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KEYAKI © Tsuyoshi Ishiyama

HAMANASU to enter service on 1 September

FerryShin Nihonkai Ferry, one of the largest ferry operators in Japan, has announced that its latest RoPax, HAMANASU, will enter service on the Otaru–Maizuru route on 1 September 2026. HAMANASU is being built at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' Shimonoseki shipyard, but an issue was confirmed during construction, and the delivery was significantly delayed. She was originally set to enter service on 29 June 2026.

Her sister ship, KEYAKI, entered service on 14 November 2025, and has plied between Otaru, Hokkaido and Maizuru, Kyoto prefecture with the 2004-built AKASHIA.

HAMANASU is named after the rugosa rose, a flower found in Hokkaido.

© Shippax

aug 25 2026

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