Namura Shipbuilding Plans to Build Large Dock in Saga Pref.

Osaka, Aug. 20 (Jiji Press)–Namura Shipbuilding Co. is considering building a large dock in Saga Prefecture, southwestern Japan, by 2035, people familiar with the matter said Thursday. It will be Japan’s first new large dock since Imabari Shipbuilding Co. completed one at its Marugame headquarters in the western city of Marugame, Kagawa Prefecture, in 2017. Shipbuilding is one of 17 strategic fields targeted for priority investment under the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Namura Shipbuilding plans to join a public-private investment project to resume the domestic construction of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, carriers and intends to use the new dock for the project. The new dock is planned near the company’s Imari shipyard in the Saga city of Imari. The shipyard currently has a dock about 450 meters long and 70 meters wide and mainly builds large bulk carriers for transporting iron ore and other commodities. No LNG carriers have been built in Japan since 2019. The government believes that resuming domestic production is necessary from an economic security perspective, and aims to establish the capacity to build three to five LNG carriers annually from 2035. Imabari Shipbuilding and Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. also plan to participate in the LNG carrier investment project. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]