In his first interview since taking the top job at Daiichi Chuo, Toshihide Egawa has told Kaiji Press the line will pay off all its debts this month and look to pursue growth in the handy segment in particular.
The line became Japanese shipping’s most high profile bankruptcy since Sanko when it entered court receivership last September.
Egawa became president two days ago, following on from a court’s decision in mid-June to approve the line’s rehabilitation plan. Egawa has worked at Daiichi Chuo for a couple of decades in many different roles.
“We are due to repay our debts in their entirety within July,” Egawa told Kaiji Press.
He added: “Though the tramper industry is currently facing headwinds, this industrial sector is the very foundation on which we are engaged in business, and so we will make more efforts than before to perform well in this sector. We intend to stay as a second-tier tramper owner/operator handling ships ranging from capesizes to coastal vessels and offering marine services of shipowning, transport and marine technologies as well as shipmanagement services.”
The Daiichi Chuo fleet now stands at 95 ships, down from 180 before it declared bankruptcy.
“We deem the current fleet scale appropriate when considering the current state of our business operations,” Egawa concluded.
