News
Imoto Lines will deploy a containership newbuilding in its Sea of Japan service.
Constructed at Kyokuyo Shipyard in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, the Kaifu weighs 9,662 gross tons and has a container hauling capacity of 1,096 TEUs. It is a sister to the Kiso, which was completed in June and is the largest-capacity vessel that Imoto Lines has ever operated in Japan.
Boasting as great a capacity as a shortsea containership, the Kaifu will be deployed in the Sea of Japan service catering Kitakyushu, Akita, Niitaga and Toyoma. The service was launched in November 2022 with the 400-TEU Sakura.
As part of the international container strategic port initiative being advanced by the government of Japan, Imoto Lines is working now to concentrate export and import shipments at the international strategic ports in the Keihin (Tokyo and Yokohama) and Hanshin (Osaka and Kobe) regions. In handling domestics shipments, meanwhile, the Kobe-based shipping company needs to meet demands for modal shifts that are generated in anticipation of the so-called 2024 issue in logistics. When overtime restrictions are imposed next year in Japan, the logistics business is projected to face several problems, such as truck driver shortages. As such, Imoto Lines will run the greater-capacity Kaifu in its Sea of Japan service to take over cargo from trucks.
