Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. said Wednesday that it will stop building commercial vessels at its shipyard in Kobe in response to a sharp decline in demand following the global financial crisis.
The Kobe shipyard began operating in 1905. In recent years, it has mainly built containerships and automobile carriers. Production of commercial ships there is expected to end in the first half of 2012, but the shipyard will keep building submarines for the Defense Ministry.
The 370 employees now engaging in the commercial ship operations in Kobe are expected to be reassigned to other jobs at the shipyard.
The closure translates to a roughly 10% cut in Mitsubishi Heavy's production capacity. The company will continue building commercial ships at its Nagasaki and Shimonoseki shipyards, whose capacities stand at 1.9 million tons and 135,000 tons, respectively.
Overall, global demand for ships has rebounded since the beginning of the year, but Mitsubishi Heavy believes that orders for containerships and tankers will remain weak for an extended time because of a supply glut.
Instead, the company aims to focus on building passenger ships, wind turbine installation vessels, LNG (liquefied natural gas) carriers and other high-valued-added vessels.
The Kobe shipyard began operating in 1905. In recent years, it has mainly built containerships and automobile carriers. Production of commercial ships there is expected to end in the first half of 2012, but the shipyard will keep building submarines for the Defense Ministry.
The 370 employees now engaging in the commercial ship operations in Kobe are expected to be reassigned to other jobs at the shipyard.
The closure translates to a roughly 10% cut in Mitsubishi Heavy's production capacity. The company will continue building commercial ships at its Nagasaki and Shimonoseki shipyards, whose capacities stand at 1.9 million tons and 135,000 tons, respectively.
Overall, global demand for ships has rebounded since the beginning of the year, but Mitsubishi Heavy believes that orders for containerships and tankers will remain weak for an extended time because of a supply glut.
Instead, the company aims to focus on building passenger ships, wind turbine installation vessels, LNG (liquefied natural gas) carriers and other high-valued-added vessels.