Sasaki Shipbuilding Co., Ltd.

What Sasaki Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. does

Sasaki Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. is a privately held, family-owned Japanese shipbuilder founded in 1931 by Shukichi Sasaki and currently led by third-generation President Daihei Sasaki (since 2001). The company operates from a single shipyard complex on Osakikamijima island in Hiroshima Prefecture, Seto Inland Sea, with a main slipway capacity of 9,700 GT (135m × 26m) and a staff of approximately 200-220 employees including subcontractors. It specializes in custom-built, made-to-order vessels — primarily liquid and gas carriers — including oil and chemical tankers (495-8,081 GT), pressurized and semi-pressurized LPG carriers, ethylene carriers, molten sulphur and asphalt carriers, and general cargo ships.

The company's core technology stack combines CAD-based ship design, NC plasma cutting, and automated welding, with a particular specialization in complex, hazardous-cargo vessels requiring advanced engineering. Recent technical investments include Japan's first LPG dual-fuel engine for small-to-medium sized vessels (achieving CO2 reductions of 10-15%, NOx reduction of 12%, and SOx reduction of 99%), the world's first sound-input navigation support system (1997), the first domestic installation of Severn Trent De Nora's BALPURE ballast water treatment system, and a 2022 patent on single-tank liquefied gas carrier technology. An active R&D pipeline targets methanol dual-fuel chemical tankers (7,000-13,000 DWT), a hydrogen dual-fuel LPG carrier (5,000 CBM), and methanol bunkering vessels (4,000-6,500 DWT).

Sasaki operates a sales-led, project-based revenue model with all vessels sold directly to ship owners, operators, charterers, and cargo interests under negotiated, multi-year build contracts. Pricing is quote-based per vessel, with per-ship values ranging from several hundred million yen to billions of yen. The customer base spans domestic Japanese coastal shipping operators and international ship owners — primarily in Singapore and other Asian markets — with no disclosed distribution intermediaries. The company generates revenue from a single stream: new ship construction (one-time project delivery), supplemented by environmental equipment integration such as the BALPURE system.

Name

Sasaki Shipbuilding Co., Ltd.

Legal name

Sasaki Shipbuilding Co., Ltd.

Website

https://sasakizosen.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1931

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Sasaki Shipbuilding is a privately held, family-owned Japanese shipbuilder (founded 1931, third-generation leadership) that designs and constructs custom-made liquid cargo vessels — including LPG carriers, chemical tankers, and specialized gas/oil carriers — for domestic and international ship owners from a single Hiroshima shipyard.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Shipbuilding

NAICS

Ship Building and Repairing (336611)

SIC

Ship & Boat Building & Repairing (3730)

akta.pro primary industry

LPG & Ammonia Carrier Shipbuilding (IMAJAAAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Specialized Cargo Vessels (Cement/Asphalt/Woodchip/Live-Animal) Shipbuilding (IMAJAAAL)

Keywords

• Commercial shipbuilding
• Custom vessel construction
• LPG carrier construction
• Chemical tanker building
• Dual-fuel ship design

Headquarters

HQ city

Osakikamijima, Hiroshima

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. New Ship Construction: Design, construction and delivery of custom-built vessels including LPG carriers, chemical tankers, oil tankers, ethylene carriers, general cargo ships, and specialized vessels. Each vessel is built to order based on specific customer requirements. New vessel prices range from several hundred million yen to billions of yen per ship.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Sasaki Shipbuilding designs and constructs custom, made-to-order commercial vessels at its shipyard in Osakikamijima, Hiroshima, Japan. Its portfolio centers on small-to-medium liquid cargo carriers — including oil/chemical tankers, LPG carriers (pressure type and SP/FR semi-pressurized/refrigerated), molten sulphur and asphalt carriers, ethylene carriers, and general cargo ships — built to each customer's specifications, with vessels ranging from around 495 GT up to a 9,700 GT slipway capacity. The company also integrates environmental equipment such as the BALPURE ballast water treatment system and is developing dual-fuel (LPG, methanol, hydrogen) and emission-free propulsion vessels.

