Decrease in demand for tugboats due to the number of vessels entering and leaving port, vessel performance, and regulatory changes
First written in FY2016. 11 of 44 entries say "Restated". Latest entry: 2026-08-12.
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- FY2026WorsenedAnnual report
「The number of vessels subject to tugboat operations is expected to decline substantially, particularly tankers, due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, but the scale of the impact is impossible to determine. Similarly, in the passenger vessel business, it is extremely difficult to forecast the impact on performance based on reasonable assumptions.」
The external environmental risk concerning the number of vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay has been newly specified as the possibility of a substantial decline in target vessels, particularly tankers, due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, together with the difficulty of forecasting the scale of the impact. The earnings forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2027 is undetermined. - FY2026-H1Declines and increases coexist by vessel typeAnnual report
「Although a substantial decline in car carriers had been expected due to the impact of US auto tariffs, the number remained approximately at the same level as in the previous year. Large container vessels declined, while tankers increased, and revenue rose partly due to the effect of higher tugboat rates from May 2025.」
The number of car carriers remained approximately at the same level as in the previous year rather than falling substantially as expected, while large container vessels declined and tankers increased. Tugboat demand is showing both declines and increases by vessel type. - FY2025WorsenedAnnual report
「The number of car carriers and container vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay among those targeted for tugboat operations, which had remained firm, began to decline, while dangerous-goods vessels, particularly large tankers, remained on a weakening trend.」
Car carriers and container vessels, which had previously remained firm, began to decline, while dangerous-goods vessels, particularly large tankers, also weakened. The decline in tugboat demand is spreading across multiple major vessel types. - FY2025-H1Some container vessels increase, while car carriers and dangerous-goods vessels remain sluggishAnnual report
「The number of container vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay among those targeted for tugboat operations showed an increasing trend, particularly for small and medium-sized vessels. Car carriers, which had remained firm, began to decline, while dangerous-goods vessels, particularly large tankers, remained on a weakening trend.」
Small and medium-sized container vessels began to increase, while car carriers began to decline and dangerous-goods vessels, particularly large tankers, weakened. Recovery and weakness in tugboat demand diverged by vessel type. - FY2024Firm vessel types coexist with sluggish vessel typesAnnual report
「The number of car carriers and container vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay among those targeted for tugboat operations remained firm, while the number of large passenger vessels entering the port increased as the COVID-19 pandemic subsided. Meanwhile, the offshore wind power construction vessels (CTVs) had new work at Nyuzen Port in Toyama Prefecture and Ishikari New Port in Hokkaido, but construction work at Akita Port and Noshiro Port ended, resulting in a substantial decline in revenue.」
Car carriers, container vessels and large passenger vessels remained firm or increased, while CTV revenue declined following the completion of existing projects, resulting in divergent demand trends by vessel type and business. - FY2024-Q3Firm recovery in some vessel types continues, but large tankers and others declineAnnual report
「The number of car carriers and container vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay among those targeted for tugboat operations remained firm, while the number of large passenger vessels entering the port increased as the COVID-19 pandemic subsided. Meanwhile, the offshore wind power construction vessel (CTV) business had new work, but construction work at Akita Port and Noshiro Port ended, resulting in a substantial decline in revenue.」
Car carriers and container vessels remained firm and the number of large passenger vessels entering the port continued to increase, while the CTV business posted a substantial decline in revenue following the completion of work at Akita Port and Noshiro Port. Recovery and weakness coexist by vessel type and business. - FY2024-Q1Recovery by vessel type, but weakness in dangerous-goods vesselsAnnual report
「The number of car carriers, container vessels and large passenger vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay among those targeted for tugboat operations continued to increase, while dangerous-goods vessels remained on a weakening trend.」
Among vessels targeted for tugboat operations in Tokyo Bay, car carriers, container vessels and large passenger vessels continued to increase, while dangerous-goods vessels weakened, resulting in divergent trends by vessel type. - FY2023Recovery and the impact of rate revisions coexist with declines in some vessel typesAnnual report
「From the latter half of the fourth quarter of the previous fiscal year, car carriers, container vessels and dangerous-goods vessels among those targeted for tugboat operations showed signs of recovery, and earnings improved following the increase in port tugboat rates from November 2022.」
Car carriers, container vessels and dangerous-goods vessels showed signs of recovery, and the increase in port tugboat rates also contributed to improved earnings. Meanwhile, almost all vessel types in the Chiba area began to decline from the latter half of September, with recovery and decline coexisting. - FY2023-Q3Recovery continues by vessel type and area, with declines in some segmentsAnnual report
