Houseflags of Mitsu O.S.K. companies

This is Mitsui Osaka Shosen Kaisha, described in "All about Ships & Shipping" (1959) as "White with Red Charges". Accordingly this would be: "three horizontal bands white -red- white, proportioned (approximately) 2:3:2; the red band with white charges."
Jarig Bakker, 22 October 2003

Founded 1884, as Osaka Shosen Kaisha (O.S.K. Line) is founded. In 1964, Japan's shipping industry undergoes a major consolidation, creating Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) through mergers.

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The company resulted from the merger of Osaka Shosen Kaisha and Mitsui Senpaku K.K. being generally known by the English version of Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd., the Japanese version reversing the name order as Osaka Shosen Mitsui Senpaku Kabushiki Kaisha.The flag incorporates features from both companies with the 3 red bands representing the Kanji and Katakana meaning "Mi" or "Mitsu" which translates as "3", and the white "squashed x" symbol the Kanji "O".
Neale Rosanoski, 3 January 2004

This is one of the many Japanese shipping companies using a red-and-white house flag, founded in 1951, and having its headquarters in Tokyo.

Homepage (English version): http://www.asahi-tanker.com/en/index.html

Operating 120 ships one of which is the largest Japanese tanker, the firm is active on the domestic market carrying oil, asphalt, LPG, etc. On the international side, three branch offices in East Asia and one in London direct 20 tankers. In addition, four companies owned by Asahi Tanker are active in shipping management.

Some vessels are owned but mostly chartered; considered part of the fleet are ships of affiliated companies Kyokuyo Tanker Co. Ltd and Kyuseki Marine Co. Ltd.

The house flag is red bearing a very large white initial ‘A’, serifed; a thin white horizontal edge is at the top of the flag but a similar one at the bottom is interrupted below the initial.
Jan Mertens, 7 April 2007

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Asahi literally means "Morning Sun".
Jonathan Dixon, 13 April 2007

A member of the Mitsui (MOL) Group, Tokyo-based Mitsui Kinkai Kisen Co., Ltd maintains a modest website (mostly in Japanese).

The company seems to have been founded in 1943 and engages in ship management.

Internationally active, Mitsui KK “has crew training centers in Qindao, China, and in Manila to train international licensed seafarers” as stated on the "News Radar" page.

A MOL Group restructuring designated six companies to “manage an appropriate number of vessels to ensure thorough on-site supervision” (2006) of which Mitsui KK was one.

The house flag is shown at the company homepage - as a drawing - and seems related to Mitsui Senpaku’s (“three wells”).

However the three short bars are lengthened in the case of Mitsui KK; remarkable is the orangey colour on white.
Jan Mertens, 30 August 2007

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A white flag, approximately 2:3, with three narrow horzontal orange stripes and over all an orange large tilted octothorpe fimbriated white.

The mentioned Japanese word for "well" is "井" in hanzi, "い" in hiragana and "i" in romaji.

António Martins-Tuválkin, 16 September 2007

From the The National Maritime Museum:

The house flag of Mitsui Senpaku K. K., Tokyo. A white flag with a red motif. The flag is made of a wool and synthetic fibre bunting. It has a cotton hoist and is machine sewn. The design is printed. A rope and two Inglefield clips is attached attached. The logo refers to the company name which means three ships.

Jarig Bakker, 20 August 2004

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There are three bars (mitsu = 3) inside a square, a stylized version of a kanji meaning "well" (as in water, read "i".) Mitsui is a common surname having nothing to do with ships. Thus the name "Mitsui" could be translated as "three wells".
Albert S. Kirsch, 20 August 2004

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Mitsui Senpaku K.K. originated 1876 as Mitsui Bussan Kaisha involved the carriage of coal. In 1942 the shipping division became independent as Mitsui Senpaku K.K.and then in the 1964 merges it combined into Osaka Shosen Mitsui Senpaku K.K. which is more usually known as Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd.
Neale Rosanoski, 5 March 2003

Part of the large MOL (Mitsui OSK Lines) Group – a consolidated subsidiary - Nihon Tug-Boat Co., Ltd is given a modest page (Japanese).

The company seems to have been founded in 1967, having its head office in Kobe. A flagoid is shown, painted on the side of a tug, here (first photo).

Thin blue triangles enclosing a white space bearing the red, italic, double-stemmed initial ‘N’.
Jan Mertens, 30 July 2007