800BHP 6N280, 1600BHP
6N260 and 1500BHP T260-ET.(3)
Daihatsu
The foundation of industrial modernization of Japan
was established in the latter half of the Meiji era -around the turn of
the 20th century. Industrial revolution progressed at a rapid rate during
the following years, but products made domestically were still inferior
compared to its western counterparts. To overcome this situation, the
leaders of Japan saw the need to produce more industrial machinery
domestically to promote advancement in technology. In this effort to grow
as a country, a great need for prime movers (motors) arose. It was under
these circumstances that the Hatsudoki Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (Hatsudoki
= engine) was founded March 1, 1907 in Osaka, Japan. The company engaged
exclusively in the manufacture of suction gas engines for the next 15
years. Although the world economy was in depression, the demand created
from the World War kept the industrial modernization on track. Engines got
bigger and more powerful, and at the same time demand for compact engines
from small businesses grew as modernization took place. To take advantage
of this growing demand, their first compact engine was manufactured with
technical cooperation from R. M. Bit Corporation based in Chicago. With
its unconventional fuel injection system, the engine became a big success,
earning reputation for its simplicity and ease of operation. By this time,
there were numerous other companies that were producing diesel engines. To
identify engines made by Hatsudoki Manufacturing Co., Ltd., their
customers started to refer to their engine with the nickname 'Daihatsu'
(Dai = Osaka and Hatsu = engine). During this time, the company expanded
its product range and started the manufacture of vehicles amongst other
products. Since the company was now manufacturing products other than
engines, the name Hatusodki Manufacturing Co., Ltd. was changed to
Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd. on 19th December 1951.
In May 1966, after years of business diversification, it was decided to
separate the Osaka business division of Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd. into
another company that would specialize in its business operation. The
company was named Daihatsu Diesel Manufacturing Co., Ltd.. and was started
with a capital of 1 billion yen and 930 employees. The new company started
with the aim to manufacture various internal combustion engines, equipment
for vehicles and construction machinery. (25)
Most popular engine designations in the Japanese tug fleet are the
1600HP 6DSM-26, 1800HP 6DLM-28S and 600HP 8PSHTBM-26.(3)
Hanshin
The Hanshin Diesel Works, Ltd. of Kobe was
established in January 1918. Their diesel engine division produces Hanshin
diesel engines from 478 to 4,633kw, Kawasaki-MAN B&W diesels from
1,100kw -5,920kW, controllable pitch propellers capable of handling 478
-7,355kW and Hanshin-Kawasaki side thrusters of 2 -6 tons thrust plus a
Kawasaki joy-stick type integrated control system. (26)
The most popular engine models used are the thirty-year-old 6 cylinder,
slow-speed, four stroke 1,100HP 320x510mm 6L32 and 1,400HP 320x390mm
6LU32.(3) Over the years we have found a
number of instances where the old slow-speed diesels are in good operating
condition and in one case it was discovered during inspection of class
records that one set of fifty year old diesels were in their third tug.
