January 4, 2024
Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd.
To everyone in the “K” LINE Group, I would like to wish you and your families a Happy New Year. I hope that you were able to spend an enjoyable year-end and New Year period, and that you are ready to start 2024 feeling refreshed. I would like to express my deepest condolences to those who lost their lives in the Noto Peninsula earthquake that occurred on New Year’s Day, and my heartfelt sympathies to those affected. We hope to ensure the safety of everyone in the affected areas and hope for a soonest recovery.
Looking back on the past year, we have been shocked by the news reported daily in the media, such as the extremely challenging situation in the conflicts between Israel and Palestine, as well as the prolonged conflicts between Russia and Ukraine. We sincerely hope for the early realization of peace through international solidarity and cooperation. These increasing geopolitical risks and their impacts on the supply chain have the potential to jeopardize the freedom and safety of navigation, which is the foundation of international maritime transport. The global economy has increased the degree of uncertainty surrounding the business environment such as rising inflationary pressures, the tightening of monetary policy in countries around the world, and the impact on the Chinese economy of the real estate downturn. A careful response and attentiveness are required in business operations.
To continue to solidify our management base amid the accelerating pace of change, let’s properly analyze and swiftly respond to the constantly changing situation, demonstrate a renewed awareness of sustainable contributions to society as social infrastructure befitting these times, treat the changes we currently face as opportunities to think through things and take steady action to achieve growth and enhanced corporate value as a professional in the shipping industry.
This year “K” LINE will reach the mid-way point of the five-year medium-term management plan launched in FY2022. In the current fiscal year, while the overheated container shipping market conditions are returning to normal, our directly operated business is steadily making progress, thanks to the hard work that you do every day. To achieve our \140 billion target for ordinary income set out in the Medium-term Management Plan ahead of schedule, we keep focusing on businesses that play a leading role in driving growth, and also started to revise to our growth strategy to raise the bar from the targets laid out in the medium-term plan.
By maintaining investment discipline based on the investment practice of being restrained under favorable conditions and strategic under poor market conditions, we will aim to achieve sustainable growth as a company that boasts high market resilience. At the same time, we have introduced business-based responsible accounting management system, demonstrating an awareness of capital cost and cash flow by further advancement of business management. We will produce profits that exceed capital cost to bolster measures aimed at enhancing corporate value.
The keys to making steady progress towards sustainable growth and enhanced corporate value will be promoting customer-oriented sales and environmental sales , rolling out customer support that integrates operations on land and at sea with technology and marketing, and effectively refining specialized functions unique to the “K” LINE Group. We will set a new goal by taking a fresh look at where we are rooted,what our strength is ,and how we can obtain a competitive advantage to become the shipping company chosen by customers.
This year will be a first for the environment, because it is the year when the full-fledged adoption of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU-ETS) will start. We will deal properly with these regulations and become a shipping company that can provide solutions for reducing environmental impact to customers. In the world’s first full-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS),the Northern Lights project, the marine transport of liquefied CO2 will actually set off in Norway. We will bring our efforts to date to fruition as a new business and steadily link them to the businesses of offshore wind power support vessel and the transport of new forms of energy such as hydrogen and ammonia.
Last year “K” Line Maritime Academy Philippines, a training center for seafarers in Philippines of “K” LINE, celebrated its 30th anniversary. We must approach safety in navigation and cargo operations as our top priority, and the most critical factor underpinning that is the power of people. To achieve high levels of safety and transportation quality, we will implement detail-oriented safety management and quality control leveraging the power of people, while strengthening our three-region global monitoring structure combining people with technology as integral elements to complement advanced and digital technologies through the conversion of tacit knowledge into data, thereby providing safety and optimal services that put customers first.
Lastly, in terms of human resources, as a custodian of key infrastructure supporting a global society and in order to further expand our business in growth markets, particularly in Asia, we must develop and secure human resources who can adapt flexibly to changes in the business environment. Starting this fiscal year, we also revived “K” LINE UNIVERSITY. Our aim is for human resources with a diverse range of values to maximize their abilities in a safe and comfortable work environment. In addition to business management training, we will enhance business training in shipping and onboard training to promote the development of strong marine professionals, and advance DX training for all employees to ensure greater readiness for business transformation.
2024 is the year of the wood dragon according to the Oriental Zodiac. Wood represents the growth of plants and trees, and describes how a plant increasingly gains vigor and size as it grows. By making further efforts in this year of the dragon, let’s put down strong roots and lay the foundations for growth. Along with my best wishes for the year ahead, I hope that around this time next year we will be discussing all that has been accomplished. Finally, I wish safe operation of all our vessels.
