Iknow Machinery, Nippon Paper Industries, and NYK Demonstrate World’s First
Automatic Wood-Chip Discharging Operation with Actual Cargo-- Reducing the burden on wood-chip cargo-handling crane operators --Iknow Machinery Co., Ltd.
Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd.
Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha
Iknow Machinery Co. Ltd. (hereinafter "Iknow Machinery"), Nippon Paper Industries Co.
Ltd. (hereinafter "Nippon Paper Industries"), and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha(hereinafter "NYK") have conducted a cargo handling trial of the world's first automatic crane
operation system, which was developed for wood-chip carriers by Iknow Machinery. The trial
was performed at Tomakomai port (Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan) in late August and enabled
the three companies to confirm the effect of the system to reduce the burden on wood-chipcargo-handling crane operators.

Background

Wood chips loaded on wood-chip carriers are discharged using a dedicated crane installed on
the ship. The discharging work is a repetitive work of capturing the wood chips loaded in thecargo hold of the ship with a special grab that is a part of the onboard crane, pulling the grabup, and throwing it into the hopper (a saucer-shaped stage) installed on the upper deck. Crane
operations for discharging work are carried out by professional licensed drivers, not by theship's crew. Crane operators usually work day and night, and when discharging all cargo at
one port, they work continuously for about three days.
-Wood-chip carrier parts

-Crane-Grab before capturing cargo

-Grab capturing wood chips

Iknow Machinery, a manufacturer of marine products, including deck machinery such ascranes, has been conducting research and development on automatic crane operation toreduce the work burden of crane operators. This is being done with the support of Japan’s
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) for the introduction ofcutting-edge vessels. Nippon Paper Industries, which arranges crane operators, has made it
an issue to reduce the burden on and improve the work environment of crane operators. NYK
has been aiming to share social issues with stakeholders involved in the supply chain and solve
them by working from all possible perspectives while promoting ESG management. With thisbackground, and together with the understanding and cooperation of the shipowner,management company, and other related parties, the three companies conducted this cargohandling trial.

Outline of cargo handling trial

The crane automatic operation system is designed to carry out discharging work once a crane
operator uses an operation panel installed in the cab of the onboard crane to select one of the
pre-set types of routine movements. Three sensors attached to the grab detect the surface ofthe cargo loaded in the cargo hold, and they wirelessly transmit a signal to the crane. The grab
then rolls down, slows down its speed as it approaches the surface of the cargo, and lands onthe cargo. For the sake of safety and efficiency, the system is equipped with a grab fallprevention function and a hopper full-load detection sensor.
-

Cargo detection system built in the grab-

Overall view of the crane automatic operation system

In this cargo handling trial, the automatic crane operation system was retrofitted on theonboard crane of the vessel Growth Ring, a wood-chip carrier engaged in a long-term contract
between Nippon Paper Industries and NYK. With the attendance of the crane operator, thecrane with the automatic crane operation system carried out discharging work for about fourhours. The trial confirmed that this automatic crane operation system enabled the crane tohandle about 70% of the cargo, which was the initial target of the trial. The attended crane
operators gave comments such as “it was easier to handle this automatic operation systembecause it works just by buttons being pushed” and “the operation was safe enough.”Going forward, Iknow Machinery will commercialize this system by taking advantage of theeffectiveness of the automatic system confirmed in this trial. Nippon Paper Industries willconsider installation of the automatic system on wood-chip carriers, and will further work toreduce the burden on and improve the work environment of crane operators. NYK will further
cooperate in the development of technology to reduce the burden on crane operators, and will
work to resolve social issues throughout the supply chain as a sustainable solution provider
while pursuing safe operation, which is the basis of ESG management.

Overview of each company・ Iknow Machinery Co., Ltd.
Headquarters: Sasebo City, Nagasaki Prefecture
Representative: Shinji Nonaka, Chairman and President
Website: https://www.iknow-m.jp
・ Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd.
Headquarters: Tokyo
Representative: Toru Nozawa, President and CEO
Website: https://www.nipponpapergroup.com
・ Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK)
Headquarters: Tokyo
Representative: Hitoshi Nagasawa, President
Website: https://www.nyk.com/english/

Contact for inquiries

・ Iknow Machinery Co., Ltd.
Business Department
Tel: +81-956-47-3113 ✉ business@iknow-m.co.jp
・ Nippon Paper Industries, Ltd.
TEL: +81-3-6665-1016✉ pr@nipponpapergroup.com

・ Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha
Corporate Communication Group, Media Relation Team
Tel: +81-3-3284-5190 ✉ NYKJP.ML.MEDIA@nykgroup.com