By KANAKO TANAKA/ Staff Writer
August 22, 2024 at 16:42 JST
In addition to an externally led investigation, Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. will inspect older engines in response to long-running data tampering. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. has revealed that it has been manipulating fuel efficiency data for its ship engines for more than 20 years.
The company announced on Aug. 21 that all but one of the 674 engines designed for ships manufactured since 2000 had been subject to data falsification.
The revelation follows similar disclosures from an IHI Corp. subsidiary and Hitachi Zosen Corp. earlier this year.
The affected engines were used in midsize and large commercial vessels that include tankers, cargo ships and container ships, all manufactured at the company’s Kobe plant.
Employees had been falsifying the fuel efficiency data during pre-shipment inspections to ensure it fell within required specifications and to minimize variations between test results.
The company said it has not confirmed any cases that raise concerns about the safety of any engines.
The major heavy machinery manufacturer will launch an investigation committee of outside experts to determine the cause of the misconduct and implement measures to prevent a recurrence.
The company will also be examining engines manufactured in the 1990s and prior to that.
The latest scandal follows similar disclosures of falsified fuel efficiency data from IHI in April and Hitachi Zosen in July.
In response, the transport ministry had requested 19 ship engine manufacturers to conduct internal investigations.
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