What Sanwa Dock does

Sanwa Dock Co., Ltd. (株式会社三和ドック) is a Japanese ship repair and maintenance company headquartered in Onomichi, Hiroshima, founded in 1961. The firm operates four dry docks and services more than 350 vessels per year, employing 312 staff and approximately 130 external workers as of recent reporting. Its customer base spans domestic Japanese coastal shipping operators, international ocean-going vessel owners, and industrial shippers, including named clients such as Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Usui Kaiun, Ikoas, and Etsu Hokuetsu.

The company's core technical differentiator is a proprietary 3D laser reverse-engineering workflow paired with CAD-based steel plate processing, which underpins its specialization in environmental retrofit work — notably Ballast Water Management System (BWMS) installations and SOx scrubber retrofits driven by IMO regulations. This capability places the firm in a defined niche: complex, compliance-driven modifications for vessels requiring precision steelwork at scale. Its No.7 Dock was extended to 260 meters in March 2025, making it one of the largest repair berths in Japan and enabling capesize-class vessel servicing, a capability expansion that materially shifts its addressable market.

Sanwa Dock generates revenue through project-based ship repair and maintenance contracts. Pricing is per-vessel and per-scope, ranging from routine maintenance to complex multi-month retrofit projects, with workload volumes tied to global regulatory compliance cycles and the broader Japanese ship repair market. The firm holds health, safety, and environmental certifications from ClassNK (December 2021) and operates a Kobe Design Office for engineering support. Leadership remains within the founding family — Chairman Isamu Teranishi and President Shuta Teranishi — and the company is privately held with no external funding disclosed. Workforce diversification programs through Filipino (September 2024) and Myanmar (April 2026) technical intern pipelines signal active scaling of skilled labor to support expanded dock capacity.

Name

Sanwa Dock

Legal name

株式会社三和ドック

Website

https://sanwadock.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

1961

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Sanwa Dock is a Japanese ship repair and maintenance company operating four dry docks in Onomichi, Hiroshima, specializing in BWMS and SOx scrubber retrofits via proprietary 3D reverse engineering, servicing 350+ vessels annually for domestic and international shipping clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Ship Repair and Maritime Services

NAICS

Ship Building and Repairing (336611)

SIC

Ship & Boat Building & Repairing (3730)

akta.pro primary industry

Dry Docking & Dockyard Operations (Graving/Floating Docks, Docking Services) (TLAHAMAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Dry Docks & Floating Docks (Graving, Floating, Syncrolift) (IMAJALAA), Dry Docking & Hull Steelwork Repair (IMAJAFAA), Retrofits, Upgrades & Compliance Conversions (Scrubbers, BWTS, Alternative Fuels, Energy-Saving Devices) (TLAHAMAI)

Keywords

• Ship repair services
• Vessel maintenance
• Maritime retrofitting
• Dry dock services
• Ballast water systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Onomichi

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Ship Repair Services (船舶修繕事業): Core business of Sanwa Dock — repair and maintenance of domestic coastal vessels (内航船), near-sea vessels (近海船), and ocean-going vessels (外航船). Revenue is generated through project-based service fees for inspection, repair, and maintenance of vessels. The company handles over 350 vessel repair projects annually.
2. Engineering & Retrofitting Services (エンジニアリング事業): Design and engineering services for ship modifications including BWMS (ballast water management system) and SOx scrubber installations using 3D reverse engineering technology. Provides engineering services from initial survey through construction completion for global shipping companies.
3. Unmanned Autonomous Vessel Support (无人運航船関連工事): Installation and removal of related equipment for the DFFAS project's autonomous navigation demonstration vessel (内航コンテナ船「すざく」).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Sanwa Dock is a Japanese ship repair company that provides comprehensive vessel repair, maintenance, and retrofitting services from its Onomichi City, Hiroshima headquarters with four dry docks. The company specializes in hull work, machinery/engine work, electrical and piping work, and complex retrofits including Ballast Water Management System (BWMS) and SOx scrubber installations using proprietary 3D reverse engineering technology. It handles over 350 vessel projects annually for domestic coastal and international shipping customers.

Product overview

Sanwa Dock is a ship repair company offering comprehensive vessel maintenance and retrofitting services. Their core offerings include hull work, machinery work, and electrical/piping services across four dry docks. The company specializes in environmental compliance retrofits—particularly Ballast Water Management System (BWMS) installation and SOx scrubber fitting—using proprietary 3D reverse engineering technology with laser scanning capabilities. Additional services include tugboat operations, accommodation facilities, and technical training through the Innoshima Technical Center.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hull Work (船体工事) Hull-related ship repair services including hull cleaning, painting, propeller inspection, and hull maintenance for commercial vessels. Targeted at ship owners and shipping companies operating coastal and ocean-going vessels.
• Machinery Work (機関工事) Engine and machinery repair and maintenance services for commercial vessels. Serves ship owners requiring inspection and overhaul of propulsion and auxiliary systems.
• Electric and Piping Work (電気・配管工事) Electrical and piping system installation, repair, and maintenance for commercial vessels. Serves ship owners and operators requiring technical piping and electrical work during dry docking.
• Retrofitting and Modification Work (改造工事) Complex ship modification work including Ballast Water Management System (BWMS) and SOx scrubber installations for international environmental regulation compliance, using proprietary 3D reverse engineering technology. Targeted at international and domestic shipping companies needing regulatory compliance upgrades.
• Dry Dock Facilities and Vessel Berthing Four dry docks (No.1, No.3, No.5, No.7) offering vessel docking, undocking, and inspection services for vessels up to 76,500 GT (PCC). No.7 Dock is one of the largest private repair docks in the region. Targeted at ship owners requiring dry docking for inspections and major repairs.
• Tugboat Services (タグボート)

Quantifiable outcome

• 65 BWMS engineering projects completed (38 constructed/integrated by Sanwa Dock) with ~30 more planned
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered supporting, core and minor.

