“Bali Ship 2025" meets the future in Imabari.

We participated in “Bali Ship 2025” held in Imabari, Japan, May 22-24, 2025, with the aim of identifying trends in ship technologies related to decarbonization and digitalization, as part of the Foundation's efforts to realize a sustainable maritime civilization.

Through encounters with the latest maritime technology and people from around the world,we learned and discovered a great deal. This article reports on the event.

◾️What is Bali Ship ?

※Outline of the event

・Name: Bali Ship 2025

・Dates: Thursday, May 22 - Saturday, May 24, 2025

　　- 10:00 - 17:00 (until 16:00 on the last day)

　　- Saturday, May 24 is open to the public.

・Venue: Texport Imabari and others (5-14-3 Higashimon-cho, Imabari City)

・Organizer: Informa Markets Japan Co.

・Special Support: Imabari City, Imabari Maritime City Exchange Committee

・Admission: Free (pre-registration required)

・Estimated number of visitors: approx. 20,000

・Number of exhibitors: Approx.380 companies (24 countries)

◾️Bali Ship Features

Held in Imabari, Japan's largest maritime city: Imabari City is Japan's largest maritime city,with a concentration of shipbuilding companies, shipping companies, and marine equipment manufacturers, and accounts for about one-third of all merchant shipbuilding in Japan.

Biennial International Exhibition: Launched in 2009, this biennial exhibition has become a well-established venue for maritime professionals from Japan and abroad to share the latest technologies and industry trends.

General Public Day (May 24): The last day of the show is open to the public, and families and students are welcome to attend. The exhibition also contributes to the development of the next generation of maritime professionals by offering plant tours of shipyards and marine equipment manufacturers, on-board tours, and hands-on events.

◾️Main Exhibits

1. Shipbuilding and marine equipment

The latest ship designs, propulsion systems, electrical equipment, etc.

2. Environmental technologies

Hydrogen- and biofuel-compatible engines, emission gas purification systems, etc. for decarbonization.

3. Digital technology

Automatic navigation systems, ship-to-shore communications, remote monitoring systems,etc.

4. Seminars and Lectures

A number of sessions were held by industry experts on the latest technologies and market trends. Among them, we were able to attend the "Satellite VDES Consortium Seminar”. It was interesting to learn about the latest efforts and developments related to satellite VDES (VHF Data Exchange System), the next-generation maritime infrastructure, and provided an important opportunity to exchange information for the future development of maritime communications infrastructure. The practical application of satellite VDES is expected to realize safer and more efficient maritime traffic. It will truly embody a highly coordinated system of the trinity of space (satellites), land (base stations and control), and sea (ships).

◾️Company Booth Visit

The venue of “Bali Ship,” where maritime professionals from all over the world gathered, was filled with the enthusiasm of people everywhere for business matching and information exchange on the latest technologies.

We were particularly keen on information on ship desalination equipment, fuel and water treatment systems, and decided to visit the booths of related companies.

1. Desalination equipment

In our previous blog, “Making Water on a Ship! 〜What is the mechanism for obtaining fresh water from seawater?” we visited the booth of a company that manufactures desalination equipment using the distillation method, which we discussed in our previous blog entry, “How to Get Fresh Water from Seawater! There, a very compact size desalination plant was on display, even though it is capable of meeting the needs of a large ship.

I have seen on the Internet the desalination equipment of this company at the time of its establishment, and when I think of the rather huge equipment at that time, I realize that the company's efforts up to the present day have been concentrated here. The person in charge said, “In order to respond to the lower temperature of waste heat due to energy conservation,we have developed a new technology that halves the pressure inside and burns it efficiently!”and spoke enthusiastically about the appeal of his company's technology. It was clear that the company is always proactively conducting research and development to address the challenges that distillation systems have faced in recent years.

2. Next-generation fuels

In terms of marine fuels, decarbonization efforts were in full swing, and preparations were underway for the conversion of marine fuels.

My information gathering regarding fuel this time started with an unexpected encounter.

While waiting for the train at the platform of Okayama Station, I happened to have a friendly chat with a neighbor who invited me to his company's booth. The company was a developer of gas units for hydrogen-fueled and ammonia-fueled vessels.

・Ammonia Fuel

Ammonia is expected to be a next-generation fuel effective in combating global warming, but its toxicity poses a major challenge. How can the ammonia gas generated by fuel ships be safely combusted and made nontoxic?

The system also successfully reduces ammonia emissions in and out of the vessel by burning ammonia gas mixed with inert gas (N2), which is pushed out during scavenging and fuel loading/unloading into/unloading from the tanks.

