Introduction
Thank you for your continued patronage of Chiba Shipping.
In October 2009, Chiba Shipping celebrated the 30th anniversary of its founding. On behalf of Chiba Shipping's executives and employees, I would like to express our sincere gratitude for your support, without which this celebration would not have been possible. As a shipowner, our mission is "to dedicate ourselves especially to preservation of the marine environment and to safe navigation as an ocean user," "to contribute as a leading provider of ocean logistics services," and "to win the trust of our customers through reliable, speedy and economically efficient services unaffected by economic fluctuations." In line with our management policy of "working to meet the needs of our customers," with farsightedness no effort has been spared to build an enduring management base and ensure the soundness of our business operations.
Fulfilling our obligations as an ocean user
Chiba Shipping focuses on preservation of the marine environment as an obligation we must fulfill as an ocean user and we devote every effort to the assurance of safety as the basis of our activities. On the assumption that as long as ships are piloted by people "there will always be an element of human error," we strive not only to employ and train the best seamen and assign the right jobs to the right people, but also to implement thorough measures to prevent the recurrence of accidents and the occurrence of secondary disasters. Thanks to your valued cooperation, we have been able to celebrate our 30th anniversary without any major accidents and for this we extend our sincere gratitude.
With sudden, unpredictable changes in local weather and sea conditions due to global warming leading to greater risk at sea in recent years, there is a growing demand for further safety measures.
We believe that if we can prevent serious accidents that can lead to pollution of the sea, we can fulfill our obligations as an ocean user and we intend to devote every effort to this endeavor.
Strengthening our management base
The global economic chaos triggered by the financial crisis in the autumn of 2008 has been described as a "once-in-a-hundred-years crisis." Around the world, corporations with huge capital whose operations had been based on the large-scale bubble economy created by excessive internationally-funded financial products saw their cash flows worsen in an instant, and in order to recover, they had no choice but to sacrifice many of the employees who had hitherto been the company’s mainstay. This recession has also greatly impacted the business environment surrounding the shipping industry.
Chiba Shipping's capital amounts to less than 50 million yen. If we had operated in the same way as the corporations with huge capital, we would have had no margin for recovery and the company would have failed. The fact that we continue to "do business unaffected by dramatic economic fluctuations," which is one of our management policies, and that we have expanded our core shipping equipment business (ownership business) as the basis of our cash flow has helped us to weather the recent financial crisis and forms the basis of our continued stable provision of ships to customers. Combining customer needs with company policy, we own a total of 20 ships, 14 existing vessels and the remaining 6 on order (as of the end of October 2009). In the area of VLCC ownership, in particular, we recorded a total of 10 ships with the completion of the Nissho Maru in May 2004.
Standing now at the crossroads of the "once-in-a-hundred-years crisis," we aim to further strengthen our operations so that we can accurately determine our present position and our destination on the vast ocean of the neoliberal economy without losing our bearings.
To gain the confidence of our customers
Shipowners can only build up trust by providing safe, seaworthy and economically efficient vessels for long-term charter, while at the same time reliably paying back the enormous construction loans borrowed from financial institutions under the agreed terms. That is why it is of utmost importance to build up customers' trust, and in essence this does not change regardless of the times. To provide high-value services from the customer's standpoint, every executive and employee in the company constantly seeks self-improvement as a professional in shipping and strives to meet customers' needs and provide advice reliably and promptly. We take the views of our customers seriously and will endeavor to utilize them to improve and streamline our operations.
As ever greater economic efficiency will be demanded in the ship owning industry, we will continue to pursue financial soundness to ensure our competitiveness in raising funds.
Conclusion
Based on our 30-year history, we aim to remain a financially sound company and to continue contributing as a key player in marine transportation which underlies ocean logistics, always standing in the customer's shoes and "supplying vessels that will benefit customers."
Every executive and employee is wholeheartedly committed to ensuring that Chiba Shipping remains a "company that wins customers' trust by working to meet customers’ needs" in any era and we look forward to your continued support and patronage in the future.
