Two major shipbuilding companies are set to merge—giving rise to the world’s fourth-largest shipbuilding group!

Japan’s two major shipbuilding giants, Imabari Shipbuilding and Japan Marine United (JMU), will complete their merger in early next year.

On December 24, Japan’s largest shipbuilding company, Imabari Shipbuilding, announced that the competition law review and approval procedures related to its previously disclosed plan to acquire a partial stake in JMU have been fully completed. All parties will take January 5, 2026, as the effective date for this transaction and will proceed with the completion of all necessary formalities. At that time, Imabari Shipbuilding’s ownership stake in JMU will increase from the current 30% to 60%, making it JMU’s largest shareholder.

JMU is Japan’s second-largest shipbuilding company. Currently, JFE Holdings and Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries (IHI) each hold 35% of JMU’s shares, while Imabari Shipbuilding holds the remaining 30%. In June of this year, Imabari Shipbuilding reached an agreement with JFE Holdings and IHI to acquire portions of the JMU shares held by these two companies. Upon completion of the transaction, the shareholdings of both JFE Holdings and IHI will each drop to 20%.

On October 22, Imabari Shipbuilding submitted an application to Japan’s Fair Trade Commission for approval of this merger and acquisition plan. In this case, Imabari Shipbuilding and JMU are engaged in the manufacturing and sales of merchant vessels across nine ship types and classes. Additionally, Hitachi Zosen Marine Engine Co., Ltd., in which Imabari Shipbuilding holds a 35% stake, is involved in the manufacturing and sales of large marine engines. It is reported that each party holds a market share of approximately 5% to 15% in their respective ship-type markets, while Hitachi Zosen Marine Engine’s share in the large specialized engine market is also only about 20%.

In this application, JMU also proposed measures to address the issue, including refraining from sharing confidential information obtained from Hitachi Zosen’s competitors with Hitachi Zosen itself, and regularly reporting to Japan’s Fair Trade Commission on the implementation status of these measures.

On November 18, Japan’s Fair Trade Commission formally approved the application. The Commission stated that, provided the companies involved commit to implementing a series of measures to address the identified issues, this acquisition will not substantially restrict competition in specific markets. Therefore, the Commission decided to formally approve the acquisition.

It is understood that Imabari Shipbuilding is Japan’s largest shipbuilding group in terms of completed shipbuilding volume. The group operates 10 shipyards across Japan and is capable of building more than 90 vessels annually. Among these, the Marugame Business Headquarters located in Kagawa Prefecture boasts Japan’s largest dry dock, measuring 600 meters in length, 80 meters in width, and 11.7 meters in depth. The dry dock is equipped with Japan’s three largest gantry cranes, each with a lifting capacity of 1,300 tons. In 2023, Imabari Shipbuilding accounted for approximately 35.3% of Japan’s domestic shipbuilding output and 5.8% of the global market share, ranking sixth worldwide.

JMU is Japan’s second-largest shipbuilding company, trailing only Imabari Shipbuilding. Currently, JMU operates several bases throughout Japan, including the Ariake Works in Kumamoto Prefecture, the Kure Works in Hiroshima Prefecture, the Tsu Works in Tsu City, the Isogo and Tsurumi plants of the Yokohama Works in Yokohama City, as well as the Maizuru Works in Maizuru City and the Inoshima Works in Onomichi City, which primarily focus on ship repair services. The vessel types built by JMU span a wide range of sectors, including oil tankers, bulk carriers, container ships, LNG carriers, and roll-on/roll-off ferries.

In 2021, Imabari Shipbuilding and JMU embarked on a capital business collaboration. The two companies integrated their sales and design departments for merchant vessels, including bulk carriers and oil tankers, and jointly established a joint venture named Nihon Shipyard (NSY), which focuses exclusively on the design and sale of merchant ships, thereby enhancing both companies’ international competitiveness in the commercial vessel market. In addition, through subscribing to new shares issued by JMU, Imabari Shipbuilding acquired a 30% stake in JMU, becoming a shareholder of JMU alongside JFE Holdings and IHI. Meanwhile, JMU’s registered capital increased from 40 billion yen to 57.5 billion yen.

Building on their previous collaboration and considering that the global market environment will become even more competitive, Imabari Shipbuilding and JMU have determined that it is necessary to deepen their cooperation and have therefore decided to merge.

In June of this year, Imabari Shipbuilding stated that, influenced by the rise of Chinese and Korean shipbuilding companies, the Japanese shipbuilding industry has seen a significant decline in its global market share in terms of both construction volume and order intake. At the same time, the technological advantages that the Japanese shipbuilding industry once enjoyed are now facing intense competition from China and South Korea. Against this backdrop, Imabari Shipbuilding and JMU will leverage their respective strengths more fully than ever before to compete with China and South Korea. They will also make faster and more comprehensive decisions at the operational level, continuing their commitment to promoting the growth and development of Japan’s shipbuilding industry.

This merger will enable Imabari Shipbuilding and JMU to collaborate synergistically in the same market, with their business scope covering container ships, liquefied gas carriers, bulk carriers, and oil tankers. Moreover, the two companies can achieve cost savings by sharing design and procurement costs.

According to data from the Maritime Bureau of Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, in 2024 Imabari Shipbuilding’s construction volume stood at 3.28 million gross tons, ranking sixth worldwide, while JMU’s volume was 1.41 million gross tons, placing it twelfth globally. Together, the two shipbuilders’ combined construction volume reached 4.69 million gross tons, enabling them to surpass South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean (3.70 million gross tons) and leap into fourth place worldwide. Although still lagging behind China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), whose construction volume reached a staggering 13.33 million gross tons, their scale is already approaching that of South Korea’s HD Hyundai Group, ranked second with 6.14 million gross tons, and South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries, ranked third with 5.61 million gross tons.