Coal Carrier

Demand for thermal coal by power plants in Japan have been on the increase year-after-year. It is prospected that during the year ending March 31, 2002 imports of overseas thermal coal will amount to 62 million tons; meanwhile, during the year ending March 31, 2006 they are expected to increase to 70 million tons.

To keep up with such increasing trends, we have developed and grown our fleet to 11 specialized carriers with annualized transport capacity of 10 million tons per year. The fleet is composed of specialized/dedicated carriers, the newest so-called Corona-series coal carriers, i.e. 77,000 /88,000 dwt-type and Panamax type.

The specialized Corona-series carriers for thermal coal that "K" LINE has been developing on its own have become an epoch-making ship type in efficient cargo loading/discharging and market competence in the shipping industry.

We are implementing a plan to further increase our fleet to 14 carriers with annualized transport capacity of 12 million tons during the fiscal year ending March 31, 2004. We are always poised to grasp customer needs exactly and take appropriate forward-looking action. We would like to do our best to provide customers one-step-ahead transport services.