Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) chief executive Seiji Izumisawa has hinted the Japanese shipbuilder will withdraw from LNG ship construction while it can no longer compete in the sector with rivals in South Korea and China.

The decision will be seen as another sign of Japan’s continued decline as a shipbuilding nation.

MHI was once regarded as the world’s leading LNG shipbuilder but currently has no such vessels on order, as even local owners turn to South Korea and China for their gas carriers.