Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has fully transferred the new shipbuilding area of the Koyagi Plant at Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works to compatriot Oshima Shipbuilding.
The transfer of dock and quay facilities was completed on December 27 in line with the agreement signed in March 2021.
Mitsubishi agreed to sell one of its largest shipbuilding plants to Oshima as part of its efforts to boost its liquidity at a time when Japanese shipbuilders face severe competition from South Korean and Chinese shipbuilders for global orders.
“Going forward, MHI Group will continue to maintain its comparative advantage by concentrating its management resources on shipbuilding and marine engineering that will increase added value, aiming to contribute to further develop maritime logistics and the reduce environmental impact on a global scale, for the Company to achieve sustainable business development ,” MHI said.
Oshima Shipbuilding aims to be one of the world’s top bulker shipyards and the company accounts for 25 percent of bulk carrier production in Japan. The construction of dual-fuel bulkers that can run on LNG is also included in the company’s business portfolio.
Last month, Oshima announced that it has reached a deal with compatriot shipping company NYK for the construction of two LNG-powered large coal carriers. The 75,000 DWT bulkers will measure 235 meters in length, with a beam of 38 meters. The ships are scheduled for delivery in 2025. The order is yet to be finalized.
The company has already scored orders for LNG-fueled ships for NYK in 2019. Namely, the company is building an LNG-powered coal carrier of 95,000 dwt scheduled for delivery in spring 2023. Once delivered, the vessel will import coal to Kyuden’s coal-fired power plants.
The shipyard is also working on the development of next-generation fuel ships including an ammonia-fueled vessel, and the company has launched talks with NYK Line regarding the future conversion of a vessel to ammonia fuel.
Oshima has also spearheaded the development of the hard sail system jointly developed under the Wind Challenger project with MOL.