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Japan commissions ocean surveillance ship

7th March 2021 - 23:00 GMT | by Gordon Arthur in Christchurch

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As Chinese submarines venture farther afield, neighbours such as Japan need new naval assets to see whether they are intruding.

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) commissioned a 67m-long ocean surveillance vessel – the third in its class – on 4 March. Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding (E&S) built the ship.

Christened JS Aki (AOS 5203), the catamaran-hulled vessel belongs to the Hibiki class. The commissioning ceremony took place in the city of Tamano in Okayama Prefecture, with the ship joining Ocean Surveillance Division 1 stationed at Kure Naval Base in Hiroshima.

Laid down in March 2019, the vessel was launched on 15 January 2020 under a contract signed in February 2018. It comes nearly 30 years after the last ocean

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