AsiaShipyards

Mitsubishi Heavy to sell yard to Oshima

In the ongoing reshuffling of Japanese shipbuilding, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is in talks to sell one of its largest yards to compatriot Oshima Shipbuilding.

Mitsubishi Heavy is scaling back its commercial shipbuilding operations and will sell its Koyagi dock, a large yard in Nagasaki with one of the biggest drydocks in Japan. The Koyagi plant was opened in 1972 and 12 years ago a 1,200 ton goliath crane was added to the site, which is where the company has mainly engaged in LNG carrier construction, a field it is stepping back from amid immense competition from South Korea.

Overall, the Japanese shipyard orderbook is at 10-year lows with Oshima one of the few local shipbuilders to have managed to fill out all its slots for the next couple of years.

Last month, Imabari Shipbuilding, Japan’s largest shipbuilder, and second-ranked, the loss-making Japan Marine United, announced a capital tie-up deal.

Also in November, Mitsui E&S Holdings, Japan’s seventh largest shipbuilder, announced a major restructuring with 1,000 staff facing the axe as the company also started to move away from loss-making commercial shipbuilding in the face of huge competition from China and South Korea.

Sam Chambers

Starting out with the Informa Group in 2000 in Hong Kong, Sam Chambers became editor of Maritime Asia magazine as well as East Asia Editor for the world’s oldest newspaper, Lloyd’s List. In 2005 he pursued a freelance career and wrote for a variety of titles including taking on the role of Asia Editor at Seatrade magazine and China correspondent for Supply Chain Asia. His work has also appeared in The Economist, The New York Times, The Sunday Times and The International Herald Tribune.
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