Japan to begin development of its ‘first’ fully battery-powered tugboat

August 14, 2025, by Sara Kosmajac

Japanese tugboat services provider Tokyo Kisen and compatriot marine software developer Marindows have kick-started what is being hailed as Japan’s “first” pure battery-powered EV harbor tugboat development project.

As disclosed, the electric harbor tugboat is set to be operated in the ports of Yokohama and Kawasaki, with the goal of contributing to the ports’ net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions target(s), in accordance with the Japanese government’s Carbon Neutral Port (CNP) policy.

The construction of the ship is anticipated to commence in 2028, while the tug should become operational by 2030.

Per a joint statement of Tokyo Kisen and Marindows, the vessel is going to be powered by lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, which could bring a total propulsion power of 3,000kW. The tug is expected to achieve a speed of 14 knots.

The project is said to build on two and a half years of working on related projects concerning electric-powered tugs. In January 2023, Yokohama-headquartered Tokyo Kisen put Taiga into service, the inaugural series hybrid electric-powered tugboat fitted with a ‘large capacity’ 2,486 kWh battery.

Taiga was the result of a partnership between Tokyo Kisen and e5 Lab, a Japanese consortium focused on planning and developing fully electric vessels.

Constructed at the Kanagawa Dockyard in the city of Kobe, Taiga was equipped with a set of environmentally friendly power solutions, including Swiss technology company ABB’s power system platform Onboard DC, described as enabling lower fuel consumption and, thus, a minimized ecological impact. The unit was officially launched in the last stretch of May 2022.

It is understood that Taiga is the second eco-friendly unit of its type to be launched in the ports of Yokohama and Kawasaki, following the Ginga— a diesel-electric hybrid harbor tug that hit the water for the first time all the way back in 2013.

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As informed, the latest development project between Tokyo Kisen and Marindows seeks to continue this work with the ultimate ambition of facilitating “truly zero-emission operations.”

The electric question: Japan’s voyage to net zero

As the owner of one of the largest fleets worldwide, Japan has long been a major player in the maritime transport arena. The country has also repeatedly secured the third spot among the world’s largest shipbuilders.

As per several industry sources, the Japanese maritime logistics market size reached a value of approximately $11.21 billion last year, while the expectations are that the market could reach around $18 billion by 2033.

This rise has proportionately been followed by ballooning private and public sector efforts to enable a ‘smoother’ journey to net-zero emissions by 2050, in line with the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) own environmental regulations, including the Net Zero Framework (NZF).

Among the routes toward climate neutrality, electrification (as well as automation) has taken on a particularly important role, especially for coastal shipping. In fact, the government of Japan has initiated a roughly $410,000 national project to create a zero-emission coastal shipping industry, aiming to engineer and deploy zero-emission ships over the course of the next five years.

In terms of electrification, a set of other developments has emerged from these endeavors in the past couple of years. To name some, in 2021, shipping player Asahi Tanker launched and christened the first of its two next-generation all-electric tankers, which was deployed in Tokyo Bay as a bunker vessel in March the following year.

Much more recently, namely in May 2025, maritime transport giant Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) also unveiled the country’s ‘first’ battery-powered work vessel, e-Crea.