US West Coast-based maritime company Minke Marine A.L. LLC has secured its second class society Approval in Principle (AiP) from ClassNK for its air lubrication sector (ALS) with a new patented design.

The ClassNK AiP follows a similar AiP secured by Minke with DNV. The latest AiP comes as Minke Marine began receiving verified data from its first installation on a 55,000 DWT DNV-classed, Norwegian-owned general cargo vessel. 

Costing less than $485,000 to install, Minke said the initial data shows a positive fuel saving, making its ALS system a competitive decarbonization technology on the market. Full results are set to be released in March 2026.