Fuji
The most popular models of engines manufactured by The
Fuji Diesel Co. Ltd., Tateyama, Chiba Pref. in Japanese flag tugs, as
recorded by Lloyds Register, are the six cylinder, 4 stroke 275x320mm
6L27.5G and 6L27.5X producing 1200BHP and 1500BHP respectively.(3)
Akasaka
 Akasaka Tekkosho K.K. manufactures the Akasaka diesel
with the A and S series ranging from 1,103 -3,309kW, T, K and E series
from 625 -1,618kW and U from 1,323 -2,427kW. (27) The most popular Akasaka diesels in Japanese
tugs appears to be the A34CR and the DM30R.(3)
Other engine manufacturers noted were Hitachi Zosen-Hiroshima Works
(B&W); K.K. Otsuka Diesel, Usuk; Kubota Tekkosho, Sakai Diesel Plant,
Makita Diesel Co. Ltd., Takamatsu; Matsui Iron Works Co., Ltd.; Mitsubishi
Heavy Industries Ltd.; Mitsui SB. & Eng. Co. Ltd., Tamano (B&W);
Nippon Hatsudoki, Kobe; Sumiyoshi Marine Diesel Co. Ltd. and Usuki
Tekkosho, Usuki.(3)
PROPULSION DRIVES
In additional to conventional twin
or single screw propulsion with either fixed or controllable pitch
propellers, there are three types of azimuthing drives popular in Japan
-Niigata 'Z-Pellers', Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries (IHI)
Duckpellers and Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) Rex-Pellers. All three
azimuthing drives come in both fixed pitch and controllable pitch designs
with different models to match various horsepower inputs. There was not
enough information in Lloyds Register to provide data on which propeller
types were the most popular. The information for most tugs generally just
indicated whether fixed pitch or controllable pitch (with most fixed),
although a few stated 'directional' or 'z type'. Most of the azimuthing
tugs in Japan have aft-mounted drives. We have seen a few Japanese built
Voith Schneider tractor tugs in foreign fleets, but have not seen any
numbers on how many cycloidal drives are actually in the Japanese fleet. I
believe this to be a small percentage though compared to azimuthing
drives.
Niigata Z-drives
Over the last 30 years about 2,000
'Z-Pellers' have been manufactured and delivered to various customers
worldwide. The fixed pitch series handles from 735kW/1,000PS maximum
continuous input for a single ZP-09 model up to 2648kW / 3,600PS per unit
for the ZP-61 model with a maximum bollard pull of 93mt ahead (for two
units) at 100% MCR. The 4-blade controllable pitch units with skewed
Kaplan props range from 1323kW/1600PS per unit up to 1912kW/2600PS with a
maximum bollard pull of 67mt ahead (for two units) at 100% MCR. (21) Although we do not have any accurate
breakdown as to the exact number of models of Niigata Z-Peller drives in
the Japanese fleet, from reviewing tug spec sheets in Marcon records, the
fixed pitch ZP-21 with a maximum continuous input of 1323kw (abt. 1770BHP
figuring 1 kW = 1.341BHP), input shaft speeds ranging from 750 -1800RPM
and bollard pull of 45mt (100% MCR for two units) seems to be a popular
model, not only with Japanese owners and operators, but a number of
foreign builders and tug owners. (See further on company history for
Niigata Engineering above under 'Propulsion Machinery').
Ishikawajima Shipyard (IHI) Duck-Pellers
1853 witnessed the
arrival of Commodore Perry's black ships off the shores of Tokyo Bay. That
same year, Ishikawajima Shipyard was founded. The beginning of IHI's
history coincides with the dawn of modern Japan more than almost 150 years
ago. IHI started out in shipbuilding, and its operations have now expanded
to building bridges, constructing plants, manufacturing aerospace
equipments, and a broad variety of other fields.(28) The Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries
Co., Ltd. (IHI) version of the 'Z-Peller' is their Duckpeller which was
developed in 1967 as a propulsion unit that can control the thrust
direction in 360 degrees to be used for tug boats and others types of
vessels. In addition to their standard fixed pitch Duckpeller system, IHI
has marketed a newly-developed steerable-type contra-rotating propeller
(CRP) propulsion unit, IHI CRP- DUCK, for coastal cargo ships and tankers.