「From the latter half of the fourth quarter of the previous fiscal year, car carriers, container vessels and dangerous-goods vessels among those targeted for tugboat operations showed signs of recovery, and earnings improved following the increase in port tugboat rates from November 2022.」
Some car carriers, container vessels and dangerous-goods vessels showed signs of recovery, and the increase in port tugboat rates also contributed to improved earnings. Meanwhile, the number of dangerous-goods vessels in the Chiba area began to decline from the latter half of September, with recovery and weakness coexisting. - FY2023-Q2Broader recovery by vessel type and area coexists with continued weaknessAnnual report
「In the tugboat business, container vessels in the Yokohama-Kawasaki area remained sluggish, although disruption to port operations worldwide was moving toward normalization, while car carriers showed signs of bottoming. The number of large tankers and ore carriers entering the port declined, leaving activity at approximately the same level as in the previous year. In the Tokyo area, where target vessels are primarily container vessels, the number of arrivals and departures also began to increase, resulting in higher revenue. In the Yokosuka area, the decline in container vessels subject to escort operations continued, but large tankers and LNG vessels remained firm, resulting in higher revenue. In the Chiba area, the number of dangerous-goods vessels entering the port increased against the backdrop of energy demand, resulting in higher revenue.」
Although container vessels, car carriers, large tankers, LNG vessels and dangerous-goods vessels showed signs of recovery or increases, large tankers and ore carriers, as well as container vessels in the Yokosuka area, remained sluggish. Recovery and weakness therefore coexist by area and vessel type. - FY2023-Q1Recovery and weakness coexist by area and vessel typeAnnual report
「Among vessels targeted for tugboat operations, the number of large tankers and LNG vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay showed signs of recovery against the backdrop of energy demand, while container vessels remained sluggish due to disruption to port operations worldwide, leaving the overall level approximately unchanged from the previous year.」
Large tankers and LNG vessels recovered, while container vessels remained sluggish due to disruption to port operations, leaving the overall number of arrivals and departures in Tokyo Bay at approximately the same level as in the previous year. Recovery and weakness coexist in the demand environment by vessel type and area. - FY2022WorsenedAnnual report
「Regarding arrivals and departures in Tokyo Bay of vessels targeted for tugboat operations, the decline across vessel types, centered on the Yokohama-Kawasaki area, had turned to an increase through the third quarter of fiscal 2021. However, from the beginning of 2022, the number of vessels began to decline again due to the deterioration of port logistics functions overseas and the renewed spread of COVID-19 in China.」
After some vessel types began to recover, the number of vessels entering and leaving began to decline again from the start of 2022 against the backdrop of deteriorating overseas port logistics functions and the renewed spread of COVID-19 in China. - FY2022-Q2Recovery and decline coexistAnnual report
「In the tugboat business, container vessels in the Yokohama-Kawasaki area remained sluggish, partly due to disruption to port operations worldwide, while car carriers, large tankers and ore carriers began to recover, resulting in higher revenue. In the Tokyo area, where target vessels are primarily container vessels, some vessels avoided calling at Tokyo Port from June amid concerns over traffic congestion in the Tokyo metropolitan area during the Olympics, causing the number of arrivals and departures to decline and revenue to fall.」
Although car carriers, large tankers and ore carriers showed signs of recovery, container vessels remained sluggish, while the number of arrivals and departures in the Tokyo area and the number of tankers in the Chiba area declined. Recovery and deterioration coexisted in the demand environment by area and vessel type. - FY2022-Q1Recovery continues, but varies by area and vessel typeAnnual report
「Regarding the environment surrounding the Group's core tugboat business, the number of vessels entering and leaving began to recover from the fourth quarter of the previous fiscal year.」
The number of vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay began to recover from the fourth quarter of the previous fiscal year. However, recovery varied by area and vessel type, including continued weakness in container vessels, lower logistics activity in the Tokyo area during the Olympic period, and a decline in tankers in the Chiba area. - FY2021Recovery in the fourth quarter, but decline for the full yearAnnual report
「The adverse impact of COVID-19 on marine logistics began to emerge in April. Although the decline in the number of vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay continued through October in the third quarter, some vessel types began to show signs of bottoming from November, and revenue in the fourth quarter (January to March) was at the same level as the previous year.」
The decline in the number of vessels entering and leaving continued through October, but some vessel types began to show signs of bottoming from November, and fourth-quarter revenue was at the same level as the previous year. For the full year, however, the tugboat business reported lower revenue, and the statement does not indicate that the overall decline in demand had been resolved. - FY2021-Q3Some vessel types show signs of bottoming, but the overall decline continuesAnnual report
「Regarding the environment surrounding the Group's core tugboat business, the adverse impact of COVID-19 on marine logistics began to emerge in April. Although the decline in the number of vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay continued through October in the third quarter, some vessel types have shown signs of bottoming since November.」
