Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ship & Offshore Structure Company (川崎重工業船舶海洋カンパニー) is the shipbuilding subsidiary of Kawasaki Heavy Industries. It produces primarily specialized commercial vessels, including LNG carriers, LPG carriers, container ships, bulk carriers, oil tankers, as well as high speed passenger jetfoils. In addition, it is also a producer of warships for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, including submarines. Kawasaki also produces marine machinery, including marine engines, thrusters, steering gears, deck and fishing machinery.
History
Kawasaki's origins go back to April 1878, when Shozo Kawasaki established Kawasaki Tsukiji Shipyard in Tokyo with the support of fellow Satsuma native and Vice Minister of Finance, Matsukata Masayoshi.[1]
In 1886, Kawasaki established a second shipyard in Kobe, Hyōgo prefecture. With the First Sino-Japanese War, the two shipyards were flooded with new orders and ship repair requests.[2]