Japan’s first Pure Car Carrier “TOYOTA MARU No.10” Awarded “Ship Heritage” Recognition

TOYOTA MARU No.10, which was owned and operated by Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (“K” LINE), has been selected by the Japan Society of Naval Architects and Ocean Engineers (JASNAOE) through their “Ship Heritage” project in recognition of it having been Japan’s first Pure Car Carrier (PCC). JASNAOE first introduced the “Ship Heritage” project in 2017 with the goal of honoring and giving recognition to vessels and vessel-related items that have historical, academic and/or technical value, as well as promoting public recognition of their being viewed as symbols of cultural heritage to be passed along to future generations. TOYOTA MARU No.10, which was built by Kobe Works of Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd., and launched on July 9, 1970, was Japan’s first Pure Car Carrier (PCC) designed exclusively for the ocean transport of completed cars. As an integral part of its concept & design, cargo damage was largely eliminated, and a dramatic improvement in service quality was realized by avoiding delays in schedule due to the waiting time for return cargo or weather, for which TOYOTA MARU No.10 has been recognized as the pioneer of PCC in the shipping industry, “K” LINE has optimized its fleet and focused on technological innovation while working to achieve the highest level of safety in navigation and prevention of damage to goods during transport to meet the rapidly changing needs of global automobile markets. We remain committed to providing services tailored to customer needs around the world in the future.