Kawasaki Kisen to halve fleet of smaller ships

TOKYO: Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd, Japan's third- largest shipping company, plans to halve the fleet of its smaller bulk ships, a person with knowledge of the plan said.

Kawasaki Kisen, which owns about 100 Panamax- and handymax-sized ships, plans to make the reduction by returning vessels to shipowners, the person said, declining to be identified as the information hasn’t been made public. The shipping company is willing to pay breakup fees to owners for handing back the vessels early, the person said. Kiyoshi Tokonami, a company spokesman, declined to comment.