Japan: NYK President, Chief Engineers Discuss Safe Ship Operations

On August 28, NYK president Yasumi Kudo and executive officers held a meeting with six captains and chief engineers at the NYK headquarters in Tokyo.

Every July, NYK conducts its Remember Naka-no-Se Safety Campaign,1 and the meeting is carried out as part of this campaign. President Kudo chairs NYK’s Safety and Environmental Management Committee,2 which oversees the safe operation of the NYK fleet, and he holds the meeting to hear directly from captains and chief engineers working on the front line of operations and to encourage the implementation of practical, workable activities.

During the meeting, proposals for safe operations and fuel saving activities were offered by the ship officers working on board. In addition, issues facing seafarer training were raised and discussed in depth.

During the campaign period, the NYK Group conducts activities intensively to help related parties refocus on the importance of safety. The activities include NYK Group members, including NYK executives, visiting vessels to deepen communication between onboard crew and onshore staff by exchanging opinions about safe ship operations and holding safety meetings with shipowners and ship-management companies. Furthermore, NYK invited speakers to participate in a crisis-response lecture, and separately a mock press conference was held to help practice mobilizing a quick response to a serious accident.

NYK continues to make efforts to further deepen the mutual understanding between onshore and ship staff, and promote the establishment of safer ship-operation systems within the group.

1 Remember Naka-no-Se Safety Campaign

A campaign started in an effort to learn from the mistakes that led to an oil spill from an NYK VLCC when the vessel touched bottom at Naka-no-Se in Tokyo Bay in 1997. Every July, the month the incident occurred, top management and other staff visit NYK-operated ships to ensure the implementation of safe ship operations.

2 Safety and Environmental Management Committee

Supreme decision-making body that monitors activities on safety measures and environmental issues. The committee was established in April 2001 as a cross-sectional organization chaired by the president.

[mappress]

World Maritime News, August 31, 2012; Image: nyk