Japan’s shipping major Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (K Line) is preparing for coming changes with an unwavering medium to long-term perspective, as the company’s president and CEO Yukikazu Myochin told staff in a New Year’s message.
The chief executive sees a change in administrations as a result of the U.S. presidential election, and major changes to trade and energy policies.
Yukikazu Myochin also explained that in U.S. there are expectations that the change in administrations will result in major revisions to low-carbon and carbon-free trends.
Part of his 2025 New Year’s message is as follows:“Looking back on the global situation last year, the situation in the Red Sea had a serious impact on international shipping and supply chains overall.
“The materialization of geopolitical risks in the Middle East region posted a threat to the safe navigation of commercial vessels navigating the Red Sea, forcing vessels to deviate and go via the Cape of Good Hope to ensure the safety of vessels and their crews.
“There will also be a change in administrations as a result of the US presidential election, and major changes to trade and energy policies are expected. It will be important to carefully monitor the impact on the economy and how supply chains and demand for maritime transport will change going forward.
“While there will be heightened uncertainty surrounding geopolitical risks, we will keep a close watch on demand through our partnerships with customers and take this opportunity to thoroughly manage our exposure and strengthen our resilience to market conditions in order to prepare for short-term fluctuations in demand and market conditions.
“Meanwhile, turning attention to environmental regulations affecting maritime shipping, from January 2024 the emissions trading scheme within the European Union, the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), was formally introduced, and in 2025 this will be followed by the new introduction of FuelEU Maritime.
“Even the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has finally gotten into full swing discussing measures on the introduction of further action encouraging the switch from conventional fossil fuel-driven vessels to zero emission vessels in order to cut the greenhouse gas emissions generated by international shipping.
“In the United States, however, there are expectations that the change in administrations will result in major revisions to low-carbon and carbon-free trends.
“At the global scale, I believe the major trend of reducing greenhouse gas emissions will persist, but with regional variations and shifts in timelines expected, we are looking to steadily pursue initiatives to reduce our environmental impact from a medium- to long-term perspective without being swayed by short-term developments.”
For the full 2025 New Year’s message from the president and CEO Yukikazu Myochin pls see here.
