Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Review
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines is a multi-modal transportation company based in Tokyo, Japan. Like many Japanese shipping companies, Mitsui is a highly diversified public company that is listed on the stock markets in Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka. MOL offers a range of marine, air and land transportation services to domestic destinations and to ports around the world. For the fiscal year 2011, Mitsui reported revenues of $6.5 billion, which was about 7.5 percent lower than the company’s 2010 operating revenues. The Mitsui group owns a total of 380 companies in the transportation sector and employs close to 9,500 people around the globe.
Large Shipping Fleet
Mitsui operates one of the largest shipping fleets in the world. The company directly owns or leases a total of over 850 vessels. Its vast fleet includes the following: container ships, bulk cargo carriers, roll-on roll-off shipping vessels, chemical and hazardous material vessels, oil tankers and passenger ships and ferries. Mitsui currently transports a very wide range of cargo including coal, iron ore, steel, wood pellets, petroleum products, liquefied natural gas, large-sized machinery and project cargo.
Pioneer in Automobile Transportation
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines is one of the pioneers in the automobile transportation sector. MOL was the first in Japan to introduce a pure car carrier (PCC) in response to the country’s surging automobile exports. MOL’s first PCC was launched in 1965 and was designed to carry about 1,200 cars. Today, the company’s vessels are considerably bigger and are designed to carry all kinds of wheeled vehicles, ranging from small automobiles to massive construction trucks. The company owns several pure car and truck carriers (PCTCs) that are capable of transporting up to 6,400 vehicles at once.
Marine Consulting and Logistics Business
The Mitsui Group includes a large and fast growing marine consulting and ship handing simulation business. The group offers a range of services, including safety assessments of ships in berth, safety assessments of ship handling in ports and port function analysis services. The company’s ship handling simulation group helps vessel operators train their crews and bridge personnel on safe ship handling practices and procedures while the ship is at berth and at sea. In addition, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines also operates a large logistics business that offers services like cargo packing and loading, cargo consolidation, freight forwarding and storing, and customs clearance services.