Christening of U-Ming’s Eco-Friendly Post Panamax Bulk Carrier “M.V. Cemtex Eminence”

　U-Ming Marine Transport Corporation (2606) - one of the nine listed companies under the Far Eastern Group, had contracted with Sumisho Marine Co., Ltd to commission Oshima Shipbuilding Co., Ltd to build the 99,990 DWT Post Panamax bulk carrier, M.V. “Cemtex Eminence”. The Christening Ceremony was hosted by Mr Douglas Hsu, Chairman of Far Eastern Group on April 14, 2023 at the Oshima shipbuilding yard. Ms. Laure Baratgin, Rio Tinto’s Head of Commercial Operations, was invited to christen the ship. The successful ceremony was well attended by many business associates and distinguished guests.

　Measuring 235m in length and 40m in width, M.V. Cemtex Eminence is U-Ming’s third new built vessel among the 99,990 DWT Post Panamax series, which is designed and built for U-Ming by Oshima Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. The vessel has inherited U-Ming’s consistent energy-saving and environmental protection concepts; not only that she meets the requirements of the third stage of the International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI), but also 33% more energy efficient than vessels of the same deadweight size.

　The vessel is equipped with the Fleet Safety Management (FSM) ship management platform developed by U-Ming, which synchronizes ship navigational and meteorological data for monitoring and analysis purposes; in order to improve operational efficiency and reduce failure rates.  This FSM platform has obtained the SMARTShip Notation certification from classification societies such as Japan’s NK, Norway’s DNV, Taiwan’s CR and USA’ ABS.  With the advantages of larger deadweight capacity, fuel efficiency, low-speed navigation characteristics and optimized hull & bridge designs, the vessel’s overall operational competitiveness is largely enhanced. U-Ming’s environmental and energy-saving ship renewal plan since 2014 has coincided with the IMO’s Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) and Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI)’s regulations to be carbon neutral or zero emission ambition by 2050, thus U-Ming has relied on this environmental transformation to gain an advantage in achieving its corporate vision.

　U-Ming has been making every effort in its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) management.  In 2022, the company had won the Golden award in the transportation category for the "Corporate Sustainability Report Award." at the Taiwan Corporate Sustainability Awards (TCSA).  U-Ming is also a constituent stock of the FTSE4Good Emerging Index and the FTSE4Good TIP Taiwan ESG Index.  It has been paying much attention to the development of various international sustainability initiatives to keep up with the trends.  It responded to the "1.5°C Climate Action Declaration" of the Taiwan Business Alliance in 2022 and embarked onto its low-carbon transformation; and signed the climate advocacy document of the R20 Climate Action Regional Organization, aiming to achieve a sustainable shipping and to create a net-zero future.  U-Ming has also joined the “Getting to Zero Coalition”, pledging itself to plan and build vessels powered by zero-carbon fuels to achieve the goal of net-zero carbon emissions.  It places high emphasis onto corporate responsibility & governance, public welfare, occupational safety, human rights and social inclusion.  The company is also a member of the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN), cooperating with international governments and civil society organizations to combat corrupt practices in the shipping industry.

About U-Ming:

　U-Ming currently owns and operates Capesize, Post Panamax, Panamax, Ultramax, and Supramax bulk carriers; cement carriers; Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC), Very Large Ore Carriers (VLOC) and Crew Transfer Vessels (CTV); amounting to a total of 73 vessels including vessels that are in operation, under construction, joint ventures and ship management services; totaling deadweight of 8.82 million tons. The average age of the owned bulk fleet is about 6.6 years. Besides the subsidiaries in Hong Kong, Singapore and China Xiamen; U-Ming Marine Offshore Co., Ltd. was recently set up to provide offshore wind maritime transportation services in Taiwan.     

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