The IHI CRP-DUCK is a hybrid propulsion unit of the Duckpeller and the
IHI-CRP system. The CRP is a pair of propellers contra-rotating to
increase thrust force, or reduce energy consumption, and is used for
merchant vessels. The new propulsion unit reportedly offers superior
maneuverability and economy in ship operation by steering function with
large thrusting force and less energy consumption. Berthing and unberthing
become safer and more efficient in narrow and congested ports, requiring
fewer harbor workers. IHI reports main features are increased
maneuverability, low energy consumption & reduced emission of air
pollution and low noise & vibration. The packaged propulsion and
steering unit consists of propellers, propeller shafts, reduction gear,
and steering device which are all built in one unit. On-board mounting and
outfitting of the unit are carried out easily. The propulsion unit is
easily removed for onshore maintenance and installation of the units is
possible after the ship is launched, making ship construction schedule
flexible. (29)
Kawasaki Rex-Pellers
 Kawasaki Heavy
Industries, Ltd.(KHI) with head offices in Tokyo and Kobe was established
15 October 1896 and the 360 degree steerable 'Rex-Peller' propulsion
system was developed and first introduced into the market in 1983. A
shipyard itself was actually established by Shozo Kawasaki in Tsukiji,
Tokyo and Kawasaki Hyogo Shipyard was established in Higashide-machi,
Hyogo Prefecture in March 1881. In April 1969 Kawasaki Dockyard, Kawasaki
Rolling Stock Manufacturing and Kawasaki Aircraft were all merged to
become Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. Initially intended for use on
tugboats, the Rex-Peller has since seen the development and production of
many different versions.
One of the recently delivered models is a retractable Rex-Peller
embodying the state-of-the-art technology for installation on a
multipurpose work vessel controlled by a dynamic positioning system (DPS).
Rex-Peller models range from the 350HP (257kW) KST-75ZF/A to the
KST-350ZF/A (fixed pitch) and KST-350C/A (controllable pitch) handling a
continuous input power of 5,850 kW at 900RPM standard input RPM for the
z-type. (31) The largest output unit
manufactured to-date was a 4,200kW unit, but this was for a research
vessel and not a tug. We have seen a number of the Rex-Pellers not only
used in tugs in the Japanese fleets, but also in other Far Eastern fleets.
For example, looking over a list of tugs built recently by Donghai
Shipyard in Shanghai, fourteen are fitted with Rex-Peller drives and were
delivered to operators in Indonesia, Singapore and China. (32)
Shipbuilders
The leader in shipbuilders by far for those tugs
of 100GRT or more listed in Lloyds Register is Kanagawa Zosen of Kobe,
with 174 tugs built followed by Kanbara Zosen K.K., Onomichi with 49 tugs
and Sagami Zosen Tekko K.K. of Yokosuka with 35 tugs. 304 tugs were built
by yards who had built less than 10 boats per yard. (3) Generally most of the shipyards
are now suffering a slowdown in tug orders at present because of teh
general recession.
Kanagawa Zosen
Kanagawa Zosen of Kobe City was established
in 1944 and started newbuilding and
 repair of mid and
small size steel ships in 1951. The company with 174 tugs built and
currently under Japanese flag is the leading tugboat builder in Japan and
also builds various types of sophisticated ships such as passenger ships,
ferries, escort ships, pollution / fire control ships including oil spill
recovery and oil fence deployment / recovery vessels in addition to tugs.
They have delivered 59 tugboats for various customers in the recent five
years. They have two sets of 60m building berths for a maximum of 1,000GRT
at their Yoshida Factory and an outfitting quay of 80m length at their
Kuramojima Factory. (33) (34)
Kambara Zosen
Kambara Zosen is a small-sized shipyard
situated in Onomichi-city, Hiroshima Prefecture and has a fairly long
history in building tugs and pushers. They have built 49 tugs in the
Japanese fleet. Although they suffered financial difficulties in
1999, they have now recovered and are working as before. They are
having the same difficulty as other builders with fewer orders because of
the general recession in Japan.
Sagami Zosen Tekko K.K.
