Mitsui Engineering and Tsuneishi Shipbuilding form alliance

The outline agreement, which requires further discussion to set specific conditions, will see the Japanese companies collaborating to strengthen design and development capabilities and cost competitiveness as well as increasing orders.

The companies said that the alliance would “maintain sustainable growth in the shipbuilding business by maintaining the independence of the management of the two accompanies”.

According to the Japanese financial daily Nikkei, the alliance is aimed at helping the two companies better compete with South Korean and Chinese rivals.

The newspaper notes that the joint design and construction of merchant vessels – particularly bulk carriers and potentially passenger ships in the future – is one aspect of the deal. Another is the potential joint operation of Tsuneishi’s yards in the Philippines and China.

Tsuneishi is the ninth biggest domestic shipbuilder in Japan. When international yards are included, its sites in Cebu and Zhejiang province mean that Tsuneishi ranks third, behind Imabari Shipbuilding and Japan Marine United.