Japan is planning to build a new LNG-powered Arctic research icebreaker worth about 33.5 billion yen ($306 million).
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, also known as MEXT, has already decided to build the vessel.
Construction of the vessel should start later this year following the selection of the shipyard, according to the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (Jamstec), which works under the ministry, said.
You can find more about the vessel in the video below, posted recently by Jamstec.
“The new Arctic research vessel will play a monumental role as a valuable international research platform to carry out the meteorological observations to understand the current state of the Arctic region which has been resulted in the Japanese climate change as well,” Jamstec said.
Jamstec says the new vessel will have 128 meters in length and 23 meters in width, and will weigh in at 13,000 tons.
The vessel will be capable of navigating through 1.2-meter thick ice.
Moreover, it will feature a dual-fuel propulsion, combining LNG and fuel oil.
Jamstec expects the vessel to go into service in 2026.