Japanese Shipyards Best Bidders for Construction of Marshall Islands’ New Vessels

Two Japanese shipyards, Kegoya Dock Co. Ltd. and ISB Co., Ltd, have won contracts worth $16 million to build two vessels for the Marshall Islands. Kegoya Dock Co. Ltd. in Hiroshima won the contract to build the cargo passenger type vessel, while ISB Co., Ltd. in Chiba won the bid to build the landing craft type vessel.

The two Japanese shipyards presented shipbuilding schedules to complete and deliver the vessels to Majuro by early December 2013, reports Marianas Variety.

The cargo-passenger will be 50 meters long (approximately 162.5 feet). It will be able to carry 150 passengers with a crew of 18. Its cruising speed is 10.5 knots. The landing craft will be 44 meters in length (about 143 feet). It will be able to carry 50 passengers with a crew of 12. Its service speed is 10.9 knots.

Bids for the contracts on the two vessels from Japanese shipyards were opened in Tokyo earlier this month by government officials. The aid funding will support the construction of a cargo-passenger vessel and a landing craft for inter-atoll shipping service in the Marshall Islands, a nation of hundreds of low-lying islands scattered over more than 500,000 square miles of ocean.

[mappress]

Shipbuilding Tribune Staff, September 26, 2012; Image: kegoya-dock