Sagami Zosen Tekko was established
in November 1943 and specializes in shipbuilding and repair work of tugs,
passenger vessels, oil skimmers, cargo vessels, oil tankers, etc. with a
total of 200 employees. They have building berths for maximum 600GRT and
repair docks for maximum 900GRT(33) and
have 35 tugs under Japanese registry. (3)
Imamura Shipbuilding
 Although only
showing up in Lloyds Register with five tugs built under Japanese flag, (3), Imamura Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. of Kure
has built a number of beautiful ASD ocean, coastal and harbor tugs for
foreign operators such as Hongkong Salvage and Towage to the operator's
design and under Hong Kong flag ranging from 2,600 -4,000BHP. Propulsion
generally followed the most popular manufacturers in the Japanese fleet
with Niigata, Daihatsu or Yanmar diesels matched up to Duckpellers,
Z-Pellers and Rex-Pellers.(43) I have not personally inspected this fleet,
but friends of ours who looked at them were very impressed.
Imamura Zosenshyo Co., Ltd. was established in 1961 and has one 90m x
18m 2600GRT and one 70m x 12m 700GRT building berth plus one 82.5m x 13.2m
1999GRT floating repair dock. Their newbuilding capacity is abt. 10,400GRT
and repair capacity abt. 65,000GRT with 113 employees. (33)
Another recent example of a tug being built in Japan for a foreign
buyer vs. was when Matsuura Tekko Zosen built the 58m x 14.1m, 11,400BHP
salvage tug 'Anglian Monarch' in 1999 for Klyne Tugs Ltd. of Lowestoft,
UK. Tug is now on ETV duty in the North Sea.
Mergers and
Bankruptcies
The recession hitting the Japanese economy has
hurt many of the shipyards. Niigata Engineering filed for bankruptcy
protection under Japanese Corporate reorganization law on 27th November
with debts totaling 277 billion yen (abt. US$ 1,84 billion). At the
time, this failure caused the Nikkei Stock Exchange to drop by nearly
three percent. As of 15th September 2001, their workforce totaled
2,338 employees and power systems accounted for abt. 36% of their
revenues. NKK and Hitachi Zosen have agreed to merge their
shipbuilding operations in October 2002 with the new company being called
Universal Shipbuilding Corp. Ishikawajima-Harima-Heavy Industries
Co., Ltd. (IHI) announced last November that they decided to separate its
merchant shipbuilding sector from the company and merge the sector into
Marine United Inc., (MU) also in October 2002. MU was established in
1995 in the merger of the naval shipbuilding sectors of IHI and SHO.
IHI and Kawasaki Heavy Industries had been negotiating consolidation of
their loss-making shipbuilding operations, but in September 2001 decided
to cancel talks. (33)
Japanese Tug / Barge Linkage Systems
An important segment of the Japanese tugboat industry are push
tugs and barges. Tug / Barge pushing techniques were first introduced into
Japan in 1964 for the purpose of transporting sand for building an
artificial island in Kobe Harbor. Each train consisted of a pusher tug and
two bottom dump barges of 1,000m3 capacity each. This dump barge fleet was
successful and a number of these units were built for transporting sand at
the sites of harbor construction and reclamation. The early push-tug and
barge trains were rope connected, river service type having vertical push
knees at the bows of the pushers, along the lines of the river pushboats
in America and Europe. These could stand waves of only one meter in
height. The connecting ropes led from the bow of the pusher to the barge
were too short to permit free vertical motions of the push bow relative to
the barge and were often broken when subjected to higher waves. In spite
of the poor seaworthiness of this connection, the high economical
efficiency of pusher-barge systems was widely recognized in Japan and many
pushers and hopper barges were built.
It was not long before shipping companies began to introduce
pusher-barge systems for transporting limestone, coal, aggregates, cement,
etc., which required a great improvement in seaworthiness. A new design
was introduced with a barge having a notch at the stern to receive the
vertical ship-shaped bow of the push tug. Connecting ropes were led from
the pusher stern to the barge to permit free vertical motions of the tug's
bow relative to the stern of the barge, but in the early stage of
utilizing notches there were a number of problems and damage to hulls,
fenders, ropes and winches.
