The 67 meters-long boat, which has been named 「のうみ」 Nomi (with pennant number MSO 307), entered the water in a ceremony held on October 24 at the company’s factory in Yokohama City. The vessel is expected to enter service with the JMSDF in March 2025.
JS Nomi was laid down in May 2021. The ship’s name comes from the Higashi-Nomi and Nishi-Nomi Islands located in Hiroshima bay. A JMSDF spokesperson told Naval News that the vessel was constructed for 12.6 billion yen ($84.3 million) under a contract awarded in 2021.
JMU has built all four Awaji-class MCMVs. The third ship, JS Etajima, was commissioned in March 2021.
In addition, the Ministry of Defense in Tokyo has allocated about 13.4 billion yen ($89.6 million) for fiscal year 2022 to build the fifth vessel of the class.
According to the JMSDF, the Awaji-class has a crew complement of around 50, a standard displacement of 690 tons, a beam of 11 m, and a draught of 5.2 m. Each of the vessels in service is powered by two diesel engines of 2,200 hp each and has a stated top speed of 14 kt.
The hull of these platforms has been constructed from a composite fiber-reinforced plastic material to reduce weight as well as the magnetic signature of the platforms during minesweeping operations. The material is also highly corrosion-resistant, according to the JMSDF.
A JMSDF spokesperson told Naval News that the Awaji-class vessels are expected to be in service for about 30 years while wooden-hulled minesweepers have a service life of about 20 years.
JS Nomi is equipped with light detection and ranging (LIDAR) surveillance systems, which can locate objects under water at long range both during the day and at night.
The ship is equipped with the Mitsui E&S Holdings’ expendable mine disposal system (EMDS) for mine identification as well as with the Hitachi-made variable depth sonar (VDS) system, which is designed to detect, locate, and classify mines. It is also equipped with the Remus 600 autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), known as OZZ-4 and made by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, to locate and clear deep mines. The Awaji-class has been built to replace the JMSDF’s three wooden-hulled Yaeyama-class minesweepers, the first of which entered service in 1993. All three of these ships were decommissioned by 2017.
