Mitsui O.S.K. Lines
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Mitsui O.S.K. Lines ( ja, 株式会社商船三井, Kabushiki-gaisha Shōsen Mitsui; abbreviated MOL) is a Japanese
transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land ( rail and road), water, cable, pipelin ...
company headquartered in
Toranomon is a business district of Minato, Tokyo. History Literally meaning "Tiger's Gate," Toranomon was the name of the southernmost gate of Edo Castle. The gate existed until the 1870s when it was demolished to make way for modern developments. ...
,
Minato, Tokyo is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is also called Minato City in English. It was formed in 1947 as a merger of Akasaka, Azabu and Shiba wards following Tokyo City's transformation into Tokyo Metropolis. The modern Minato ward exhibits ...
, Japan. It is one of the largest shipping companies in the world. MOL fleet includes dry cargo ships (
bulk carrier A bulk carrier or bulker is a merchant ship specially designed to transport unpackaged bulk cargo — such as grains, coal, ore, steel coils, and cement — in its cargo holds. Since the first specialized bulk carrier was built in 1852, eco ...
s),
liquefied natural gas Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled down to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the vol ...
carriers, Ro-Ro Car Carrier ships, oil
tankers Tanker may refer to: Transportation * Tanker, a tank crewman (US) * Tanker (ship), a ship designed to carry bulk liquids ** Chemical tanker, a type of tanker designed to transport chemicals in bulk ** Oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tank ...
,
container ships A container ship (also called boxship or spelled containership) is a cargo ship that carries all of its load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. Container ships are a common means of commercial intermoda ...
(among which mv MOL Triumph is the 4th largest containership in the world), and
container terminals A container port or container terminal is a facility where cargo containers are transshipped between different transport vehicles, for onward transportation. The transshipment may be between container ships and land vehicles, for example trai ...
. Its
alligator An alligator is a large reptile in the Crocodilia order in the genus ''Alligator'' of the family Alligatoridae. The two extant species are the American alligator (''A. mississippiensis'') and the Chinese alligator (''A. sinensis''). Additiona ...
logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wo ...
can still be seen on containers in
port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...
s, roads, rails and barges around the world, despite the company's focus on containers shipping has been reduced since April 2018. Founded as a key part of the
Mitsui is one of the largest ''keiretsu'' in Japan and one of the largest corporate groups in the world. The major companies of the group include Mitsui & Co. ( general trading company), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Nippon Paper Industries ...
''
zaibatsu is a Japanese term referring to industrial and financial vertically integrated business conglomerates in the Empire of Japan, whose influence and size allowed control over significant parts of the Japanese economy from the Meiji period unt ...
'' (family-owned conglomerate) during the early
industrialization of Japan The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...
, the company is now independent of the zaibatsu, but remains part of the Mitsui '' keiretsu'' (group of aligned companies). Many heads of this company have wielded considerable power in Japan and abroad. One of the latest is
Masaharu Ikuta is a Japanese businessman from Kobe. He graduated from Keio University in 1957. He was the former CEO of Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, and served as the president of the Japan Postal Agency 2003 to March 2007. He was named the honorary consul to the ...
, who has been appointed to head the newly
privatized Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...
Japan Post was a Japanese statutory corporation that existed from 2003 to 2007, offering postal and package delivery services, banking services, and life insurance. It's the nation's largest employer, with over 400,000 employees, and runs 24,700 po ...
.


History

MOL (Mitsui O.S.K. Lines) was launched in 1964, following the merger of created in 1878, and Mitsui Steamship Co., Ltd. founded in 1942, formerly known as Mitsui Line, under the Law Concerning the Reconstruction and Reorganization of the Shipping Industry. At that time the company was the largest shipping company in Japan, capitalized at ¥13.1 billion, with 83 vessels aggregating .


