JR Kyushu to Withdraw from Passenger Ship Operations

Fukuoka, Dec. 23 (Jiji Press)--Japan's Kyushu Railway Co., or JR Kyushu, said Monday that it will withdraw from the passenger ship business operated by a subsidiary.

The business is run by JR Kyushu Jet Ferry Inc., which covered up a water leak incident on its Queen Beetle high-speed passenger ferry linking Hakata Port in Fukuoka Prefecture, southwestern Japan, and the city of Busan in South Korea.

JR Kyushu concluded that it will not be able to guarantee the safety of the ferry operations even after safety measures are taken.

The subsidiary will be dissolved after cooperating with criminal investigations. Its employees are expected to join JR Kyushu or group companies.

"We apologize to those who hoped for a resumption of the ship's operations," JR Kyushu President Yoji Furumiya told a press conference.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]