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The solar power-assisted vessel Auriga Leader (gross tonnage: 60,213 tons), which was jointly developed by NYK and Nippon Oil Corporation, has been recognized as the ship of the year at the Lloyd’s List Global Awards 2009.

Together with customers and colleagues, Svein Steimler, executive vice president of NYK Group Europe Ltd., accepted the award on behalf of NYK.

The Lloyd’s List Global Awards annually recognize a wide range of maritime excellence, from best shipmaster to the company that contributed most to clean oceans. More than six hundred guests attended the gala celebration dinner at London’s Royal Lancaster Hotel. Alastair Campbell, the press secretary for former Prime Minister Tony Blair, acted as master of ceremonies.

Lloyd’s List gives the Ship of the Year Award to celebrate a vessel delivered in the past year that has set a new benchmark in terms of design, innovation, and efficiency. This year’s winner was described by the panel of judges as a remarkable ship.

The solar-power-assisted Auriga Leader, which is equipped with 328 solar panels, has been used to experiment with propulsion systems that run in part on solar power. The systems have been jointly developed by NYK and Nippon Oil Corporation.

Auriga Leader has recently completed its fourth voyage as part of a scheduled two-year experiment into how solar power can be used to assist with powering a vessel.

As initially anticipated, solar power was able to provide 0.05 percent of the ship’s propulsion power and 1 percent of the electricity used on the vessel, such as for pumps and lights. This change will help reduce fuel consumption and consequent CO2 emissions.

"NYK and Nippon Oil Corporation plan to continue this experiment so that the use of clean solar power can be practically applied to powering seagoing vessels and thus help to reduce the carbon footprint of this efficient form of transport," NYK said earlier this month in a statement.