1884-1950


OSK

OSK was founded in 1884, when 55 ship owners, each of whom had only a small number of vessels, combined their operations. The chief representative of these ship owners was Hirose Saihei, senior manager of the Sumitomo
zaibatsu is a Japanese term referring to industrial and financial vertically integrated business conglomerates in the Empire of Japan, whose influence and size allowed control over significant parts of the Japanese economy from the Meiji period unt ...
, or conglomerate, and a prominent figure in
Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...
financial circles. OSK was capitalized at ¥1.2 million, with 93 vessels totalling . In the first few years its routes were limited to coastal services in the western area of Japan. In 1890, OSK inaugurated an Osaka-
Pusan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, ...
run followed in 1893 by the operation of an Osaka- Incheon route and Korean coastal services. The company was recapitalized at ¥1.8 million in 1893, rising to ¥2.5 million in 1894, to ¥5 million in 1896, when the government of
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
granted OSK subsidies for Osaka-Taiwan liner services, and to ¥10 million in 1898 when the company started to operate on the
Yangtze The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...
River. In 1898, Tokugoro Nakahashi became the company's third president. He made a great effort to rationalize the internal organization of OSK, to penetrate the Chinese market, and also to inaugurate the first OSK ocean route, a
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
to
Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Pa ...
service, in 1908. In 1911 OSK started a Kobe to
Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...
service. The route was under the monopoly of the Far Eastern Freight Conference (FEFC) of which Nippon Yusen K.K. (NYK) was the only Japanese member. OSK fought against the FEFC and was admitted to the conference in 1913. In 1918, the company opened a Bombay to Marseilles route and was admitted to full membership of the FEFC. Meanwhile, it opened a
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
route, an Australia route, and a
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...
route, offering a worldwide liner service. It began a
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
service in 1920 but operated at a deficit. In 1930 OSK made a huge investment in five new high-speed motor ships in order to start a New York express service. This service entirely transformed raw-
silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the ...
transportation from Asia to America; raw silk began to be carried by water all the way to New York instead of going by land. OSK's share of cargo shipped on this route grew, and its business performance improved in spite of unfavourable business conditions. During the Great Depression, OSK and NYK made a cooperative agreement in 1931 whereby OSK abolished its
Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...
route, which had called at Tacoma and
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, and in turn acquired a monopoly on the South American east coast route. OSK quickly recovered from the deficits of 1930 and 1931, and resumed paying dividends in 1932. The company's profits peaked in 1941, when OSK was capitalized at ¥87 million and had 112 vessels aggregating .


Mitsui Bussan Kaisha

The Mitsui Line was originally the shipping department of the trading company Mitsui Bussan Kaisha. Mitsui Bussan was established in 1876 and obtained exclusive rights to export and market the
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...
mined at the state-run Miike mines. It chartered boats and transported coal on its own account. In 1878 it bought a steamship, and in 1888 it bought the mines. Mitsui Bussan became an industrial carrier and the shipping section was established in 1898. The section expanded to become the Shipping Department and moved to Kobe in 1904. The company then owned 9 ships aggregating , and on the eve of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
the fleet totalled 15 ships with , increasing to 30 ships totalling in 1919. The third general manager, Teijiro Kawamura, expanded the business of the department during World War I; in 1914 it began a tramp service carrying the company's own cargo and that of other companies. In 1917 it constructed a shipyard and set up the shipbuilding department and in 1920 it opened a semi-liner service from Dalian via Kobe to Seattle, whereby a liner service operated on outbound voyages but on the return voyage, owing to insufficient cargo at Seattle, ships had to stop and collect cargo at other ports. Mitsui Bussan's Shipping Department built two sister ships in 1924. One was equipped with reciprocal oil-burners, the other had diesel engines and was the first ocean-going diesel ship in Japan. The department put these ships on the North American route and compared their performance. ''Akagisan Maru'', the diesel ship, proved superior, and Mitsui concluded a manufacturing and marketing license agreement with Burmeister and Wain Co. (B & W), who had manufactured the engine, in 1926. In 1928 Mitsui opened a
Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...
route, in 1931 a
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
route, in 1932 a Dalien to New York route, and in 1935 a
Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bod ...
route. From 1933 the Shipping Department became known as Mitsui Line. In 1937 it owned 35 ships aggregating . The shipbuilding department was separated off as the Mitsui Tama Shipyard in 1937, and in 1942 the former Shipping Department too became a separate company, Mitsui Steamship Co., Ltd. (MS). It was capitalized at ¥50 million, and Takaharu Mitsui was elected chairman.