The decline in the number of vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay continued through October, while some vessel types began to show signs of bottoming from November. The demand environment remains challenging overall, but signs of improvement have emerged in some areas. - FY2021-Q2WorsenedAnnual report
「In the tugboat business, in the Yokohama-Kawasaki area, although container vessels among the target vessels showed signs of bottoming, the number of vessels entering and leaving declined across almost all vessel types, particularly car carriers, large tankers and passenger vessels, resulting in lower revenue. In the Tokyo area, where container vessels account for most target vessels, the number of arrivals and departures declined only slightly, allowing operations to remain at approximately the same level as in the previous year. In the Yokosuka area, the number of container vessels, dangerous-goods vessels and ore carriers entering and leaving declined, while escort operations and pilot-boat embarkation and disembarkation operations at the mouth of Tokyo Bay also decreased, resulting in a substantial decline in revenue. In the Chiba area, the number of product tankers increased, but dangerous-goods vessels, including LNG vessels, decreased, resulting in lower revenue. As a result, revenue in the tugboat business segment fell by ¥502 million to ¥3,877 million, down 11.5% year on year, and despite lower fuel costs, the substantial revenue decline resulted in an operating loss of ¥13 million, compared with operating income of ¥232 million in the previous year.」
The decline in the number of vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay continued in the second quarter, and the number of target vessels decreased across multiple areas and vessel types. Tugboat business revenue fell 11.5% year on year, resulting in a shift to an operating loss. - FY2021-Q1WorsenedAnnual report
「The adverse impact of COVID-19 on marine logistics began to emerge in April, and the decline in the number of vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay accelerated further from May.」
Due to the impact of COVID-19, the decline in the number of vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay accelerated further from May. The number of target vessels decreased in the Yokohama-Kawasaki and Yokosuka areas, among others, and tugboat business revenue fell 9.6% year on year. - FY2020WorsenedAnnual report
「Regarding the environment surrounding the Group's core tugboat business, the number of vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay began to weaken from the start of last year. Since the beginning of this year, amid the impact of US-China trade friction and the spread of COVID-19, signs of change have also begun to emerge in marine logistics.」
In addition to the weakening number of vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay, the statement describes the impact of US-China trade friction and the spread of COVID-19 on marine logistics, indicating that the risk of lower demand is worsening. - FY2020-Q3RestatedAnnual report
「As export industries, particularly manufacturing, remained sluggish amid a deteriorating export environment, the number of vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay continued to decline.」
Against the backdrop of a deteriorating export environment, the number of vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay continued to decline. The number of target vessels decreased in each area, and revenue in the tugboat business segment fell 5.1% year on year. - FY2020-Q2WorsenedAnnual report
「As export industries, particularly manufacturing, remained sluggish amid a deteriorating export environment, the number of vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay declined. Revenue in the tugboat business segment fell by ¥345 million to ¥4,380 million, down 7.3% year on year.」
Against the backdrop of a deteriorating export environment, the number of vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay declined, resulting in a 7.3% year-on-year decrease in tugboat business revenue. The risk of lower demand became more apparent through declines in vessel types in each area and in segment performance. - FY2020-Q1MaterialisedAnnual report
「As export industries, particularly manufacturing, remained sluggish, the number of vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay declined.」
The number of vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay actually declined against the backdrop of sluggish export industries, particularly manufacturing, leading to lower revenue in the tugboat business through declines in container vessels in the Tokyo area, LNG vessels in the Yokosuka area, and dangerous-goods vessels and bulk carriers in the Chiba area. - FY2019WorsenedAnnual report
「Regarding the environment surrounding the Group's core tugboat business, the number of vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay, which had been increasing since the second quarter, began to weaken from the beginning of the year.」
The increase in the number of vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay since the second quarter began to weaken from the start of the year, and the external environment for tugboat demand deteriorated again. - FY2019-Q3WorsenedAnnual report
「The number of vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay, which had been increasing since the second quarter, showed some signs of weakening toward year-end.」
The increase in the number of vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay seen since the second quarter began to weaken toward year-end. The risk of lower demand has shifted from easing in the previous quarter to deteriorating again. - FY2019-Q2MitigatedAnnual report
「Regarding the environment surrounding the group's core tugboat business, the number of vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay, which had continued to trend downward, has begun to increase since the second quarter as the domestic economy recovered.」
