Three months have passed since the June litter picking, and now it's time for "Autumn Marine Litter Zero Week". We, being a member of the Cooperative Association of Japan Shipbuilders, are taking part in the nationwide effort to clean up marine litter.

The issue of marine debris, including plastics, is a significant global environmental problem following climate change. As a company directly connected to the ocean, we feel it is our responsibility to actively participate in addressing this issue. This nationwide campaign is part of the "Change for the Blue" initiative promoted by the Nippon Foundation under the slogan "What we can do now for the sea".

During the spring event, we encountered an unforeseen situation where we struggled to find an adequate amount of litter on Akata Beach (refer to map), where we had been consistently performing cleanup efforts. As a result, we had the unfortunate experience of scouring neighboring beaches to locate plastic waste. So after carefully researching, we decided to focus on Takehisa Beach (see map) this time. On a great day for trash picking with partly cloudy skies, September 26th, a group of 20 individuals from different divisions of the company embarked on the mission.

Takehisa Beach is a picturesque sandy beach mixed with gravel, situated in Takehisa Town, close to the heart of Shimonoseki City. The stunning viewpoint offers an exceptional view, including Kitakyushu City, Mutsure Island, and Choshu Dejima, an offshore artificial island that is currently being developed for international logistics purposes. As per our prior investigation, we discovered a significant amount of debris washed up on the shore, likely caused by the sluggish currents. Our Kyokuyo Marine Litter Recovery Task Force swiftly responded to the scene without delay!

The team was so focused on collecting marine debris that they didn't take a break until the scheduled time. We're pleased to announce that we collected the highest level of marine plastic debris in our records. In summary, our efforts were a complete success!

As a company deeply committed to the ocean, Kyokuyo Shipyard will not just develop and construct high-performance, environmentally friendly products, but also actively contribute to addressing global environmental issues, such as marine litter, with a strong determination to do so.

[2023/10/05]