World War II

During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
OSK, like other Japanese shipping companies, was forced to be a mere ship owner. When the war ended it had only 55 vessels left, totalling , most of which were so-called wartime standard ships, of poor quality. All ships were under control of the Allied powers through the Civilian Merchant Marine Committee. In 1950, however, OSK returned to global service. By the end of 1957 the company had almost recovered the sailing rights it had been given by the FEFC before the war, and was making 18 voyages per month on 13 overseas liner routes. Competition was far more intense than before the war, as anyone who had money could construct ships under the government-sponsored shipbuilding program, started in 1947. Before the war, conference members had sought to exclude newcomers. OSK constructed 38 ships under the program. In 1953 OSK established an eastbound route to South America to transport
emigrant Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...
s from Japan. At first the service was profitable, but the number of emigrants fell to below 2,000 per year in 1962. In 1963 OSK established the Japan Emigration Ship Co., Ltd. (JES) to hive off this loss making business. Later, JES was reorganized into Mitsui OSK Passenger Co., Ltd. In this period most of OSK's businesses were loss making. In 1964 it owned 41 vessels totalling . The company was capitalized at ¥7.6 billion and its debts totalled approximately ¥34.9 billion.


1950-1964

During World War II, and after the war, all MS ships were under the control of the government. When Japan lost the war in 1945, only 17 of MS's vessels were left, increasing to 22 vessels totalling when MS re-acquired operations that had previously been chartered out to the Civilian Merchant Marine Committee (CMMC).


Post-War

MS then began a vigorous expansion of its fleet and routes to re-establish its pre-war network, and went so far as to apply to the FEFC. When its application was rejected, MS placed outsider—non-conference-member—ships on this route in 1953. After a long struggle, the conference attempted to resolve the issue politically and the
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
ambassador openly criticized Japan's shipping policies in 1955. Japan joined the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) the same year, and Japan's minister of transport was anxious to settle the issue without dispute. The final proposal of the conference, through the mediation of the minister of transport, contained extremely harsh conditions which MS had to accept, one of which was that MS could only join the FEFC if it operated under the management of NYK for several years. The 39-month battle was over, and MS began placing ships under the auspice of NYK in 1956. Five years later, MS at last joined the conference.


Shipbuilding

MS constructed 38 vessels between 1950 and its merger with OSK in 1964, and its operating tonnage was the largest in Japan. One of its ships, ''Kinkasan Maru'', was the first bridge-controlled ship in the world. MS planned to rationalize its crews and at the same time improve the working conditions of engineers. It cooperated with Mitsui Shipbuilding & Engineering Co., a direct successor of Mitsui Tama Shipyard, and designed innovatory bridge-controlled ships. The ''Kinkasan Maru'' was delivered in 1961 and MS placed it, along with another bridge-controlled ship, on the New York route, which was re-opened in 1951. Besides the New York route, MS operated westbound and eastbound routes around the world, a Central and South America route, a
West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...
route, and a
Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lak ...
route. In 1964 MS owned 45 vessels aggregating . However, MS's performance was disappointing from 1950 until the OSK merger in 1964, when it was capitalized at ¥5.5 billion and had debts of ¥26.7 billion.


Mitsui-OSK merger

Soon after the shipping industry reorganization of 1964, in which Japanese shipping companies were restructured into six groups, world shipping moved toward
containerization Containerization is a system of intermodal freight transport using intermodal containers (also called shipping containers and ISO containers). Containerization is also referred as "Container Stuffing" or "Container Loading", which is the p ...
. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL), formed by the merger of OSK and MS, began container services on the
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
route, joining a space-charter consortium of four Japanese operators. Business results improved after the merger, and the loss brought forward was written off in 1966. The company was recapitalized at ¥20 billion in 1968, and at ¥30 billion in 1972. The owned fleet increased to 152 vessels, totalling in 1974, and the operating fleet—owned vessels and time-chartered vessels—numbered 291 vessels, totalling .