The number of vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay, which had continued to decline, began to increase in the second quarter. The risk of lower tugboat demand eased further, following signs of a bottom in the previous quarter. - FY2019-Q1RestatedAnnual report
「Regarding the environment surrounding the group's core tugboat business, the number of vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay, which had continued to trend downward, showed signs of bottoming out as the domestic economy recovered.」
The company reiterates that the number of vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay continued to show signs of bottoming out against a backdrop of a recovery in the domestic economy. - FY2018RestatedAnnual report
「Regarding the environment surrounding the group's core tugboat business, the number of vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay, which had continued to trend downward, showed signs of bottoming out as the domestic economy recovered.」
The company reiterates that the number of vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay showed signs of bottoming out in its downward trend against a backdrop of a recovery in the domestic economy. - FY2018-Q3RestatedAnnual report
「Regarding the environment surrounding the group's core tugboat business, the number of vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay, which had continued to trend downward, showed signs of bottoming out as the domestic economy recovered.」
The company explains that the number of vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay continued to show signs of bottoming out against a backdrop of a recovery in the domestic economy. - FY2018-Q2RestatedAnnual report
「Regarding the environment surrounding the group's core tugboat business, the number of vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay, which had continued to trend downward, showed signs of bottoming out as the domestic economy recovered.」
The company explains that the number of vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay continued to show signs of bottoming out against a backdrop of a recovery in the domestic economy. - FY2018-Q1MitigatedAnnual report
「Regarding the environment surrounding the group's core tugboat business, the number of vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay, which had continued to trend downward, showed signs of bottoming out as the domestic economy entered a recovery trend.」
The company explains that the number of vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay, which had previously been trending downward, showed signs of bottoming out against a backdrop of a recovery in the domestic economy. The demand decline risk has eased somewhat. - FY2017RestatedAnnual report
「Imports and exports have stagnated due to weak domestic consumption and economic stagnation in China and resource-producing countries, and the number of vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay has continued to trend downward.」
The company explains that the decline in vessels entering and leaving port and in tugboat operations has continued against a backdrop of sluggish domestic consumption, sluggish overseas economies and regulatory deregulation. - FY2017-Q3RestatedAnnual report
「Imports and exports have stagnated due to weak domestic consumption and economic stagnation in China and resource-producing countries, and the number of vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay has continued to trend downward.」
The company explains that the decline in vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay has continued against a backdrop of weak domestic consumption and sluggish overseas economies. - FY2017-Q2RestatedAnnual report
「The environment surrounding the group's core tugboat business has also been affected by sluggish imports and exports and by reductions in the number of vessels operated by container shipping companies to improve transport efficiency, and the number of vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay has continued to decline gradually.」
The company explains that the decline in vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay has continued against a backdrop of sluggish imports and exports and reductions in the number of vessels operated by container shipping companies. - FY2017-Q1MaterialisedAnnual report
「The environment surrounding the group's core tugboat business has also been affected by sluggish exports resulting from the shift of manufacturing to overseas locations and by reductions in the number of vessels operated by container shipping companies to improve transport efficiency, and the number of vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay has continued to decline gradually.」
The decline in vessels entering and leaving Tokyo Bay has continued due to sluggish exports and reductions in the number of vessels operated by container shipping companies. The risk of lower demand has appeared in actual results as lower revenue from vessels served and escort operations in each area. - FY2016First statedAnnual report
「The risks include a decline in the number of vessels entering and leaving Japanese ports due to the stagnation of the Japanese economy caused by economic conditions, natural disasters and other factors, as well as a decline in tugboat operations due to the increase in vessels equipped with side thrusters. There is also a risk of reduced tugboat use following changes to various regulations governing vessel operations, including the relaxation of compulsory pilotage regulations.」
The company identifies sluggish vessel arrivals and departures, an increase in vessels equipped with side thrusters, and the relaxation of compulsory pilotage regulations as factors reducing demand. It also explains that the number of vessels served, mainly container ships, declined due to regulatory relaxation in August 2015 and other factors.