Product overview

Sasaki Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. is a Japanese shipbuilder specializing in the construction of diverse vessel types. The company operates a single-stop order-made shipbuilding model, designing and building vessels tailored to each customer's specific requirements. The product portfolio centers on liquid cargo carriers including Oil/Chemical Tankers, LPG Carriers (both Pressure Type and SP/FR semi-pressurized/refrigerated types), and General Cargo Ships. Specialty vessels include Molten Sulphur and Asphalt Carriers for high-temperature cargoes. The company has developed advanced LPG Dual Fuel carriers that use LPG as propulsion fuel, reducing environmental impact. Environmental equipment includes the BALPURE Ballast Water Treatment System. The company is actively developing alternative-fuel vessels including methanol dual-fuel chemical tankers (7,000DWT), hydrogen dual-fuel LPG carriers (5,000 CBM), and methanol bunkering vessels (4,000DWT and 6,500DWT) as part of its GHG reduction strategy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Oil and Chemical Tankers Custom-built oil tankers and chemical tankers for transporting petroleum products and chemical cargoes, with capacities ranging from 495 GT to 8,081 GT. Customers include Japanese and international liquid cargo operators.
• LPG Carriers (Pressure Type) Pressurized LPG carriers for transporting liquefied petroleum gas, with capacities ranging from 749 GT to 8,043 GT. Dual-fuel (LPG DF) variants are available to reduce emissions. Delivered to both domestic Japanese and international ship owners.
• LPG and Ethylene Carriers (SP/FR Type) Semi-pressurized/refrigerated LPG carriers and ethylene carriers for liquefied gas transport, including the FORTUNATO (8,675 cbm) and PACIFIC ETHYLENE II (1,582 cbm). Designed for international and domestic gas logistics customers.
• Molten Sulphur and Asphalt Carriers Specialized carriers for transporting molten sulphur and asphalt at high temperatures. Built for niche industrial cargo operators with specific material-handling and safety requirements.
• General Cargo Ships Multi-purpose general cargo vessels including the KIZUNA 21 (8,016 DWT) and APOLLO series up to 12,308 DWT. Used by international and domestic ship owners for dry cargo transport.
• LPG Dual-Fuel (LPG DF) Carriers LPG-powered dual-fuel carriers that use LPG as propulsion fuel, reducing CO2 emissions by 10-15%, NOx by 12%, and SOx by 99% compared to conventional fuel. Includes 7,500 CBM vessels such as SINAR TORAJA and MARKO MARULIC.
• BALPURE Ballast Water Treatment System Integration Ballast water treatment solution integrated into Sasaki-built vessels, based on Severn Trent De Nora's BALPURE electrolysis technology. First installed on the APOLLO KITA (S673). Only ~1% of ballast water flow needs to pass through the system for treatment, addressing IMO ballast water management compliance.

Quantifiable outcome

• LPG dual-fuel vessels reduce CO2 emissions by 10-15%, NOx by 12%, and SOx by 99% compared to conventional fuel
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered notable and core.

• Bureau Veritas (フランス船級協会)notableTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2021Received Approval in Principle (AIP) for basic design of LPG dual-fuel vessel for small-to-medium ships - the first such approval in Japan.
• Severn Trent De Nora (セバントデノラ社)notableTechnology or Integration · 1 January 1997World's first installation of Severn Trent De Nora's BALPURE ballast water treatment system on vessel S673 (APOLLO KITA). The BALPURE system uses electrolysis to generate sodium hypochlorite for ballast water sterilization. The system only requires approximately 1% of ballast water flow to pass through the device.
• Daikich Kikai Kogyo (大晃機械工業)notableChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorImporter and seller of the BALPURE ballast water treatment system in Japan. Handles import and domestic sales of the system installed on Sasaki vessels.
• Tank Plant ManufacturerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative R&D with tank plant manufacturers for LNG/LPG fuel gas tanks and FGSS (Fuel Gas Supply System) development for dual-fuel vessels.
• Engine ManufacturerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint research and development with engine manufacturers for 2-stroke and 4-stroke dual-fuel engines using LNG and LPG as fuel.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves14 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Tsuneishi Shipbuilding: Japanese commercial shipbuilder with a similar product focus on bulk carriers, tankers, and mixed cargo vessels. Like Sasaki, Tsuneishi emphasizes quality mid-size tonnage and serves both domestic and international owners, though at substantially larger scale.
• Dae Sun Shipbuilding & Engineering: Korean small-to-medium shipbuilder building chemical tankers, product tankers, and small bulkers. Strongly comparable to Sasaki in scale and vessel-type focus, frequently bidding in the same Asian small-tanker market.
• Shin Kurushima Dock: Japanese shipbuilder with multi-yard operations producing bulkers, tankers, and cargo vessels. Overlaps Sasaki's tanker and small-commercial-vessel niche while operating at a larger scale.
• Hyundai Mipo Dockyard: Korean shipbuilder specialized in mid-size container ships, tankers, and gas carriers. Closest international peer to Sasaki on small-to-medium tanker and gas-carrier construction, often competing directly for Asian fleet orders.
• Oshima Shipbuilding: Japanese shipbuilder based in Saikai with a comparable focus on bulk carriers and tankers. Oshima competes for similar small-to-medium commercial vessel orders and shares Sasaki's emphasis on fuel-efficient designs.
• Namura Shipbuilding: Japanese shipbuilder operating from Osaka building a mix of bulkers, tankers, and small commercial vessels. Comparable vessel portfolio to Sasaki, with shared competition for both Japanese and international orders.
• Naikai Shipbuilding: Japanese shipbuilder of similar size and product mix to Sasaki, building tankers, bulkers, and small commercial vessels. Direct overlap on small-to-medium liquid cargo tonnage and domestic-Japan sales channels.

Broad incumbents

• Imabari Shipbuilding: Largest shipbuilder in Japan, producing a broad portfolio spanning container ships, bulkers, tankers, and gas carriers. While Imabari's scale dwarfs Sasaki, the two compete in select small-to-medium tanker and bulker orders.
• Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (Ship & Ocean): Major Japanese industrial conglomerate with a shipbuilding and ocean engineering division producing LNG carriers, offshore vessels, and large commercial ships. Represents the broader-incumbent benchmark for Japanese gas-carrier technology.

Regional players

• Sembcorp Marine: Singapore-based shipyard that builds offshore, gas, and commercial vessels. As Sasaki's first international customer base was Singapore shipowners, Sembcorp Marine is a regionally relevant competitor and a benchmark for Asian gas-carrier capability.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/sasakishipbuilding

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Sasaki Shipbuilding Co., Ltd.