Containerization

The first container ship, MOL's ''America Maru'', sailed from Kobe to San Francisco in October 1969. Containerization spread to other routes, including the Australia route, with NYK and Yamashita-Shinnihon Steamship Co., in 1970; the
North Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
route, with five other Japanese companies, in 1971; and the
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
route, as part of the TRIO Group consisting of MOL, Nippon Yusen Kaisha, Overseas Container Line, Ben Line, and
Hapag-Lloyd Hapag-Lloyd AG is a German international shipping and container transportation company. Hapag-Lloyd was formed in 1970 through a merger of Hamburg-American Line (HAPAG) and North German Lloyd. History The company was formed on September 1, 1 ...
, in 1971. On the New York route and
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...
routes a container service began in 1972. In June 2013, one of its container ship, ''
MOL Comfort ''MOL Comfort'' was a 2008-built Bahamian-flagged post-Panamax container ship chartered by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines. The vessel was launched in 2008 as ''APL Russia'' and sailed under that name until 2012, when the ship was renamed to ''MOL Comfort ...
'', broke in two and sank off
Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
. The bow section caught fire before sinking. All 26 crew reported rescued by three other container ships that diverted to her,
Hapag-Lloyd Hapag-Lloyd AG is a German international shipping and container transportation company. Hapag-Lloyd was formed in 1970 through a merger of Hamburg-American Line (HAPAG) and North German Lloyd. History The company was formed on September 1, 1 ...
's '' Yantian Express'', ''Hanjin Beijing'' of now defunct
Hanjin Shipping Hanjin Shipping Co., Ltd. was a South Korean integrated logistics and container transport company. Prior to its liquidation, Hanjin Shipping was South Korea's largest container line and one of the world's top ten container carriers in terms of ca ...
and ZIM's ''ZIM India''. The crews of three ships found them in two raft and one lifeboat.


Carrying ore

The other trend was toward specialization. Both OSK and MS had
ore Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically containing metals, that can be mined, treated and sold at a profit.Encyclopædia Britannica. "Ore". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 7 Apr ...
carriers, and after the merger MOL held the largest share of the Japanese ore market. The ''Yachiyosan Maru'', at , built in 1970 under a cargo guarantee from Nippon Steel Corporation, was the largest ore carrier in Japan at that time.


Cars

MOL built ''Oppama Maru'', the first Car Carrier ship in Japan in 1965, under cargo guarantee from Nissan Motor Company. MOL could not carry cars at a low freight rate because it had to stick to the conference rate. Nissan therefore established the
Nissan Motor Car Carrier Nissan Motor Car Carrier Co., Ltd. (Abbreviation: NMCC; ja, 日産専用船株式会社, Nissan Senyōsen Kabushiki-gaisha) is a Japanese roll-on/roll-off shipping company owned by Nissan Motors (60%) and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (40%). Overview Th ...
Co. in 1970 to operate ''Oppama Maru'' and transport its cars. Based on this model, MOL and Honda Motor Co. established the Act Maritime Co. in 1973 to carry Honda cars to the United States. MOL Ro-Ro Car Carrier division is named ACE (Auto Car Carrier Express), and majority of the Roll-on/roll-off vessels in the company fleet have the suffix "Ace" in their names. The division specializes in maritime transport and distribution of brand new and used automobiles, trucks, trailers, Mafi roll trailers, heavy construction machineries and further types of rolling freight. Since 1990, MOL has invested in the regional feeder line
Euro Marine Logistics Euro Marine Logistics NV (EML) is a European short sea roll-on/roll-off shipping and logistics company, with headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. It was originally jointly owned by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and Höegh Autoliners, before MOL acquired fu ...
. In July 2006, MOL-operated suffered one of the worst stability accident in the industry. In that occasion, despite all her cargo was a total loss, the ship was salvaged and still sails. On 1 January 2019, MV ''Sincerity Ace'' caught fire when sailing northwest of
Oahu Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O ...
, en route from Japan to
Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...
port. Several vessels sailing close by were diverted by the US Coast Guard to rescue her crew, however 4 fatalities and 1 missing person were reported. On 17 February 2022, '' Felicity Ace'' caught fire close to Azores islands, en route from Emden to Davisville in US. The ship was fully loaded with Porsche and Volkswagen cars. After sending a distress signal, the 22 crew members were airlifted, while a Portuguese navy ship and four cargo vessels went to rescue, waiting for salvage tugs to arrive. The ship sank on 2 March while under tow.


