Overview
- The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism’s Kanto Transport Bureau announced on Oct. 2 that it has moved to suspend use of three Tokai Kisen vessels for about 20 days starting Oct. 9.
- The suspension targets one large passenger ship and two high-speed jet ships and is the first application of a usage-suspension order under the Maritime Transport Law.
- A temporary audit conducted from January through June found 13 violations of the Maritime Transport Law, and in August the ministry ordered the dismissal of the company’s safety manager and operations manager.
- The audit documented specific failures including crew drinking on duty on New Year’s Day, proxy alcohol tests and falsified testing records in April that rendered the alcohol-check system ineffective.
- The order forces Tokai Kisen to arrange alternative transport for the Izu Islands and signals that regulators will escalate from administrative penalties to vessel suspensions when safety controls break down.