JMSDF Launches First Ever Oil Tanker YOT-01 Updated

 

JMSDF oil tanker YOT-01 prior to launch. Photo : JMSDF

The Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force ( JMSDF ) has launched its first oil tanker simply known as the YOT-01 on 20th Oct 2021. There had been no prior official press release to inform the public about this launching ceremony. It followed the launch of the second Taigei-class attack submarine just 6 days before.

The relatively low tonnage of just 4900 tons is typical of a product tanker which carries refined oils of various grades from the refinery to the destination market. This is in contrast to crude carriers which can have displacements of 250000 tons or more. Indeed JMSDF's Kure District Command tweeted that main function of the tanker is to transport fuel from the refinery to JMSDF naval bases.

From the initial photographs released by the JMSDF and also from videos on social media, the oil tanker did not appear to have a name and is simply designated YOT-01. While it is common not to name smaller vessels like barges and landing crafts, it is rather odd for a naval vessel of this size not to have been named. Also, the familiar Warship March that is always played during JMSDF ship launching was not heard this time. I hope I am proven wrong. *

The tanker has its origins as the 4900 ton oiler of the FY2019 Defense Plans ( 平成31年度計画の4900トン型油槽船 ). It was built by the Shin Kurushima Dockyard Co.Ltd in Imabari, Ehime Prefecture. It would be the shipyard's first ship construction for the Ministry of Defense and it has already received the order for a second tanker. Imabari City is the shipbuilding capital of Japan and it is located on the north-western part of Shikoku Island on the shores of the Seto Inland Sea.

YOT-01 is expected to enter service in the spring of 2022 while YOT-02 is scheduled for delivery in the summer of the same year.

 

Cord cutting with silver axe. Photo : JMSDF

Prior to launch, starboard view. Photo : JMSDF

Prior to launch. Only silver axe for ceremonial cord cutting on the table.
The usual ship naming papers are nowhere to be seen. Photo : JMSDF  

YOT-01 going down the slipway. Photo : JMSDF

YOT-01 in the water. Photo : JMSDF

* The official JMSDF video on the launching ceremony of YOT-01 has been released on 15th Nov 2021. Instead of the "Warship March", the tanker was launched amidst the tunes of "Anchors Aweigh" of the US Naval Academy.

YOT-01 Arrives At Kure ( Update April 2022 )

It seems that the oil tanker YOT-01 has arrived at JMSDF Kure Naval Base on 22nd April and has been put in active service. The video below was released by the Kure Regional HQ.

 

Second In The Pod : Hakugei SS-514 たいげい型潜水艦二番艦はくげい進水

JS Hakugei ( SS-514 ) shortly after launch. Photo : JMSDF

 

Japan's second Taigei-class lithium-powered attack submarine has been launched at the Kawasaki Heavy Industries Kobe Shipyard this afternoon.  This came exactly a year after the launch of the Taigei. It has been named the Hakugei ( はくげい ) which literally translated means white whale. In kanji characters Hakugei would be written as 白鯨. 

JMSDF twitted that the name Hakugei refers to the white sperm whale ( マッコウクジラ makkokujira 抹香鯨 ). The ship naming and launching event was officiated by Rear Admiral Sonoda Naoki ( 園田直紀 ), Commander Kure District.

Official JMSDF video on the naming and launching ceremony of the Hakugei here :

Hakugei at Kawasaki Kobe Shipyard. Photo : JMSDF

RAdm Sonoda Naoki with silver ship launching axe.
Photo : JMSDF

The submarine is officially named by Minister for Defense
Kishi Nobuo ( 防衛大臣 岸信夫 ). Photo JMSDF

Hakugei going down the slipway. Photo : JMSDF

Hakugei SS-514 shortly after launch at KHI Kobe Shipyard. Photo : Wikipedia

                                                                                Video : Kobe Keizai News

The naval band played the theme song of Space Battleship Yamato at the beginning of the video ....