Oil Crisis

The U.S. gold embargo in 1971 and the advent of a floating world monetary system was a severe blow for MOL. It changed its financial strategy, keeping more funds in U.S. dollars and in other currencies. More serious was the 1973 oil crisis. MOL immediately cancelled tankers under construction and recorded its best business performance since the merger; freight revenue topped ¥327.5 billion. Soon afterward, however, results deteriorated rapidly and the downslide continued until 1978. MOL made great efforts to curtail costs, and simultaneously increased the size and number of container ships. Containerization increased on routes between industrially advanced and developing countries, and huge investment was needed to finance this expansion. The development of intermodal transportation on the North America route also began, and MOL introduced a Mini Land Bridge (MLB) service in 1972, using rail transport as well as shipping to reduce transit time, to compete with the U.S. shipping company Sea-Land, extending the service to IPI (Interior Point Intermodal) service in 1980. Around the time that the MLB service started, the world trade structure began to change and in 1979 about 60% of general cargo from
Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
to the United States came to be loaded at newly industrialized countries (NICs). MOL reorganized its routes, changing its starting ports for U.S. voyages from Japan to Hong Kong, Taiwan, and other NICs, while shipping companies in the newly industrialized countries captured this new demand and branched out into the Pacific routes. The competition in sea transportation increased and MOL began a direct container service between the Far East and the west coast of North America in 1982. MOL invested huge capital to consolidate these services and to establish a service network in the United States. As a countermeasure against rising oil costs MOL built energy-efficient ships, cooperating with Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding. ''Awobasan Maru'', delivered in 1981, was the first ship incorporating innovations that reduced fuel consumption by 30%. In 1974 MOL established the Saudi Arabian Shipping Co., Ltd. (SASCO) and Arabian Marine Operation Co. Ltd. (AMOCO) as joint ventures with the prince of
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
in Jeddah. SASCO is the shipowner, while AMOCO manages tanker operations. MOL hoped that this joint venture would give it an advantageous status in any future nationalization of oil, but at first the performance of these companies was not good, and AMOCO acquired the rights to bunker supply in 1977. Two years later the second oil crisis occurred and MOL was able to get a stable bunker supply.


Scaling back

Personnel expenses increased after the first oil crisis, and the
yen The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar (US$) and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the e ...
was revalued. These changes hit MOL heavily as a large part of its income was in U.S. dollars. To make itself more competitive, MOL reduced the number of its own vessels and increased the number of
flag of convenience Flag of convenience (FOC) is a business practice whereby a ship's owners register a merchant ship in a ship register of a country other than that of the ship's owners, and the ship flies the civil ensign of that country, called the flag state ...
(FOC) ships; its own ships fell in number from 127 in 1975 to 82 in 1982, and the number of employees at sea from 3,127 to 2,233, while freight revenue increased from ¥282 billion to ¥476 billion over the same period. MOL also built highly rationalized ships in cooperation with MES, which would require a crew of only 18, the minimum number accepted by the Seamen's Act, while other ships required 22 or 24. The first super-advanced ship was the ''Canberra Maru'', delivered in 1979, which was put on the Australia route.


Passenger service

In 1970 MOL established Mitsui OSK Passenger Co., Ltd. (MOP), with the reorganization of JES. MOP has three passenger ships. The company was the only one in Japan to operate an ocean-going passenger service at that time, but later in the 1990s a few Japanese shipping companies entered this market to cope with the boom in travelling by sea.


