??K? LINE PLACES ORDERS FOR TWO BULK CARRIERS

áôKö LINE PLACES ORDERS FOR TWO BULK CARRIERS    Kawasaki Kisen Saisha Ltd. ('K' Line) has placed orders for two 205,000-deadweight-ton capsize bulk carriers from Imabari Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., which will be completed in 2005.
   The orders are part of K' Line's KV-Plan, a three-year management plan, started last April, to expand and reinforce the carrier's bulk business.
   The ships will be of a new design, with a 50-meter-wide breadth and shallow draft to increase loading volume, and will be double-hulled so that all cargo holds are flat to improve cargo-handling efficiency in discharging. The ships will be 300 meters long with a depth of 24.5 meters.
   Once completed, the two new ships will be engaged in raw material transport for Kawasaki Steel, which will be renamed JFE Steel as of April 1, 2003.