Japan Issues First-Ever Ship Suspension Order To Passenger Ship Operator Tokai Kisen

Tokai Kisen Co. has become the first company in Japan to receive a 20-day ship suspension order from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

Though the ministry could have suspended the entire fleet, it grounded a few ships to minimise the inconvenience to island communities which are dependent on the ferries, especially those sailing between Tokyo and Izu Islands.

At a recent news conference, the Transport Minister Tatsunori Ibayashi said that the company must accept responsibility for its activities and work hard so that such incidents do not happen again.

According to the order, three of the company’s passenger ships will be out of operation. These include the ferry Tachubanu Maru and two jetfoils, the Seven Island Tomo and the Seven Island Yui, which will be out of service from October 9 to October 28, 2026.

The directive comes after a thorough inspection of the company’s fleet by Japan’s Transport Ministry between January and June 2026, which revealed at least 13 maritime law violations.

The investigators also found that the company had a three-decade-long tradition according to which the ships’ crew members and captain got drunk and then returned to their duties at Salvia Maru and Tachibana Maru without undergoing a test to confirm the level of alcohol in the blood and ascertain whether it was safe enough to steer a ship.

The company’s senior management, including the President Junichi Yamazaki, was aware of this tradition, the investigation found. The Ministry also found that the company’s internal systems and safety monitoring equipment were not effective.

In April, one of the crew working on a jetfoil avoided an alcohol test by letting another employee take the test in his place. More instances of the company’s employees working while intoxicated came to light in July.

There were also cases of operational negligence where the company’s ships sailed with unlocked gangways. In August, the company’s safety management officer was dismissed by the Kanto District Transport Bureau.

To sustain its services over the suspension period, the company has made alternative schedules and diverted vessels from other routes to handle the Tokyo-Izu Islands, which see the most passengers.

Ships including the ferry Salvia Maru, the jet ship Seven Island Tairyo, and chartered vessels Kuroship Maru and Ogasawara Maru will be used.