LNG

In 1983 the import of
liquefied natural gas Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled down to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the vol ...
(LNG) on Free on Board (FOB) conditions began as part of the diversification of Japan's energy resources, and MOL, NYK, Kawasaki Steamship, Chubu Electric Power Company, Incorporated and other Japanese electricity and gas companies jointly established two specialized companies, Badak LNG Transport Inc. and Arun, to transport LNG from
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
. These two companies operated seven LNG ships, constructed by MOL and other shipping companies. MOL also took delivery in 1983 of the ''Kohzan Maru'', Japan's first large-sized methanol carrier, and transported methanol from Saudi Arabia to Japan. Japan's exports of industrial plant grew at that time and modularization began. MOL was interested in the transportation of massive plants and took delivery of five specialized ships, including the ''Atlas Maru'', equipped with a 600-ton capacity
derrick A derrick is a lifting device composed at minimum of one guyed mast, as in a gin pole, which may be articulated over a load by adjusting its guys. Most derricks have at least two components, either a guyed mast or self-supporting tower, and ...
, one of the largest in the world. Plant exports began to decline in the late 1980s and these special ships were mostly sold or changed their flags.


Restructuring

In 1984 the Maritime Act of the United States was revised and the mandatory independent action clause was introduced. This gave shipping companies the right to introduce a discount tariff if registered at the
Federal Maritime Commission The United States Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) is an independent federal agency based in Washington, D.C. that is responsible for the regulation of oceanborne international transportation of the U.S. It is chaired by Daniel B. Maffei. His ...
. The conferences on North American routes became extremely weak and freight rates on the routes dropped sharply. Every route between the Far East and the United States made losses and MOL's business performance deteriorated again. Once more, MOL worked hard to curtail expenses and establish greater competitiveness on these routes. In the same year it decided to enlarge its container terminal facilities at
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
, and also installed its own container terminals at Asian ports, including Kaohsiung. MOL also made great efforts to reorganize operations on the Pacific routes, dissolving the consortium of six Japanese companies. In 1985 it began a two-company consortium with Kawasaki Steamship's K Line service (KL) on the Japan/Pacific southwest route, and with East Asiatic Co. (EAC) on the Far East/Pacific southwest route. It also decided to start a three-company consortium with KL and EAC on the Pacific northwest route. On each route it began a weekly service with newly built large container ships. The first such ship, ''Asian Venture'', was an FOC ship at 1,960 20 feet equivalent unit (TEU), indicating the number of containers loaded, and the main ships placed on this route became FOC ships after they were launched in 1984. Moreover, MOL began operating a double stack train service between Los Angeles,
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
, and Columbus, Ohio in 1985 and extended it to New York in the following year. The New York route became the most competitive because of this trend toward intermodal forms of transport. NYK, Yamashita-Shinnihon Steamship Co.--later merged with Japan Line to establish Nippon Liner Systems for liner business and Navix Lines for tramp business—and MOL began a joint operation service in 1986 and put on it six high-speed large vessels including MOL's Alligator series ships. To improve services, MOL introduced a computer booking system in 1984 and enlarged its online system to cover the United States and the Far East in 1986. This route, however, became lossmaking after 1986, seriously affecting the company's performance; MOL did not pay dividends between 1987 and 1989.


Fleet after restructuring

* ''America Maru''


Bulk carriers

* ''Aurora Light'' * ''Brasil Maru'' * ''Crystal Pioneer'' (woodchip carrier)Students rescued after Concordia tall ship sinks
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 19 February 2010.
* ''Eigen'' * ''Enchanter'' * ''Energia Centaurus'' * ''Grandis'' * ''Envoyager'' * ''Hokuetsu Delight'' (woodchip carrier) * ''KN Arcadia'' * ''Kurenai'' * ''Lambert Maru'' * ''Midnight Dream'' * ''Mona Linden'' * ''Pleiades Dream'' * ''RMC Rigel'' * ''Sea Navigator'' * ''Shiyo'' * ''Vega Dream'' * ''Zebra Wind''


