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Igarashi made his inaugural speech at K Line’s head office in Tokyo on April 1.
“The environment surrounding us is changing at an unprecedented speed,” he said.
“Recently, in addition to the uncertain outlook for geopolitical risks in places such as the Middle East and Ukraine, since the inauguration of the new presidency in the United States this January, uncertainty over global energy and trade policies has also increased. Chinese shipping companies and ships built in China. The uncertainty of the current business environment outlook is increasing,” he said.
Despite these conditions, K Line, under the leadership of former president Yukikazu Myochin, has been steadily advancing a five-year medium-term management plan announced in May 2022, he said.
He discussed K Line’s coal and iron ore carrier business, the car carrier business, and the LNG carrier business.
“In the LNG carrier business, in addition to the existing markets of Japan, South Korea, China, and Europe, we are stepping up our efforts in new markets such as Southeast Asia and India,” he said.
Igarashi said K Line is “on track to expand from our current fleet size of 46 vessels to 65 vessels by fiscal 2026.”
19 LNG carriers on order
K Line’s financial report in November 2024 revealed that the company had 46 LNG carriers in its fleet as of the end of September 2024.
This included 44 owned or co-owned vessels and two chartered ships.
“As demand for transitional fuels such as LNG increases, our fleet of 65 vessels planned for FY2026 is nearly confirmed,” K Line said in the report.
“And we plan to expand our fleet to 75 vessels or more by FY2030, mainly through long-term charter contracts,” it said.
According to K Line’s newest financial report issued in February 2025, the company also had 46 LNG carriers in its fleet as of the end of December 2024.
This included 44 owned or co-owned vessels and two chartered ships.
In addition, K Line had 19 LNG carriers on order as of the end of December 2024.
Six of these vessels are expected to be delivered in 2025, and 13 vessels are scheduled for delivery in 2026.