After World War II, Mitsui Shipbuilding diversified its engineering operations. According to data from Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, in 2000, Mitsui Shipbuilding ranked second in Japan in terms of shipbuilding output, trailing only Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
However, since 2000, with the rise of the shipbuilding industries in China and South Korea, Japan’s share of the global shipbuilding market has continuously declined, leading to worsening profitability for Mitsui Shipbuilding. In 2018, Mitsui Shipbuilding decided to spin off its three major business divisions into three independent subsidiaries. The holding company was renamed Mitsui E&S Holdings, with the letters “E” (representing Engineering for factory operations) and “S” (representing Shipbuilding for shipbuilding operations) forming the new company’s name. Despite this, neither of these two businesses managed to turn a profit for Mitsui E&S Holdings.
In early 2020, Mitsui E&S Holdings announced that it would completely cease shipbuilding operations at its Chiba Shipyard by the end of March 2021, consolidating its shipbuilding activities into the Tamano Shipyard and its Chinese joint venture shipyard, Yangzijiang Mitsui Shipbuilding, with Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Group. In March 2021, the Chiba Shipyard delivered its last new vessel. Mitsui E&S Shipbuilding subsequently sold off the shipbuilding docks and other equipment at the Chiba Shipyard, retaining only a portion of the facilities for manufacturing large structures, effectively ending its role as a shipyard.
In June 2020, Mitsui E&S Holdings negotiated with Japan’s largest defense conglomerate, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, to sell the naval shipbuilding operations of the Tamano Shipyard to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The Tamano Shipyard ultimately delivered its last commercial vessel under construction in July 2021. In October of the same year, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries integrated the ship and government vessel construction operations of the Tamano Shipyard, establishing Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Marine Systems Co., Ltd., which specializes in building ships and government vessels for Japanese government agencies.
In April 2021, Mitsui E&S Holdings signed a share transfer agreement with Tsuneishi Shipbuilding, transferring 49% of the publicly traded shares of Mitsui E&S Shipbuilding related to commercial shipbuilding operations, along with some subsidiaries and affiliated companies. These included subsidiaries Niigata Shipbuilding and Mitsui Yura Dockyard, as well as the joint venture shipyard Yangzijiang Mitsui Shipbuilding.