Car carriers

* Adria Ace * Amethyst Ace * Aquamarine Ace * Aquarius Ace * Azalea Ace * Bergamot Ace * Bravery Ace * Camelia Ace * Carnation Ace * Comet Ace * Cougar Ace * Courageous Ace * Crystal Ace * Divine Ace * Elegant Ace * Emerald Ace * Eminent Ace * Eternal Ace * Euphony Ace * Felicity Ace * Freedom Ace * Frontier Ace * Genuine Ace * Galaxy Ace * Gardenia Ace * Gracious Ace * Heroic Ace * Iris Ace * Istra Ace * Liberty Ace * Mercury Ace * Meridian Ace * Miraculous Ace * Neptune Ace * Onyx Ace * Opal Ace * Orca Ace * Paradise Ace * Pearl Ace * Pegasus Ace * Planet Ace * Precious Ace * Prime Ace * Primrose Ace * Prominent Ace * Sanderling Ace * Salvia Ace * Sapphire Ace * Serenity Ace * Singa Ace * Sunlight Ace * Sunrise Ace * Sunshine Ace * Swallow Ace * Swan Ace * Swift Ace * Tranquil Ace * Triumph Ace * Violet Ace * Wisteria Ace


Cruise carriers

* Fuji Maru * Nippon Maru


Ferries and domestic transportation

* Blue Diamond * Sunflower Tomakomai


LNG carriers

* Abdelkader * Al Aamriya * Al Deebel * Ben Badis * Dukhan * Fraiha * Fukurokuju * Fuwairit * GDF Suez Point Fortin * Grand Mereya * LNG Aquarius * LNG Aries * LNG Capricorn * LNG Ebisu * LNG Jurojin * LNG Pioneer * LNG Taurus * LNG Maleo * Murwab * Sun Arrows * Surya Satsuma


Tankers

* Advance Victoria * Ambassador Norris * Asian Progress 3 * Asian Progress 4 * Atlantic Explorer * Atlantic Pioneer * Azumasan * Breezy Victoria * Chokaisan * Eagle Trader * Gassan * Great Tribute - LPG Carrier * Guanabara * Hakaisan * Hakkusan * Isla de Bioko * Ivy Express * Kaimon 2 * Kasagisan * Kashimasan * Katsuragisan * Kirishima * Las Cuevas * Libra Trader *
LPG/C Ayame LPG/C ''Ayame'' is a Very Large Gas Carrier (VLGC), with a capacity of , delivered in 2010 from MHI Ltd. of Nagasaki, and under the management of Wilhelmsen Lines Malaysia. Ship history On 30 April 2010 the LPG carrier ''Ayame'' was completed ...
- LPG Carrier * Maracas Bay * Mayaro * Millennium Explorer - Methanol Carrier * Mitake * Nariva * Noble Express * Noble Spirit - Methanol Carrier * Opal Express * Pacific Alliance * Pacific Partner * Pacific Voyager * Pigeon Point * Omega Trader * Oriental Jade * Perseus Trader * Phoenix Admiral * Phoenix Advance * Phoenix Vanguard * Phoenix Vigor * Pico Basile * Saamis Adventurer * San Fernando * Vemillion Express - Product Tanker * Yufusan * Yakumasan


Container ships

* MOL Anchorage * MOL Advantage * MOL Bravery * MOL Celebration *
MOL Comfort ''MOL Comfort'' was a 2008-built Bahamian-flagged post-Panamax container ship chartered by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines. The vessel was launched in 2008 as ''APL Russia'' and sailed under that name until 2012, when the ship was renamed to ''MOL Comfort ...
(written off - June 2013) * MOL Competence * MOL Contribution * MOL Courage * MOL Cosmos * MOL Creation * MOL Dedication * MOL Delight * MOL Dignity * MOL Diamond * MOL Earnest * MOL Efficiency * MOL Eminence * MOL Emissary * MOL Empire * MOL Endeavor * MOL Endurance * MOL Enterprise * MOL Gateway * MOL Grace * MOL Grandeur * MOL Maestro * MOL Magnificence * MOL Maneuver * MOL Marvel * MOL Matrix * MOL Mission * MOL Modern * MOL Prestige (intermittently called '' MSC Prestige'' when she was under charter to MSC) * MOL Proficiency * MOL Triumph * MOL Trust


Internationalization

MOL's financial activities became more international after the first oil crisis. The company issued corporate debentures and warrant bonds on the Swiss capital market. Shareholders' equity was ¥57.36 billion, and net income ¥5.94 billion in 1991. In the same year, the number of directly owned vessels was 54, aggregating , and there were 296 operating vessels, aggregating .


