Japanese Shipyards Ink Cooperation Agreement

Japanese shipbuilders Mitsui E&S Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (MES) and Tsuneishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. announced they have signed a business cooperation agreement to partner in areas of commercial shipbuilding.

The compatriot shipbuilders had announced in February 2018 they were discussing plans to partner, becoming the latest in a string of Japanese yards to team up to combat the industry downturn.

Now, after several months of dialog, MES and Tsuneishi have identified specific areas for collaboration. The companies said they will look to partner in areas such as research and development, design and manufacturing, and procurement, and will seek ways to share personnel, technological resources and facilities.

“The purpose of the partnership agreement is to attain continuous growth of the shipbuilding business through collaboration between the two companies in building up design and development capacity and cost competitiveness, and thereby obtaining more orders, while at the same time maintaining their respective independence in management,” the partners said in announcing the agreement.

Joint research and development
The two companies will consider collaborations in the areas of existing and future technologies and will engage in the joint development of innovation.

Technical collaboration in design and manufacturing
Through exchanges of technology and personnel in the field of design, the shipbuilders will seek to increase their opportunities to secure orders by shortening design periods and increasing their product lineups. Also, by exchanging technical information pertaining to design and manufacturing, the companies said they will seek to make effective use of one another's strengths and enhance their cost competitiveness in both design and manufacturing.

Cooperation in procurement activities
The two shipbuilders will aim to achieve more effective procurement through joint utilization of one another's distribution channels and suppliers. Additionally, through unification and mutual standardization of design standards and specifications, the companies will seek to expand and increase procurement possibilities.

Mutual utilization of manufacturing facilities
By making mutual effective use of manufacturing facilities owned by the companies both in Japan and overseas (including outsourcing shipbuilding and ship's hull block, etc.), the companies will seek to expand and increase manufacturing capabilities and enhance cost competitiveness.

Personnel exchanges
The two companies will seek to train and develop their human resources by engaging in personnel exchanges with the objective of mutual exchange of design, procurement and manufacturing technologies, expertise and knowhow currently in the ownership of each company, both in Japan and overseas.

Shared human and technological resources
MES and Tsuneishi will provide mutual support with regard to seasonal fluctuations in workload and sudden unexpected events through the effective deployment of each another's human and technological resources.