Shigemi Kurahara News

At the recent ABS Council meeting in N.Y., 40 prominent members of the shipping and offshore industries were elected as new members of the international classification society. The ABS Council also elected two new members to the society’s Technical Committee. “ABS governance is vested in a membership comprised of distinguished individuals drawn from the international shipping, shipbuilding and offshore industries, from academia, the insurance sector and other related disciplines,” said ABS Chairman and CEO Robert D. Somerville. Akimitsu Ashida, President, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. Noel L. Captain Ali M. Belhag, Chairman, GNMTC – General National Maritime Transport Co. Joseph L. Takatoshi Funada, President, Funada Kaiun Co., Ltd. Kevin M.

According to a May 14 report from Bloomberg, IHI Corp., Japan’s second-largest heavy-machinery maker, plans to increase imports of shipbuilding components to counter a stronger yen. The company’s IHI Marine United Inc. unit plans to buy parts including pumps and motors from South Korea and other nations, said Shigemi Kurahara, the incoming president of the Tokyo-based subsidiary. IHI forecast a 64 percent decline in shipbuilding operating profit this fiscal year to $10m because of the stronger yen. (Source: Bloomberg)