Since 2004, IHI Marine United Inc. (IHIMU), a subsidiary of IHI, has been constructing 12 super large 8000TEU type container ships.

IHIMU also began constructing the third 7500TEU type container ship for P&O Nedlloyd B. V., which has been making good progress at the Kure Shipyard. The 8000TEU container ship is the largest in Japan and is of the largest type of container ship currently in operation around the world.

In recent years, the demand for container ships has increased and is expected to continue to rise in the future. Building of this class of large container ship requires excellent technology and proficiency. Making good use of the technology and expertise acquired through building this series of ships, IHIMU will now concentrate on building cargo boats and container ships.

In November 2004, IHI Marine United Inc. (IHIMU) completed SANHA LPG FPSO, a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) floating production storage and offloading unit, and delivered it to Single Buoy Moorings Inc. of Monaco, which placed an order to IHIMU in May 2002; this FPSO is now in operation in the �eSanha District�f of Angora in West Africa.

SANHA LPG FPSO is the first floating storage facility in the world to have LPG production equipment, and it also has the largest storage capacity in the world as a floating LPG storage tank. The SPB (self-supporting prismatic-shape) tank storage technology independently developed by IHIMU is used to store liquefied LPG by cooling at -50 degrees centigrade.

As a source of clean energy, demand for floating facility for the production and storage of LPG and LNG (liquefied natural gas) is increasing around the world, and for this reason, IHIMU is continually investigating possible sources of future orders.

In October 2004, Turbo Systems United (TSU), an affiliate company of IHI, began selling TPL91-B, the largest turbocharger in the world for marine diesel engines. The TPL91-B, developed by IHI in collaboration with ABB, is already marketed by ABB in Europe and South Korea. This large-scale model is targeted for super container ships of the 8000TEU class, for which demand has increased in recent years. The airflow volume is 55 cubic meters per second. ABB has already received more than 60 orders for TPL91-B and the first TPL91-B will be mounted on the large container ship built by Hundai Heavy Industries and was shipped from ABB in June 2004. TSU has started to sell the TPL series in Japan and Taiwan and has already received more than 500 orders.