Subsidies are 70% or 90%. But jetfoils are “expensive to build!” So, will new shipbuilding solve the jetfoil problem? Actually, this “new shipbuilding” is the most difficult. Most recently, only one ship was built in 2020, and the previous one was built back in 1995. Although there is talk of new shipbuilding in many areas, the construction cost of one vessel is around 7 billion yen, which is two to three times the price of a ferry of similar size (200-300 passenger capacity). The high cost is directly reflected in higher fares than ferries. The government’s “Shared Construction System” can provide up to 70% of the cost of a ferry, and up to 90% if subsidies are applied to remote island shipping routes. However, the large initial amount of money is a heavy burden on local governments and shipping companies, and in the case of remote island shipping routes, effective local government support measures are required with written assurances. The government budget is limited (reference: the shared construction budget for FY2022 was 31.8 billion yen), and replacing all 14 domestic jetfoils is not an easy task. However, Niigata, Nagasaki, and Kagoshima prefectures, which also operate jetfoils, are unlikely to have the financial resources to go that far. Another issue is the transfer of technology within Kawasaki Heavy Industries, as jetfoils are a special kind of technology similar to that of aircraft. In the aforementioned Seven Islands project in 2020, current employees listened to lectures by retired alumni and received instruction in techniques more akin to aircraft than to ships, such as “riveting aluminum plates together,” and were finally able to build the ship. The next construction will not be possible without a large order for several vessels to keep the shipyard’s production line running, and considering the future, continued orders will also be necessary.
© Source travel watch
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