Japanese coastal containership operator Imoto Lines operates a number of feeder vessels with a unique look inspired by the nose of large passenger airplanes.

In 2015, the Kyokuyo shipyard in Yamaguchi, Japan, completed the first SSS-feeder (Semi-Spherically Shaped-feeder) commissioned by Imoto Lines. It was one of the largest feeder vessels ever built in Japan, but what really separated it from other ships in its class was the unusual design. The 600-TEU Natori featured a hemispherical bow that looked very similar to the nose of a large Airbus passenger jet that no one had dared implement before. But this wasn’t just a design option to make the vessel stand out, it had functional aspects that won the Natori the title of “Ship of the Year” from the Japan Society of Naval Architects and Oceanographers as well as numerous other awards in the small cargo vessel category.