JDC starts management and operation for the deep-sea drilling vessel "CHIKYU" through a new company established jointly with NYK LINE

2008-09-30

JDC and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha ("NYK LINE") today announced that they jointly established a new company, namely "Mantle Quest Japan Company, Ltd." ("MQJ") on September 10, 2008 and MQJ signed an agreement for provision of management and operation services to the deep-sea scientific drilling vessel "CHIKYU" with Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology ("JAMSTEC") on September 19, 2008.
Under the aforesaid agreement, MQJ will provide various services for management and operation of the CHIKYU, such as scientific drilling operations, ship management, maintenance of drilling equipment and others, management of sub-contractors services, materials procurement, and management of a scientific drilling support base, commencing from December 1st, 2008 and ending on March 31st, 2009 (may be extended), making best use of the respective technical expertise of both JDC and NYK LINE.
The CHIKYU (means "Planet Earth" in Japanese, gross tonnage 57,000 tons, overall length 210m, maximum operating water depth 2,500m), which was built by the Japanese Government and is owned by JAMSTEC, is playing a central role in Integrated Ocean Drilling Program ("IODP"), an international marine research program that explores Earth's history and structure and is expected to figure out the mechanism of major earthquakes, the origin of life and etc. utilizing its world's deepest drilling ability.
The profile of MQJ is as follows.

Head Office:Shin-Horidome Bldg. 5F, 2-4-3, Nihonbashi Horidome-cho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-0012, JapanPaid-in Capital:300 million yenCapital Share:JDC 60% , NYK 40%President and Representative Director:Mr. Yuichiro Ichikawa