Classnk News

Effective March 12, 2019, Mr. Hiroaki Sakashita has been appointed as Senior Executive Vice President as well as Executive Director of ClassNK.Sakashita began his career at Japan’s Ministry of Transport (now Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism) in 1980. During his period at the government he has played vital roles in maritime administration including regulatory oversight and industry development. He assumed the position of Director-General of the Maritime Bureau in 2015…

Japan's largest oil and gas exploration and production company INPEX Corporation has installed ClassNK-NAPA GREEN for monitoring operations on three of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers.NAPA said that Inpex awarded a deal to the company for the provision of a solution for monitoring and follow-up of ship operations on two LNG carriers built to service the Ichthys project and one LNG carrier for Shell’s Prelude FLNG project.With the core motivation of accurately verifying the technical performance of these highly complex carriers…

ClassNK released the latest version of its design support software PrimeShip-HULL (HCSR) Ver.6.0.0, developed in response to the IACS Common Structural Rules for Bulk Carriers and Oil Tankers (CSR BC & OT). The new version incorporates the latest rule amendments to CSR BC & OT including amendments based on feedback from the industry.In addition, PrimeShip-HULL (HCSR) includes:-- Enhanced calculation report function found in the prescriptive calculation software makes it possible to create reports for multiple sectional data all at once.

As the shipping industry is pushed to dramatically reduced greenhouse gas emissions courtesy of mandate from the International Maritime Organization, a pair of Japanese companies have embarked on a study of efficient shipboard power generation.Kobe Steel, Ltd. will conduct joint research with Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. on a binary cycle power generation system currently under development. The binary cycle power generation system was installed on the coal carrier Corona Youthful.

Leading Classification Society ClassNK granted an Approval in Principle (AIP) based on its Rule Part GF which adopts IGF Code (regulation for ships using low-flashpoint fuels) to Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) for their project on the concept design of an LNG-fuelled 207K DWT bulk carrier.Speaking on the occasion, ClassNK Corporate Officer and Director of Technical Solution Department Hayato Suga said “The maritime industry has been setting its sights on LNG as an energy source for ships as it is an environmentally-friendly alternative to fossil fuels.

Innovative Electric Tanker design from Japan coming to local waterways by 2020The global push to dramatically reduce emissions from the world’s fleet of ships continues to drive innovation across the sector, including the introduction of a new Pure Electric Tanker concept released today from Japan. With ClassNK in place to make technical advice on the ship design and electric propulsion package, Asahi Tanker Co. Ltd. and its partner Exeno-Yamamizu Corporation Tokyo jointly developed the new domestic shipping tanker design which incorporates “zero emission electric propulsion.”Dubbed e5…

Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) has taken delivery of a coal carrier equipped with a binary cycle power-generation system that utilizes engine exhaust heat.The new coal carrier Pirika Mosiri Maru that NYK will own and operate to transport coal for Hokkaido Electric Power(HEPCO), was delivered yesterday (January 23) at Oshima Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. in Saikai city, Nagasaki prefecture, and a delivery ceremony was held on the same day.The event was attended by Akihiko Mayumi…

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) announced that it participated in a demonstration test of ship class survey using aerial drones to inspect an MOL-operated coal carrier in service, along with Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK), Hitachi Systems, and Mitsui Co.According to MOL, the demonstration test included a simulated ship inspection inside the cargo hold and ballast tank (which holds water used to balance the ship when it is not carrying cargo), using video shot from an aerial drone.The test verified the effectiveness of using drones to monitor rust…

Leading classification society Nippon Kaiji Kyokai, also known by the brand name 'ClassNK', has opened a new exclusive survey office in Reggio Calabria, Italy with operations beginning 5 December, 2018.Reggio Calabria, located in Southwest Italy, faces the Strait of Messina which crosses through the Italian Peninsula and Sicily. In recent years, the number of surveys and audits required in the southern part of Italy and Malta has been increasing.Through the opening of its latest office…

Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) and Japanese telecom giant MTI have reached an agreement to participate in a long-term demonstration of tidal energy being sponsored by MAKO Energy and Sentosa Development Corporation, which will provide the demonstration site.The demonstration will start next spring in a first-time attempt to commercialize tidal energy in Singapore.MAKO Energy is the Singapore-based subsidiary of Elemental Energy Technologies, a tidal turbine developer that has interest and expertise in the area of renewable energy solutions, particularly tidal power and its applications.

The near-shore and inland workboat fleet is at the leading edge for autonomous vessel developmentWhile the advent of autonomous workboats are not exactly mainstream, you better believe that in the not-too-distant future they will be a reality on waterways in and around the U.S. Today there remain more questions than answers, particularly on the legal, logistics and insurance side of the coin. But the technology is evolving at record pace, providing many in the industry with mixed emotions. Excitement. Controversy. Curiosity. Skepticism.

