Japan Marine United (JMU) is to pull its Maizuru Shipyard out of the merchant shipbuilding market as it waves the white flag in the face of severe price competition from South Korean and China.

The shipbuilding group said it now plans to turn the yard into a navy repair facility.

The Maizuru yard is one of five shipyards in the JMU group, which is owned by IHI Corp, JFE Corp and Hitachi Zosen.