Kanda Shipbuilding is the latest Japanese yard to to quit commercial shipbuilding.
Local media reported that the Hiroshima-based family-run shipbuilder will no longer contract newbuildings after January next year.
Instead, it intends to focus on ship repair and statutory survey work.
The yard has four 37,400-dwt and two 19,500-dwt bulkers on order that are scheduled for delivery by March 2022.
Kanda,which was established in 1937, started as a ferry builder but expanded into bulkers and ro-ro ships, mainly for domestic owners and the coastal trades.
Like many Japanese yards, it struggled to cope with the downturn in the newbuilding market during the pandemic and has been unable to compete with low-cost competition, mainly from China. The recent hike in steel prices has also affected its profitability.
TradeWinds reported that Japan Marine United’s Maizuru shipyard recently delivered its last ship — the 82,000-dwt Sakizaya Victory (built 2021) — to Wisdom Marine Lines before closing the curtain on commercial shipbuilding.
Others to pull out of shipbuilding include Mitsui E&S Shipbuilding’s Chiba and Tamano facilities. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is to sell its Koyagi Shipyard in Nagasaki to Oshima Shipbuilding.
Kanda has 10,000-gt and 34,000-gt dry docks as well as two floating repair docks. It is well known for using the traditional sliding-launch system for newbuildings.
Its revenue in 2020 was ¥15bn ($137m). The company, led by president Shinichiro Kanda, employs 343 people.
Kanda has been contacted for comment.
