U-Ming Marine Transport's energy-saving new ship 'Yufa Wheel' is put into service

        U-Ming Marine Transport (Singapore) Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of U-Ming Marine Transport, commissioned New Ocean Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. to construct the 64000 deadweight ton Ultramax bulk carrier, M.V. "Asian Prosperity," and held a reception ceremony in Yangzhou on October 14th. The ceremony was personally hosted by Douglas Hsu and invited Stephanie Comin, President of the Taiwan branch of Hong Kong based Christian Dior Limited, to name the new ship. On the same day, U-Ming Marine Transport signed four new ship construction contracts with New Ocean Shipbuilding Company to establish a stable cooperative relationship between them.

        The "Yufa Ship" has a length of 199.90 meters, a width of 32.26 meters, and a load capacity of 64000 tons. It is the third ship in the Ultramax series to be newly designed and built by New Ocean Shipyard and U-Ming Marine Transport. It inherits the consistent concept of energy conservation and environmental protection, and not only exceeds the energy-saving requirements of the third stage of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI), but also completes the Hempel X8 high-performance coating on the outer panel before the sea trial. It can effectively reduce biological adhesion and ship resistance during navigation, thereby improving fuel efficiency. Compared with traditional anti fouling paint on the outer panel, it can save 5-8% of fuel consumption. At the same time, the Fleet Safety Management (FSM) system developed by U-Ming Marine Transport has been installed. Through the ship network, the ship operation and meteorological data are synchronized and transmitted back to the company for shore analysis and monitoring, further improving ship energy efficiency, reducing failure rates, and increasing operational efficiency. This system has not only obtained SMARTShip Notation from Japan's NK, Norway's DNV, Taiwan's CR, France's BV and other classification societies, but also won the Maritime Safety Award from the Singapore Maritime Safety Authority.

        In addition, the "Yufa Ship" has also obtained the LNG Ready classification symbol issued by the ABS classification society, indicating that the ship has the potential to be converted to use liquefied natural gas (LNG) as fuel, which will help reduce carbon emissions and meet stricter environmental requirements in the future.

        In response to the 2050 net zero greenhouse gas emissions target set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), U-Ming Marine Transport is implementing a fleet replacement program, striving for environmental transformation by replacing energy consuming old ships with new environmentally-friendly ones. This not only reduces carbon emissions but also increases operational efficiency. Not only that, U-Ming Marine Transport is also actively developing sustainable fuel alternatives to ensure more environmentally friendly operations.

        U-Ming Marine Transport attaches great importance to ESG and has released the "Task Force on Climate related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) Independent Report" for the first time this year, which is the first of its kind in Taiwan's shipping industry. Its long-term efforts have been recognized by various parties, including its inclusion in the "FTSE Taiwan Sustainability Index FTSE4Good" composite constant stock for consecutive years; Won the "Sustainability Report White Gold Award" and "Taiwan's Top 100 Sustainable Model Enterprises Award" from the Taiwan Institute for Sustainable Energy in 2023, as well as three honors in the Department of Transport's 2024 Outstanding Ship Transport Industry Selection, including "Outstanding in Expanding Fleet", "Outstanding in Developing Green Shipping", and "Outstanding in Supporting Maritime Training Collaboration between Industry and School"; Recently, it has been awarded the "Best Companies to Work for in Asia" award, as well as the "Diversity, Equity&Inclusion Awards," "Sustainable Workplace Awards," and "Most Caring Company Awards" by HR Asia, a well-known Asian magazine, for the year 2024. It has also been selected again for the "Taiwan FINI100" list by the Taiwan Institute of Directors, making it a highly competitive and high-quality enterprise internationally.

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