Kawasaki Heavy Discusses LNG Carrier Restart; Government Targets Three to Five Ships a Year

Kawasaki Heavy Industries Vice President Katsuya Yamamoto said at an online earnings briefing on August 7 that the company is discussing what steps to take toward restoring domestic construction of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers. He said Kawasaki Heavy takes a positive view of resuming construction, but no formal decision has been made. The government has considered restoring domestic LNG carrier construction and included it in its public-private investment roadmap as a priority investment area, with the aim of establishing a system capable of building three to five vessels a year.

Japan's LNG demand relies on imports, yet domestic carrier construction has been squeezed out by Chinese and South Korean builders on cost, with no new vessel delivered in Japan since the last handover in 2019. A cooperation plan involving Imabari Shipbuilding, Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Namura Shipbuilding is now under discussion. Yamamoto said Kawasaki Heavy has joined the three-way talks on resuming construction but has not decided to build vessels itself. As for reports that the company's Sakaide plant would serve as a production base, he said there is no confirmed basis for that claim.