Ship Logo Mark For Japanese Stealth Frigates

 

The Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force ( JMSDF ) had recently launched the first three ships of the Mogami-class multi-mission stealth frigate, out of a planned total of twenty-two. Apart from the lead ship JS Mogami ( FFM-1 ), the others are JS Kumano ( FFM-2 ) and JS Noshiro ( FFM-3 ).

A ship logo mark design competition was opened to the public from 7th May to 6th June 2021 and the results have just been announced three days ago. The winning designs were selected by the respective pre-commissioning ship crew. The Japanese call the ship's crest or emblem the logo mark ( ロゴマーク rogo maku ).

Ship logo mark of JS Mogami FFM-1 with 
the black lion of Nagai. Image : JMSDF

Mogami ( FFM-1 )

JS Mogami's ship crest is designed by Kurata Yusuke ( 倉田裕典 ) from Tokyo. It features prominently the face of a stylised Black Lion below which the hiragana characters for Mogami ( もがみ ) is displayed. The outer rim has motifs of waves, anchor and the cherry blossoms associated with the JMSDF. 

The black lion has its origins in the Black Lion Festival ( 黒獅子祭り kuroshishi matsuri) of Nagai City, Yamagata Prefecture, where the Mogami River flows through. The ritual is held in May annually where all the black lions from each of the forty shrines of the city gather and men would perform the dynamic lion dance and parade through the streets to purify the community. 

The lions are all characterized by having black faces, large eyeballs, bared glittering fangs and most uniquely, many legs. Most lion dances are performed by one or two men but this is certainly not the case for the kuroshishi. Learn how the lion heads are crafted out of hard wood and painstakingly transformed into elegant works of art in the hands of the takumi here or watch it below.

                                                    Video : Okitama's Folk Handicraft - Black Lion Head

                                                    Credit : Okitama Industrial and Economic Planning Division

Legend has it that in the Tohoku region a thousand years ago, a beautiful princess fell in love with the general of a rival clan and revealed to him the warfighting tactics of her people. It ultimately resulted in the defeat and death of her father in battle. Pursued by her enemies and in remorse she committed suicide by drowning herself in the river which flows through modern day Nagai City. A large dragon was subsequently sighted swimming upstream. It is said that this dragon god would dance down the river as the black lion of Nagai as it was invited to the annual festival of the local shrine.

Black Lion of Nagai. Image : Tukiyama.jp

Believable or not, the JMSDF certainly hopes that this black lion mascot hailing from the upper Mogami basin would endear the ship to its crew. 　

Ship Logo Mark of JS Kumano FFM-2 featuring the
mythical three-legged raven Yatagarasu. Image : JMSDF

Kumano ( FFM-2 )

JS Kumano's ship crest is designed by Takabe Tsubasa ( 高部 翼 ) from Tokyo. The emblem features the Yatagarasu ( 八咫烏 ), a mythical three-legged raven which on orders from the Goddess Amaterasu, had guided legendary Emperor Jimmu to the plains of Yamato as his expedition army was lost and trapped in the mountains Kumano-guni ( 熊野国 ). 

It carries a sacred relic on its neck, the Yata no Kagami ( 八咫鏡 ), a mirror that is effectively the portal between the land of the living and the land of the dead. It has powers to revive the dead and its mission is to guide lost souls back to the netherworld.

The design shows the Yatagarasu soaring above the raging currents of a stormy sea, portraying the ship's attributes of strength and stealth. The typographic characters show the words Kumano in katakana form ( クマノ ).

Yatagarasu monument at the Kumano Hongu Taisha Shrine.
Photo : Wikipaedia

More on logo marks in my previous post Sumimasen, Is That The Singaopre Lion On Your Logo Mark? The logo mark designs of these two frigates exemplified the highest attributes of the ships and are thoroughly infused with cultural history of each region of the ship's namesake, making them unique and relevant. With such talented artists and designers among the Japanese community, it is perhaps high time the JMSDF calls for a re-design of JS Ise's not so aesthetic logo mark which might even be bordering on plagiarism.