 Although notches were a step toward solution of the problem,
cargo carrying tug-barge trains required to provide a continuous service
throughout the year could not go out of Tokyo Bay, the Western Inland Sea
and similar sheltered waters. Even the most seaworthy could go only a
little out of the Inland Sea. The high growth of the Japanese economy in
the latter half of the 1960's though accelerated the growth in size of
barges and, as a result, their connection and disconnection became
dangerous muscle work needing much manpower and time. Because of this hard
manual effort, it was impossible to reduce the number of crew even if most
of them had nothing to do during the voyage. Push tugs of 3-4,000BHP for
short coastal routes required a 12 -14 man crew to handle the barges.
Taisei Engineering of Tokyo completed the first Articouple-F series in
1972 for a tug-barge train consisting of a 3,200BHP push tug and a
5,300dwt dump barge. More units were built for harbor constructors
performing large harbor reclamation works and by the end of 1973 eight
pushers fitted with articouples were in service. As of February 2002, a
total of 211 two-pin supported articouple articulated couplers and three
pin supported Triofix rigid connection couplers have been delivered,
trading not only in Japanese waters but in the Great Lakes and Baltic.
Following are some recent deliveries of articouple equipment in the
Japanese fleet for new tugs and conversions: (35) (36) (37) (38)
|
Push
Tug |
Tonnage |
Engine |
Coupler |
Barge |
Owner |
Tug |
Delivery |
|
Power |
Model |
Dwt |
Builder |
|
Wakashio |
492 |
2
x 3000 |
FRC-55E |
11,000 |
Nagamune
Kosan |
Tachibana
SB & IW. |
Sept. |
|
(conversion) |
2001 |
|
No.5
|
19 |
2
x 200 |
FD-2M |
260 |
Nihon
Yakin Kogo |
Miura
Shipyard |
Aug. |
|
Sorin
Maru |
2001 |
|
Shoshin
Maru |
160 |
2
x 2500 |
TRF-65F |
7,500 |
Matsukura |
Hongawara |
Aug. |
|
Industry |
Shipbldg. |
2001 |
|
No.
3 |
19 |
2
x 650 |
FD-M2 |
1,000 |
Kato |
Suzuki |
Aug. |
|
Fuji
Maru |
Chemical |
Shipyard |
2001 |
|
No.
2 |
19 |
2
x 650 |
FD-M2 |
1,000 |
Kato |
Suzuki |
April |
|
Fuji
Maru |
Chemical |
Shipyard |
2001 |
|
No.
1 |
19 |
2
x 650 |
FD-M2 |
1,000 |
Kato |
Suzuki |
April |
|
Fuji
Maru |
Chemical |
Shipyard |
2001 |
CLASSIFICATION SOCIETIES
Nippon Kaiji Kyokai, known as
ClassNK or just NK, is a member of The International Association of
Classification Societies (IACS). NK was established in 1899 as the ship
classification society of Japan, and plays an important role in
establishing and implementing international rules and legislation relating
to ships' safety and prevention of pollution of sea from ships. The
origins of Nippon Kaiji Kyokai date from the foundation in November 1899
of the Teikoku Kaiji Kyokai (the Imperial Marine Association) in Tokyo,
which was established in order to promote the regulation and development
of the shipping and shipbuilding industries in Japan. The early years of
the Society were spent promoting a wide range of shipping-related
activities, very different from the focused technical role that ClassNK
plays today. The first ship to receive a class certificate from the then
TKK was the Kwanan Maru in 1920.
In 1926, the Society's class notation, NS*, was formally registered in
the classification clause of the Institute of London Underwriters,
amounting to recognition of TKK's existence as an internationally active
classification society. In the inter-war years, TKK received support from,
and co-operated with, the British Corporation Register of Shipping (later
to merge with Lloyd's Register) and other societies.
