Whaling Mother Ship Kangei Maru Sets Sail for 2nd Season; Aims to Catch Fin Whales in Sea of Okhotsk Off Hokkaido

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:36 JST, April 22, 2025

SHIMONOSEKI, Yamaguchi — The Kangei Maru, the world’s only whaling mother ship, left its home Port of Shimonoseki on Monday for its second whaling season with the aim of catching fin whales for the first time in the Sea of Okhotsk off Hokkaido with the consent of local fishing cooperatives.

The Kangei Maru, which has a displacement of 9,299 tons, is owned by Tokyo-based Kyodo Senpaku Co. The mother ship and its about 100 crew members will sail northbound in the Sea of Japan to its first catch location in the Sea of Okhotsk.

The fleet will operate there from Friday through late May, with a plan to catch about 25 fin whales.

This whaling season, the Kangei Maru and its fleet plan to carry out four fishing operations through around late November while making port calls at the Port of Shimonoseki and the Port of Sendai in Miyagi Prefecture. The vessel is expected to return to home port on Dec. 2.