Mitsubishi Heavy Industries joins World Ocean Council
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has joined the World Ocean Council (WOC), an international non-governmental organization (NGO) and the sole international, cross-sectoral industry leadership alliance on responsible ocean use, said in the company's press release. MHI is the first Japanese entity to join the organization, and through participation in the WOC's activities MHI aims to acquire firsthand knowledge of policy and practical issues affecting the future of ocean industries, deepen exchanges with responsible ocean companies and organizations, and proactively engage with other sectors on areas of mutual value. Through these initiatives, the company looks to create new businesses in ocean-related fields, extended from conventional floating wind power generation and floating LNG production, storage and offloading (FLNG) facilities.
In addition to becoming the first Japanese member of the WOC, MHI is also the world's first shipbuilder to join. Through its participation in the WOC's activities as a team spanning various company business sectors - not only Shipbuilding & Ocean Development but also other ocean-related operations - MHI will gain opportunities to interact with industries it has collaborated with infrequently until now. Going forward, the company intends to focus on establishing human and information networks in preparation for new business exploration in the future, as well as technological development from new perspectives.
The World Ocean Council was established in 2009 to advance ocean sustainability through a cross-industry leadership and collaboration in responsible ocean use. The head office is located in Honolulu, Hawaii. The WOC has achieved international recognition, for example, being invited to participate in the UN Secretary General's group of experts tasked with submitting recommendations and forging plans relating to ocean matters. Currently the WOC's membership encompasses more than 60 companies and organizations around the world from industries including shipping, energy and resources, fisheries, ship classification, offshore wind power generation and tourism. The WOC's roster includes many energy and resources majors, such as BP, Exxon Mobil, Shell, TOTAL and Rio Tinto.