New ship orders

In 2015 MOL announced its intention to order six new container ships that will be capable of carrying 20,150 20-foot containers. Other shipping groups have announced similar orders for ships of similar size, but when completed these ships will be among the largest container ships in the world. Four ships are to be constructed at
Samsung Heavy Industries Samsung Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (Korean: 삼성중공업) is one of the largest shipbuilders in the world and one of the "Big Three" shipbuilders of South Korea (including Hyundai and Daewoo). Geoje (in Gyeongsangnam-do) is one of the largest ...
shipyards in Korea and a further two will be constructed by
Imabari Shipbuilding is a major Japanese ship building, marine engineering, and service company headquartered in Imabari, Ehime Prefecture, Japan. It is Japan’s largest shipbuilder both in terms of tonnage and sales revenue, with design, research, construct ...
in Japan. The six vessels are set to be launched starting in 2017 and will serve routes between Asia and Europe.


2018 Container activities merge

On Monday 31 October 2016, Mitsui OSK Lines, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, and
Nippon Yusen Nippon Yūsen Kabushiki Kaisha (Japan Mail Shipping Line), also known as NYK Line, is a Japanese shipping company and is a member of the Mitsubishi ''keiretsu''. The company headquarters are located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It operates a flee ...
Kabushiki Kaisha agreed to merge their container shipping business via establishing a completely new joint venture company. The integration included their overseas terminal activities. The new joint venture company operating under the name "
Ocean Network Express Ocean Network Express Holdings, Ltd. (ONE) is a Japanese container transportation and shipping company jointly owned by the Japanese shipping Lines Nippon Yusen Kaisha, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, and K Line. Launched in 2017 as a joint venture, ONE i ...
" from 1 April 2018, with the company headquarters in Japan (Tokyo), an business operation headquarters in Singapore and regional headquarters in United Kingdom (London), United States (Richmond, VA), Hong Kong, and Brazil (Sao Paulo).


2020 oil spill

On 25 July 2020, MOL-operated MV ''Wakashio'' ran aground and spilled oil at the South of Mauritius.


Subsidiaries

*International Energy Transport Co., Ltd. (45%) *International Marine Transport Co., Ltd. (58%) *Mitsui OSK Passenger Line Co., Ltd. (51%) *M.O. Seaways, Ltd. (99%) *International Container Terminal (92%) *The Shosen Koun (62%) *Trans Pacific Container Service (90%) *Japan Express Co., Ltd. (Kobe) (86%) *Japan Express Co., Ltd. (Yokohama) (81%) *Blue Highway Line (25.4%) *Kusakabe Steamship Co., Ltd. (80%) *Mitsui OSK Kogyo Kaisha, Ltd. (79%) *Euromol B.V. (100%) *MOL International S.A. (100%) *MOL Maritime (India) Pvt. Ltd *Orange Finance Ltd. (100%) *Arabian Marine Bunker Sales Co., Ltd. (90%) *Tokyo Marine Asia Pte Ltd *TraPac, LLC *MOL Chemical Tankers Pte. Ltd. (100%)


Fleet


References


Notes


Bibliography

* Chida, Momohei and Peter N. Davies. (1990). ''The Japanese Shipping and Shipbuilding Industries: A History of their Modern Growth.'' London: Athlone Press.
OCLC 20799046
* Tatsuki, Mariko, Tsuyoshi Yamamoto, John Haskell Kemble and Thomas Elliott. (1985). ''The First Century of Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd.'' apan Mitsui O.S.K. Lines
OCLC 20624516


External links


Mitsui O.S.K. Lines web site

MOL Global Liner Services web siteLargest Container Ship Operators by Capacity

List of seafarers currently working for MOL

MOL Information Technology
{{Authority control Shipping companies of Japan Mitsui Container shipping companies Transport companies based in Tokyo Japanese brands Companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Japanese companies established in 1884 Transport companies established in 1884 Multinational companies headquartered in Japan Car carrier shipping companies Ro-ro shipping companies