Stainless-steel chemical tanker specialist Fukuoka Shipbuilding is poised to buy rival Watanabe Shipbuilding in the latest round of consolidation among Japanese shipyards.
Under the deal between the private companies, which are both based on the Western Island of Kyushu, Fukuoka will acquire all of Watanabe's shares on 5 February, according to sources familiar with the buyer.
Watanabe is a small yard that builds vessels of up to 5,000 gt.