川崎汽船グループの皆様、並びに家族の皆様に謹んで新年のお慶びを申し上げます。年末年始は充分に英気を養い、新たな気持ちで新年を迎えられたことと思います。また、元日に発生しました能登半島地震でお亡くなりになられた方に謹んでお悔やみ申し上げますとともに、被災された方々にお見舞い申し上げます。一日も早い復旧を心から願っています。
昨年を振り返ると、ロシアによるウクライナ侵攻の長期化に加え、イスラエル・パレスチナ情勢も非常に厳しい状況になるなど、日々報道される映像には目を覆うばかりです。国際社会の連帯と協力による一日も早い平和の実現を心より望んでいます。このような地政学的リスクの高まりと、それによるサプライチェーンへの影響が顕在化し、国際海上輸送の根幹である航行の自由と航海の安全を脅しかねない事態となっています。世界経済においてもインフレ圧力が高まり、各国での金融引き締めの実施、不動産不況の影響を受ける中国経済など、事業環境を巡る不確実性も増しており、事業運営においては脇を締めた慎重な対応が求められます。
変化のスピードが加速するなか、引き続き経営基盤を確固たるものにするためにも、刻々と変化する情勢をしっかりと分析し迅速に対応すること、このような時代だからこそ社会インフラとして持続可能な社会への貢献を改めて認識して、そして足元の変化をチャンスと捉え、海運のプロフェッショナルとして持続的な成長と企業価値向上に向けて考え抜き着実に行動に移して行きましょう。
当社は22年度から始まった5年間の中期経営計画が今年に折り返し地点を迎えます。今期は過熱したコンテナ船市況が平常に戻るなか、皆さんの日々の努力により自営事業は着実に進捗しつつあります。中計最終年度の経常利益の目標値である1,400億円については、成長を牽引する役割を担う事業を中心として前倒しで達成し、さらに中計目標値の目線を上げるべく成長戦略の見直しに着手しました。
好調なときは抑制的に、市況が悪いときは戦略的に、という投資行動を遵守し投資規律を維持することで市況耐性の高い企業として持続的成長を目指すとともに、経営管理の更なる高度化に取り組むことで資本コストとキャッシュフローを意識した事業別責任会計を導入し、資本コストを上回る収益をあげることで企業価値向上を目指していきます。
持続的成長と企業価値向上への取組みを進めるには、中計で掲げている顧客密着と環境営業の推進、海陸そして技術、営業が一体となった顧客サポートを展開し、当社グループならではの専門機能を如何に磨き上げていくかが重要な鍵となります。今一度、当社としての強みは何か、競争優位性を如何に獲得してお客様に選ばれる船社となるか、自らを見つめなおすことで新たな目標を設定したいと思います。
今年は、新たな環境規制であるEU-ETS制度の適用が始まる環境元年とも言えます。これらの規制にしっかり対処しながら、顧客に環境負荷低減のソリューションを提供出来る船社とならねばなりません。ノルウェーで始まる世界初のフルスケールCCS事業での液化CO2海上輸送がいよいよスタートします。これまでの取り組みを新たな事業として結実させるとともに、洋上風力発電支援船事業や水素・アンモニアなど新エネルギー輸送事業へと着実につなげていきたいと思います。
昨年フィリピンの海事技術者研修施設である“K” Line Maritime Academy Philippinesは開所30周年を迎えました。安全運航は一丁目一番地として取り組まねばなりませんが、それを支える最も大事な要素は「人間力」です。高度な安全・輸送品質の実現には、「人間力」を活かしてきめの細かい安全・品質管理を行うとともに暗黙知のデータ化による先進・デジタル技術が補完するという、いわば「人」と「テクノロジー」の両輪で3極のグローバル・モニタリング体制を強化し、「お客様を第一に考えた安全で最適なサービスの提供」を行っていきます。
最後に人材ですが、グローバル社会を支える重要なインフラを預かるものとして、またアジアを中心とした成長市場で事業を更に発展させるためには、事業環境の変化に柔軟に対応できる人材の確保・育成が必要です。今年度から”K” LINE UNIVERSITYも復活、多様な価値観を持った人材が安全で働きやすい環境のもとで持てる能力を最大限に発揮することを目指します。また経営マネジメント研修に加えて、海運実務、乗船研修を充実させ強い海事プロフェッショナル人材の育成を推進、全社員を対象としたDX教育を進めることでビジネストランスフォーメーションへの備えをさらに進めます。
2024年は甲辰（きのえたつ）です。「甲(きのえ)」は草木の成長を表し、植物がどんどん勢いを伸ばして増えていくという意味があります。辰年にさらなる努力をすることで、根を強く張って成長の礎につなげていきましょう。来年の今頃に再び成果について語り合えるようなことを願い、また、本船のご安航を祈念いたしまして、私の新年の挨拶に代えさせていただきます。