Overview
Kawasaki Heavy Industries' shipbuilding division builds LNG carriers, LPG carriers, bulk carriers, and submarines from yards at Sakaide and Kobe. Founded as a shipyard in 1878, KHI is now a diversified industrial group whose shipbuilding output has reduced over the past decade as Japan ceded commercial-tonnage share to Korea and China; the yard retains strong gas-carrier and naval capability.
Key facts
- Sakaide + Kobe
- Founded 1878
- LNG, LPG, bulk + submarines
- Diversified group (motorcycles, rolling stock, aerospace)
- Smaller commercial output today
Why it matters to seafarers
Older KHI-built LNG carriers still trade; engineers should expect classic Moss-style spherical containment on those hulls, with the maintenance regime that goes with it.
Related
Classification societies: classnk
Related ranks: chief-engineer