In August 2024, the world's first ammonia-fueled vessel equipped with this gas-fired unit, Kai, was completed.

・Hydrogen fuel

Hydrogen emits zero CO2 when used as a fuel and has proven to be a very attractive fuel for achieving GHG zero emissions. One of the highlights of the “Bali Ship” program was an experience cruise on the HANARIA, which sails on hydrogen and biofuel.

This company has also successfully developed a gas unit for hydrogen fueled ships. They have worked independently on basic research for safe combustion processing of hydrogen, which has flammable characteristics, and have established the basic technology that has enabled them to complete their own hydrogen gas combustion unit.

Ammonia is difficult to burn and hydrogen is easily flammable.

Although they are referred to as combustion gas units in one word, the knowledge, technology,and processes required to develop products for materials with the exact opposite characteristics are completely different. Understanding the characteristics of these materials and the technology required to commercialize them is the result of diligent research, and I would like to express my sincere respect for this.

Many of the equipment and products that each of the companies had developed and incorporated their best technologies were also on display. Although only a small part of the exhibition was shown, I was able to fully experience the excitement of a place where the world's highest level of technology and passion in the shipbuilding industry are all gathered together.

◾️Ship Tours

On the last day of the three-day “Bali Ship 2025,” we visited two ships that called at the port of Imabari. Unfortunately, there was a light drizzle on this day, but we were able to see the inside of the ships with explanations of the bridges, equipment, and living quarters, which we do not usually get to see.

1. Training ship “Yuge Maru” of the Yuge Institute of Maritime Technology

Overall length approx. 56.34 m

Overall width approx. 10.6 m

Depth approx. 5.8 m

Gross tonnage approx. 370 tons

Capacity 60 passengers

Sailing speed 12.5 knots

First, we visited the training ship “Yuge Maru” of the Yuge National College of Maritime Technology.

The school is located on Yuge Island, one of the many islands along the Shimanami Sea Route,where students study for five years to become mariners, such as navigators and engineers.

The Yuge Maru, which is used for training, is the fourth generation of the school's fleet and is only in its second year of operation.

The ship had all the modern amenities, but the most impressive feature was the classroom-like space with desks and chairs for students to take classes and eat meals. The students will sail on this ship for several days, mostly around the country.

2. hydrogen and biofuel hybrid passenger ship “HANARIA”

Overall length 33m

Overall width 10m

Gross tonnage 238 tons

Fuel used: Hydrogen & biodiesel fuel hybrid

Capacity 100 passengers (60 recommended)

Propulsion method Electric propulsion (EV)

The next ship we visited was the “HANARIA,” a hybrid passenger ship powered by hydrogen and biofuels.

Although the ship was rather small, its exterior was stylish and futuristic in design.

As the first passenger ship in Japan to use hydrogen and biofuels, the fuel and power generation systems were explained on the onboard screen.

It seems that experience cruising was available on the two days prior to our visit, but we were unable to participate in the cruise this time because we attended a seminar and visited an exhibition booth. However, I heard that the HANARIA is usually available for day and night cruises along the Kanmon Straits on weekends, so I would definitely like to try it out. I would like to experience a cruise on this environmentally friendly futuristic ship.

◾️As a Summary...

Through our participation in the Bali Ship, we realized that the “future of the sea” is steadily moving forward. We were particularly impressed by communication technologies such as the VDES satellite, which connects space, land, and sea, and next-generation ships powered by hydrogen, ammonia, and biofuels, which are truly “ships carrying the future. Based on the technologies and insights gained from these encounters, we would like to introduce some of the directions we would like to take as a foundation in the future.

1. Encountering new technologies and taking the next action

Many noteworthy technologies were on display, including environmentally friendly engines and smart ship equipment. We will continue to examine how we can incorporate these technologies into our activities.

2. We want to expand opportunities for international collaboration.

In the future, we would like to actively try to collaborate with organizations that share a common theme (promotion of future technologies).

3. “Disaster-responsive, futuristic support vessels” to be further developed.

We felt that there is potential to incorporate the latest communication technology and energy-saving devices like the ones we saw this time into our idea of a multi-purpose support vessel.

As the next step, we would like to meet with technology partners and promote dialogue.

4. Sowing seeds for the next generation is also important.

We would like to hold workshops with students and the younger generation to think about the future of the sea and boats. We hope to turn the real-life experiences gained from events like this one into learning opportunities.

In addition to participating in exhibitions and seminars, it was a very valuable experience for us to actually see the inside of the ship and hear directly from the people involved. I was able to feel more familiar with the sea and the ship, which will be the stage for the future.

Learn from the ocean and connect with the universe. The three days were filled with such hints on a large scale.