By 1929, the Classification Society had reached 1 million gross tons of
ships under class. The Society was in re-launched under its current name,
Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (the Japan Marine Association), in 1946 in the
aftermath of World War II. From a state of near complete destruction, the
Japanese Shipping and Shipbuilding industries recovered gradually and then
grew rapidly in strength, with the Society called upon to survey a large
number and wide range of different vessel types over the years. The
Society's Register of Ships exceeded 10 million gross tons by 1963, and
100 million gross tons by the end of 1997. Today, Nippon Kaiji Kyokai has
more than 6,500 vessels totaling over 104 million gross tons under class.
Nippon Kaiji Kyokai was a founding member of IACS, the International
Association of Classification Societies, which was established in 1968 to
represent the major national class societies and promote international
initiatives and cooperation over ship safety. As it was in its earliest
days, Nippon Kaiji Kyokai today remains a 3rd party, not-for-profit
foundation, committed to the safety of life and property at sea, and the
prevention of marine pollution. The date of the 100th Anniversary itself
was 15 November 1999. (39)
Other important organizations include (33)
- The Ship Equipment Inspection Society of
Japan (Nippon Hakuyohin Kentei Kyokai - 'HK') of Tokyo which was HK was appointed
'designated
inspection organization' by the MOT (now MLIT - Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure and Transport). It conducts product inspection of
type-approved ship equipment. It also conducts testing and inspection
upon the request of manufacturers and issues certificates for various
non-type-approved ship and marine equipments.
- Japan Ship-Machinery Quality Control Association.
- Japan Marine Standards Association.
Tugboat Industry & The Government
Under Article 3 of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport
Establishment Law, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport
(MLIT) are responsible for implementing transportation policies, promoting
the progress of meteorological tasks and maintaining marine safety and
security.
Under MLIT are the Marine Bureau with their Maritime Industries, Port
Transport, Shipbuilding, Safety Standards, Inspection & Measurement,
Technology and Ship Inspector General Divisions plus the Ports and Harbors
Bureau which includes Administration, Planning, Development, Construction,
Environment & Engineering and Coastal Administration & Disaster
Prevention Divisions. (40)
Many of the Japanese harbor tugs are not classed by NK, but rather fall
under JG regulations such as JG Smooth Water Area, JG Coastal Going, etc.
similar to the British DOT, the Canadian Steam Ship Inspection (CSI) for
Home Trade, etc.
Japanese Economy & Energy
The economy always has
a great effect on a country's tug and barge industry, not only in Japan.
One example was the so-called 'oil shock' in 1973 which dealt a fatal blow
to Japan's reclamation works. As new projects were abandoned or postponed,
many tugs and barges employed in this trade could not find work and new
construction of tugs and articouple units slowed dramatically. We can
definitely see here in the U.S. the current effects of the downturn in the
economy on the tug and barge industry. During May 2002, we put out a
request for quotes for tows of two ships out of the U.S. Southeast / Gulf
Coasts. The number of responses were high and some of the lump sum prices
quoted made us shake our heads and wonder how an owner would even afford
to do it for the price quoted.
Japan is the United States' largest non-NAFTA trading partner. It is
also the world's second largest economy, with a GDP of roughly $4.5
trillion in 2000. Measured in dollar terms and at current exchange rates,
that is roughly 48 percent of the United States' GDP, although
fluctuations in the dollar/yen rate can change this figure significantly.
Measured on the same basis, Japan's annual output is greater than that of
Germany and France combined. It is roughly four times the annual output of
China, and nine times that of India. U.S. exports to Japan were roughly
equal to U.S. exports to Latin America (excluding Mexico) in 1999, and
about four times the value of exports to China.
Although viewed as the first of Asia's economic miracles through most
of the postwar era, Japan's economic growth was sluggish or negative in
the 1990s. Following the end of the 'bubble economy' that centered on
Tokyo property markets in the late 1980s, the Japanese economy entered a
period of stop-and-go economic and financial restructuring. The process of
reform has been uneven during the past ten years, but it accelerated in
response to financial sector difficulties and a deep recession in 1998.
