K Line Review

Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha is a Tokyo based company that offers a range of marine, land and air vehicle transportation services to destinations in Japan and around the world. The $6 billion, publicly-owned company was established in 1919 and is officially referred to as K Line in shipping circles. The company is the 16th largest container shipping service in the world, and is one of Japan’s largest transportation services providers. K Line currently maintains offices in Beijing, Manila and several locations in the Middle East. The company also has agent offices in nearly three-dozen other countries, including Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, India, Australia, France, Canada and the USA.

Container Shipping Operations

Though Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha offers a range of transportation services, the company’s core expertise lies in the container shipping business. Over the past few years, the shipping giant has added several new vessels to its rapidly expanding fleet of container ships. Just between 2008 and 2011, for instance, the company added four new 8,000 TEU container vessels, 12 new 4,500 TEU vessels and another three 6,400 TEU ships to its fleet. This year, it plans to add another five 8,000 TEU vessels to its container fleet. In addition, K Line also has optimized its port calls schedule, shortened transit times and increased service frequency on all its Intra-Asia service routes, its East/West truck services and its North/South service lines.

Terminal Services

K Line maintains a large terminal operations group to support its core container shipping business. The company currently maintains four terminals in Japan and two in North America. The terminals in Japan are fully automated and run by a sophisticated Computer Automated Terminal Operation System (CATOS). The shipping company’s North American terminals are located in Long Beach, CA and Tacoma, WA and handle all cargo shipments between the US and Japan, and between the US and several other destinations in Asia.

Logistics Management

In addition to container shipping, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha offers a range of dry bulk cargo shipping services and auto shipping services to ports around the world. The company also operates a range of LNG carriers that transport liquefied natural gas consignments between ports in Indonesia, Qatar and Japan. Like many major shipping companies, K-Line has a large logistics group that delivers a range of services to help customers book shipments, monitor and track cargo and handle customs clearance processes.