Mitsui E&S Shipbuilding Signs Business Cooperation Agreement with TSUNEISHI Shipbuilding in the Commercial Ship Business Area

As previously announced on February 1, 2018, Mitsui E&S Holdings Co., Ltd. (Head office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President: Takao Tanaka; "Mitsui E&S Holdings") and TSUNEISHI Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (Head office: Fukuyama, Hiroshima; President: Kenji Kawano; "TSUNEISHI") had agreed to engage in deliberations towards the formation of a business cooperation in the area of commercial ships (hereinafter, "the Cooperation").

Subsequent discussions were held regarding the significance and specific details of the Cooperation, and today a business cooperation agreement (hereinafter, the "Cooperation agreement") was signed between Mitsui E&S Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (Head office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo, President: Tetsuro Koga; "Mitsui E&S Shipbuilding"), a fully-owned subsidiary of Mitsui E&S Holdings which assumed the business operations of Mitsui E&S Holdings' Ship and Ocean Projects Headquarters as of April 1, 2018, and TSUNEISHI in relation to this Cooperation.

The purpose of the partnership agreement is to attain continuous growth of the shipbuilding business through collaboration between the two companies in building up design and development capacity and cost competitiveness, and thereby obtaining more orders, while at the same time maintaining their respective independence in management.

The details of the Cooperation agreement are as follows.

1.Joint research and development
・The two companies will consider collaborations in the areas of existing and future technologies, based on the shared concept of sustainably providing the greatest value to customers. Moving forward, by building a cooperative relationship, the two companies will engage in the development of innovative technologies in order to offer the greatest value to customers, and seek to raise their respective positions in the global market.

2.Technical collaboration in design and manufacturing
・Through exchanges of technology and personnel in the field of design, the two companies will seek to increase their opportunities to secure orders by shortening design periods and increasing their product lineups.
・By exchanging technical information pertaining to design and manufacturing, the companies will seek to make effective use of one another's strengths, and enhance their cost competitiveness in both design and manufacturing.

3.Mutual cooperation in procurement activities
・The two companies will aim to achieve more effective procurement through joint utilization of one another's distribution channels and suppliers.
・Through unification and mutual standardization of design standards and specifications, the companies will seek to expand and increase procurement possibilities for the same items.

4.Mutual utilization of manufacturing facilities
・By making mutual effective use of manufacturing facilities owned by the companies both in Japan and overseas (including outsourcing shipbuilding and ship's hull block, etc.), the companies will seek to expand and increase their manufacturing capabilities and enhance their cost competitiveness in manufacturing.

5.Personnel exchanges
・The two companies will seek to train and develop their human resources by engaging in personnel exchanges with the objective of mutual exchange of design, procurement and manufacturing technologies, expertise and know-how currently in the ownership of each company, both in Japan and overseas.

6.Effective utilization of human and technological resources
・The two companies will provide mutual support with regard to seasonal fluctuations in workload and sudden unexpected events through the effective deployment of each another's human and technological resources.

Today, TSUNEISHI will publish a press release with the same content.