ClassNK and TÜV Rheinland have concluded a worldwide partnership agreement for cybersecurity services.ClassNK is a classification society which carries out surveys to help ensure the safety of vessels and marine structures, and has many achievements involving the certification of ship equipment. TÜV Rheinland is a leader in testing, inspection and certification services providing digital services for safety, cybersecurity and privacy. Earlier, ClassNK and TÜV Rheinland built a…

NAPA, a leading maritime software, services and data analysis provider has announced that it has signed an agreement with MOL (Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd.) to provide performance analysis and reporting for 80 of MOL’s time-chartered bulk carriers with NAPA Fleet Intelligence.NAPA Fleet Intelligence combines NAPA’s naval architectural expertise and proprietary data modelling with open source data and MOL’s own reports to produce industry-leading analytics and actionable insights with zero onboard installation.

The Japanese global transport company Ocean Network Express (ONE) has been awarded the International Organization for Standard ization (ISO) 14001:2015 certification by ClassNK.The international containers shipping company headquartered in Singapore said in a press release that the certificate delivering ceremony held on 5th November 2018 at ONE (Marina One East Tower, Singapore).This internationally-recognised certification demonstrates that ONE’s Environmental Management System has met the global best practices and the company’s commitment to reduce its impact on the environment…

The marine software developer looks to accelerate growth with new backing from global technology firm.Marine operations software company Helm Operations has been acquired by Toronto-based Volaris Group Inc. (“Volaris”). Volaris specializes in strengthening and growing technology companies and is a leader in the marine software space. Founded in 1999, Helm Operations is widely known as a developer of marine operations software for the workboat market. Following an acquisition by ClassNK in 2014…

Classification society ClassNK has announced that it released amendments to its Rules and Guidance for the Survey and Construction of Steel Ships on October 25, 2018.ClassNK is constantly revising its Rules and Guidance in order to reflect the latest results from relevant research and development projects, feedback from damage investigations, requests from industry as well as changes made to relevant international conventions, IACS unified requirements (UR), national regulations…

RIMS (Robotics In Maintenance Strategies) continues in their quest in the practical integration of drone technology in the world maritime surveying with yet another class society approval for the use of Remote Inspection Techniques (drones) during surveys of enclosed spaces, this time from ClassNK.Over the past 12 months RIMS have successfully secured class approvals from multiple societies; Bureau Veritas, Lloyd’s Register, ABS, RINA, KRS and now ClassNK.The certification for the use of Remote Inspection Techniques (drones) during surveys of enclosed spaces…

There are thousands of vessels worldwide that still need to be fitted with ballast water management systems (BWMS), and regulatory deadlines are only drawing nearer.Owners and operators who have yet to bring their ships into compliance are better to do so earlier rather than later. This is the advice of classification society ClassNK, who analyzed the retrofitting status of its registered ships and confirmed that installation deadlines based on the Ballast Water Management Convention…

Classification society ClassNK has released its Guidelines for Vehicles Carrier Structures, specifying the technical requirements specifically related to the structural strength assessments of vehicles carriers by using direct calculation.Vehicles carriers are designed with a minimum number of transverse bulkheads and partial bulkheads in order to increase cargo handling efficiency as well as to permit more vehicles to be loaded on board; this, however, means that the structures of such ships are fairly susceptible to racking deformation.

A ClassNK executive who played a major part in the fourfold increase in the society’s German market share has returned to the Hamburg office as General Manager.Akizumi Miura has returned for his second posting to ClassNK’s survey office in Hamburg, with a brief to further reinforce and continue building the society’s presence in the key German market.During his first posting, between 2011 and 2016, Miura was a pivotal member of the team overseeing the Japanese classification society’s market share in Germany quadruple…

Classification society ClassNK has released ClassNK MRV Portal (IMO DCS), a software service for the reporting, monitoring and verification of shipping CO2 emissions in line with the IMO DCS regulations that will come into effect in 2019.The implementation of fuel consumption data reporting regulations has been ongoing in an effort to reduce GHG emissions and the EU-MRV (European Union - Monitoring, Reporting, Verification) regulations for ships operating in the EU area began in 2018. The upcoming IMO DCS regulations require all globally operating ships over 5,000GT to collect fuel consumption data and create an annual fuel consumption…

In another significant move towards commercial release of the EnergySail, Eco Marine Power (EMP) announced that it has begun collaboration with ClassNK (Nippon Kaiji Kyokai) to confirm design requirements and issues related to sea trials.According to a press release from the renewable energy tech company, the goal is to pave the way to the full commercial production of the EnergySail and thus complete the preparation of technologies required for the release of EMP’s Aquarius Marine…

ClassNK Archive Center (NKAC) has stored the first Ship Construction Files (SCF) complying with IMO Global Based Standards (GBS) for the NACKS-built 311,000 DWT VLCC delivered on October 26, 2018, managed by MOL Tankship Management (Asia) Pte. Ltd.To encourage design transparency and help ensure safety throughout the life of vessels, SOLAS regulation II-1/3-10 entered into force in 2012, requiring SCF complying with IMO GBS to be provided by shipyards on a new ship’s delivery and kept on board and/or ashore.