Mitsui E&S Holdings fully withdraws from shipbuilding

Japan's Mitsui E&S Holdings has sold all of its shares in Mitsui E&S Shipbuilding, thus completing its withdrawal from the shipbuilding industry.

Mitsui E&S Holdings recently announced on its official website that it has transferred the remaining 34 per cent of Mitsui E&S Shipbuilding’s shares to Tsuneishi Shipbuilding for about JPY4.2 billion (US$29 million).

Mitsui E&S Shipbuilding is a subsidiary of Mitsui E&S Holdings and is mainly responsible for design and construction of broad range of vessels including naval ships, gas tankers, and dry cargo ships.

Upon completion of this transaction, Mitsui E&S Shipbuilding will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Tsuneishi Shipbuilding.

As one of Japan’s oldest shipbuilders, having been established in 1917, Mitsui E&S Holdings enjoyed a shipbuilding volume that was once second only to that of compatriot Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

In recent years, Mitsui E&S Holdings suffered losses year after year in competition with Chinese and Korean shipbuilders. The company was thus forced to cease shipbuilding activities.

Tsuneishi Shipbuilding had acquired 49 per cent of the outstanding shares of Mitsui E&S Shipbuilding in April 2021, and another 17 per cent of the outstanding shares in October the following year.