Officials from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism will visit Imex Co. in Onomichi, Hiroshima Prefecture on Wednesday for an on-site inspection.
16:24 JST, July 10, 2024
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism on Wednesday conducted on-site inspections at Imex Co. — a subsidiary of heavy machinery maker Hitachi Zosen Corp. — in Onomichi, Hiroshima Prefecture, after the company was found to have falsified fuel consumption data for marine engines shipped since 1999.
Hitachi Zosen Marine Engine Co., another subsidiary of Hitachi Zosen based in Nagasu, Kumamoto Prefecture, was also found to be involved in falsifying data in violation of the Marine Pollution Prevention Act. The company was inspected on site by the ministry on Monday.
According to the ministry and the parent company, Imex falsified fuel consumption data, which indicates how much fuel is needed for a given power output, for 414 marine engines shipped after September 1999 that were subject to nitrogen oxide regulations. Of these, 95% were destined for foreign-registered ships.
After receiving a report on the cases from the parent company, the ministry on July 5 ordered the company to disclose the full extent of the cases and formulate measures to prevent recurrence before reporting on them by the end of August.