• MM EMPOWER CORP. (MMエンパワー)supportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 September 2024MM EMPOWER CORP. is a joint venture between Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and the Magsaysay Group for foreign human resources consulting in the Philippines. Sanwa Dock receives Filipino technical interns through this partnership, expanding its workforce diversity beyond the existing Vietnamese program.
• DFFAS Consortium (Designing the Future of Full Autonomous Ship)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 December 2020Sanwa Dock participates in the DFFAS project led by Japan Foundation (日本財団) as one of 27 member companies. The project aims to conduct the world's first unmanned autonomous ship demonstration by 2025 using the domestic container vessel 'Suzaku'. Sanwa Dock is responsible for installing and removing related equipment on the demonstration vessel, applying its 3D reverse engineering and ship retrofit expertise.
• Magsaysay Group (マグサイサイグループ)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMagsaysay Group, through its Manila office and MIHCA Manila Japanese language training facility, selects and prepares Filipino technical interns for Sanwa Dock. The group has extensive experience in maritime human resources, particularly with Filipino mariners.
• ClassNK (日本海事協会)coreTechnology or IntegrationClassNK provided support for Sanwa Dock's HSE Management System certification (awarded December 2021) and collaborated on the development of reverse engineering technology through the ClassNK-PEERLESS software initiative that enabled 3D laser scanning data processing for ship retrofit design.
• World Maritime University (WMU)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorld Maritime University, established by IMO in Sweden in 1983, brings 23-country maritime officials to Sanwa Dock as part of Japan Foundation/Sasakawa Peace Foundation-sponsored study tours to understand Japanese ship repair industry.
• Fukada Salvage Construction Co., Ltd. (深田サルベージ建設株式会社)supportingTechnology or IntegrationFukada Salvage Construction provided a maritime floating crane vessel for the 100-ton funnel block installation on the HK DELIGHT SOx scrubber retrofit project, as this weight exceeded Sanwa Dock's existing crane capacity.
• Japan Shipowners Association / Japan Small and Medium Shipyard Association ((一社)中小造船工業会)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerSanwa Dock participated in the Japan Shipowners Association's公益社団法人 Japan Foundation-funded 'HSE Adoption Demonstration in Small Shipyards' program (三か年計画) from 2018, leading to HSE certification.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Shin Kurushima Dockyard Co., Ltd. Shin Kurushima operates ship repair and shipbuilding yards across Japan (Imabari area) with extensive dry dock capacity, including for large vessels. It competes with Sanwa Dock for coastal and international repair/retrofit contracts and shares the Japanese private-yard business model.
• Naikai Shipbuilding & Engineering Co., Ltd. Naikai Shipbuilding operates a Setoda (Innoshima-area) ship repair yard with dry docks and tugboat services directly comparable to Sanwa Dock's Hiroshima/Innoshima facility, making it a particularly close geographic and operational peer.
• Kanda Shipbuilding Corporation: Kanda Shipbuilding is a Japanese ship repair and newbuild yard (primarily in Nagasaki) that is one of the closest domestic competitors to Sanwa Dock in the Japanese private ship repair market, with comparable dry dock repair and retrofit capabilities for coastal and international vessels.

Broad incumbents

• Oshima Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. Oshima Shipbuilding is a long-established Japanese bulk-carrier newbuilder with a notable repair division and dry dock facilities. It competes with Sanwa for repair contracts on bulkers and similar mid-sized commercial vessels.
• Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (Marine): Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has a large marine division including ship repair and conversion services at its Nagasaki and other yards. It is a much broader industrial conglomerate but provides overlapping ship repair capability for large commercial and government vessels.
• Imabari Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. Imabari is Japan's largest shipbuilder with substantial repair operations and dry dock capacity. It is a much broader incumbent than Sanwa but competes for repair contracts and retrofit engineering for large commercial vessels globally.
• Tsuneishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. Tsuneishi Shipbuilding is a major Japanese shipbuilder with newbuild, repair, and aftermarket service operations. Like Imabari, it is a larger incumbent whose repair division overlaps with Sanwa Dock's services for coastal and international customers.

Regional players

• Damen Shiprepair & Conversion: Damen operates a network of ship repair and conversion yards across Europe with strong BWMS and scrubber retrofit capabilities, competing with Sanwa Dock for international commercial fleet retrofit contracts in markets outside Asia.
• Keppel Shipyard Ltd. Keppel Shipyard, part of Keppel Offshore & Marine, is a Singapore-based ship repair and conversion yard competing for FPSO conversions, BWMS retrofits, and large commercial vessel repairs across Asia.
• Sembcorp Marine Ltd. Sembcorp Marine operates large shipyards in Singapore with significant dry dock repair capacity for ocean-going vessels including retrofits. It is a regional Asian peer to Sanwa competing for international retrofits outside Japan.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/embed/guisCvyhWRE
• Instagraminstagram.com/sanwadock_official

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sanwa Dock