GAC Expands Japanese Activities with New Operations Office

View all news from:
View directory entry for:

17 March 2015

GAC has set up an operations office in Japan to cater to a growing demand for ship agency and husbandry services in the light of a burgeoning energy sector. GAC Japan will act as a General Agent to provide services at all ports and terminals through its local partners.

The new office is the latest development of GAC’s presence in Japan. Fredrik Nystrom, GAC’s Asia Pacific Group Vice President, says increasing Japanese imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and thermal coalas a result of its government’s revised energy policy plan have boosted the country’s shipping sector and raised the demand for world-standard support services for the industry.

As Japan accounts for more than 30% of the world’s demand for LNG, he is particularly optimistic about the growth potential for GAC’s services: "The Japanese government has made LNG the first ‘fuel of choice’ for power generation, and this is good news for ship agency service providers like GAC, as more LNG shipments arrive from conventional and new supply sources at the country’s major LNG import terminals. With the rise in port activities comes a need for agency services, and this prompted us to open an operations office here.”

GAC Japan’s Yuichi Adachi, who was responsible for setting up the Japanese entity explains that GAC has been providing marketing and marine consultancy services in Tokyo since the 1990s. Adachi is confident about the opportunities that prevail.

"Beyond offering ship agency services, we look forward to introducing GAC’s other support services such as hub agency, disbursement management and information services to owners and charterers of these tankers and bulk vessels.”