It was in March 1972 that the late Toyoshige Shiraishi founded Kumiai Senpaku Co., Ltd. Secured by the charter from Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. under a long term commitment from the National Federation of AgriculturaI Co-operative Associations, we buiIt the 26,000 ton ship, the first series of the Hourai Maru, in December of the same year and started an overseas shipping business. Kumiai Senpaku has since then fabricated livestock grain carriers, large material carriers for iron steel, LPG carriers and oil tankers in rapid succession with all-out support from our cargo owners, who are leading businesses in Japan industry, resulting in an expanding fleet of vessels. In 1995, we incorporated Kumiai Navigation (Pte) Ltd in Singapore, a location of strategic importance in the world's shipping industry, in anticipation of the rising tides of globalization for the new century to come , Kumiai Senpaku now owns a total of 20 or more oceangoing vessels in Japan and Singapore, holding the position of the number one independent shipowner in Japan, and making a solid contribution to the development of the world's shipping industry.