A share transfer agreement has been carried out by ORIX Corporation (“ORIX”) with the current owners of Santoku Senpaku Co., Ltd. (“Santoku Senpaku”), a prominent Japanese shipowner. By the end of March 2024, ORIX plans to possess all of the company’s outstanding shares.
By utilising ORIX Group’s strong financial base, corporate management expertise, and worldwide sales networks, ORIX hopes to increase profitability and company growth in collaboration with Santoku Senpaku. This will enable ORIX to offer asset management services for ships owned by other parties and carry out thorough ship operation management internally.
Santoku Senpaku was founded in 1972 and was progressively expanded over the course of a single generation by the founding president. The company owns, rents, and operates ships. The company began as a seafarer dispatch company and later broadened its scope to include ownership of both ocean-going and coastal ships.
Currently owning 67 ships of various types, including bulk carriers that transport iron ore, grain, and other cargo, car carriers, and container vessels, Santoku Senpaku is one of the largest ship owners in Japan. It leases its fleet to leading grain and natural resource companies in Japan and abroad. Santoku Senpaku conducts international ship operations with multiple facets. Apart from conducting internal seafarer training and dispatch, ship maintenance, and ship management, the corporation also manages operations for other companies’ ships. It has made an effort in recent years to switch to using state-of-the-art, ecologically friendly ships, putting orders for automobile carriers that can run on liquefied natural gas (LNG).
The United Nations specialised body International Maritime Organisation (IMO) reaffirmed in 2023 that it aimed to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in international shipping to “net-zero by around 2050”. Reducing the maritime industry’s negative environmental effects has been a major concern. By diversifying their fleets and acquiring next-generation environmentally friendly ships, ORIX and Santoku Senpaku hope to tackle the maritime industry’s environmental impact reduction. As part of their attempts to decarbonise the sector, the corporations in Japan will also address the modal shift in transportation to coastal shipping.
With more than 50 years of experience in the shipping industry ORIX began in Japan in the late 1960s with a used ship leasing company and has since expanded to include ship investment (owning and operating), ship sales, purchases, and brokerage, as well as international ship finance. The company intends to leverage its experience and expertise to bolster the expansion of maritime sectors that offer high-quality services and solid business foundations.
If you are interested in meeting with large scale Maritime companies based in Asia, contact us today to learn about MTB Marine Asia.
