MOL Car Carrier Firmament Ace Joins Port ofNagoya Public Aquarium's Loggerhead Turtle
Migration Research Project
July 11, 2024
TOKYO-Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL; President & CEO: Takeshi Hashimoto)
today announced that one of its car carriers, the Firmament Ace , teamed up
with the Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium
on a project to study the migration
patterns of loggerhead turtles (Note 1), with the vessel transporting turtles andaquarium staff. This is the second time an MOL Group vessel has joined thisproject including last year (Note 2).

The Firmament AceReleasing turtles into the sea©Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium

On June 27 (local time), 28 loggerhead turtles were loaded onto the vessel at thePort of Nagoya's Kinjo, and on July 7, two research members aboard the vessel
released them into the Pacific Ocean.
The Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium is conducting this research in collaboration
with domestic and international research institutions, including Stanford
University to verify the Thermal Corridor Hypothesis(Note 3) that loggerhead
turtles in the eastern end of the central North Pacific Transition Zone reach thewaters off California in El Niño years, when the sea surface is warmer. This
research can provide valuable knowledge about the ecology of these
endangered turtles and link it to conservation activities, by monitoring theirmigration route using the location information from the transmitters attachedto the turtles.
All of the released loggerheads are about two years old and relatively large,
with carapace length of 35 cm to 45 cm and weight of approximately 9 kg. Unlike
turtles immediately after hatching, they are less likely to be attacked by marine
predators.
MOL has positioned environmental strategy as one of the key elements of its"BLUE ACTION 2035" management plan, and has established the "MOL Group
Environmental Vision 2.2." Recognizing the impact of its business activities on
the marine environment and ecosystems, the group is proactively engaged in awide variety of corporate citizenship activities to contribute to the conservationof the marine environment and biodiversity, as the ocean is not only the site ofMOL Group business activities, but also the common property of all people
around the world.
(Note 1) Commonly known "Sea Turtle Research Experiment on the Thermal
Corridor Hypothesis (STRETCH)
Loggerhead turtles are found in temperate and tropical regions of the world,
and their nesting grounds in the North Pacific are mostly limited to theJapanese coastal areas influenced by the Kuroshio Current. They are known tomigrate across the Pacific Ocean to waters off the Baja California Peninsula inEl Niño years, but it is unknown how and when they migrate, or what route theytake. Detailed analysis of loggerhead migration and marine environment datacollected through this study will help elucidate the migration ecology andcontribute to effective conservation activities for endangered loggerhead
turtles.
The location of all 28 loggerhead turtles released can be checked from this site
(URL: https://www.loggerheadstretch.org/) in real time.

(Note 2) For details, please refer to the following press release:
July 14, 2023: MOL Car Carrier Galaxy Ace Cooperates with Port of Nagoya
Public Aquarium for Loggerhead Turtle Migration Research(Note 3) There are "biogeographic barriers" proposed by Darwin to the east of
the Pacific Ocean. Typically, the passage of marine organisms ranging fromlarvae to large swimming species is impeded. But the mechanism by which theintermittent appearance of a warm seawater path, or "thermal corridor,"enables loggerhead turtles to migrate from the Central North Pacific to thecoast of Baja California in Mexico, is proposed as the Thermal Corridor
Hypothesis.
MOL Group 5 Sustainability Issues
MOL Group identifies "Sustainability Issues" (Materiality) as our key issues forsustainable growth with society through realization of the Group Vision.
We anticipate this initiative to contribute especially to the realization of"Environment -Conservation for Marine and global environment-" and "Human &Community -Contributing to the growth and development of people andcommunities-."

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