The government took aggressive steps to prop up the economy and strengthen
ailing banks. The GOJ adopted in October 2000 an 11 trillion yen economic
stimulus package, the most recent in a series of stimulus packages,
including 5.5 trillion yen in new spending measures and 5.5 trillion yen
in increased loans and loan-guarantee programs. This was the ninth
stimulus package with a headline grabbing spending figure since 1992.
These measures put a floor under the recession, but economic recovery
remains hesitant, with a significant improvement in private consumption
yet to appear.
Japan is the world's fourth largest energy consumer and the second
largest energy importer (after the United States). Over the past decade,
Japan has been experiencing a period of slow economic growth, and has
taken important steps towards economic deregulation and restructuring.
After staging a modest recovery in 1999 and 2000, Japan's economy again
slid into recession in 2001, as the global economic slowdown reduced
demand for the country's exports. Japan's gross domestic product (GDP)
fell by 0.4% in 2001, and it is projected to fall by 1.1% in 2002, though
on a quarterly basis growth in real GDP is projected to resume in the
second quarter of 2002. Unemployment has risen to over five percent, which
is historically a very high level for Japan.
Japan's prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, who took office last year,
has pressed for structural reforms in Japan's economy. In one major
change, Koizumi has reversed the previous policy of increasing government
spending to stimulate the country's economy and has set a deficit ceiling
of 30 trillion yen. Spending on public works projects, which had been
funded as part of previous stimulus packages, has been scaled back
significantly in the proposed 2002/2003 government budget. Japan's
projected modest economic recovery in late 2002 is likely to be driven by
growth in Japanese exports. Capital spending by Japanese businesses,
however, and domestic demand for consumer products and services, are
likely to recover more slowly. Despite an aggressive expansionary monetary
policy by the Bank of Japan, with the discount rate currently set at 0.1%,
consumer prices are likely to continue to fall through 2002. (44)
Japan's economic stagnation since the early 1990s has led to a period
of consolidation in the country's energy sector. Energy demand has been
stable and Japan's energy industries, particularly the downstream oil
sector, have undergone a period of downsizing and consolidation. Japan
remains important to the world energy sector, though, as one of the main
exporters of energy-sector capital equipment, and engineering,
construction and project management services. Japan lacks significant
domestic sources of energy and must import substantial amounts of crude
oil, natural gas and other energy resources. In 1999, the country's
dependence on imports for primary energy stood at more than 79%.
Oil provided Japan with 52% of its total energy needs, coal 15%,
nuclear power 15%, natural gas 13%, hydroelectric power 4% and renewable
resources 1.3%. About half of Japan's energy is being used by industry and
one-fourth by transportation, with nearly all the rest used by the
residential, agricultural and service sectors. Japan's energy intensity
(energy use per unit of GDP) is among the lowest in the developed world.
Japan contains almost no oil reserves of its own (59 million barrels of
proven oil reserves), but is the world's second largest oil consumer
(after the United States). In 2001, Japan consumed an estimated 5.44
million barrels per day (bbl/d) of oil, down from 5.53 million bbl/d in
2000. Most (75-80%) of this oil came from OPEC, particularly Persian Gulf
countries like the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and
Iran. (41)
Japan did score high at number seven in the June 2002's list of leading
economies by World Trade magazine, but it sounds like the economy there is
still very fragile. The country is still struggling with structural
reforms and the banking sector is vulnerable to bad debts and corporate
failure. An upturn in the global economic economy will help Japan as well
as the U.S., but cannot be depended upon alone to do the job. (41)
Special Thanks
Fukada Salvage & Marine Works Co.,
Ltd.
Japan Ship Center (JETRO), New York.
Lekko International.
Taisei Engineering Consultants, Inc.
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