International Activities
NK has a long and productive history of involvement in international activities.
IACS
ClassNK is one of the seven founding members of the International Association of Classification Societies, otherwise known as IACS. A major goal of IACS is to promote ship safety and prevent pollution of the marine environment in cooperation with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and other international organizations. ClassNK has assumed the chairmanship of IACS three times since the Association was first established in 1968 most recently 2000-2001. This, along with its active participation in the various Working Groups as well as the General Policy Group and the Council of the organization, has permitted the Society to make major contributions to the realization of the goals of the Association.
IMO
The International Maritime Organization, commonly referred to as the IMO, is one of the suborgans of the United Nations. The IMO, which is comprised of the representatives of the governments of each member country, is responsible for all global maritime affairs. One of the main functions of the IMO is the examination of matters related to ship safety and protection of the marine environment, the results of which are published in the form of international conventions or associated resolutions. These, in turn, are implemented by each member government by means of their respective legislation.
IACS has observer status at the IMO and as such, participates in meetings of the Assembly, Council, Committees, such as the Marine Safety Committee (MSC) and Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), as well as a number of Sub-Committees. ClassNK is actively engaged in the activities of the IMO through its dispatching of specialists to these various meetings as members of the delegation from the Japanese government.
Regional Committees of the Society
ClassNK has established committees in various regions of the world with the aim of exchanging views between the Society and members of the shipping and shipbuilding industries in each respective region on a wide range of issues of mutual concern.
These committees currently include the following:
Asia Region:
Hong Kong Committee
Korea Committee
Indian Committee
China Committee
Korea Technical Committee
China Technical Committee
Singapore Technical Committee
Philippine Committee
Thai Committee
Taiwan Committee
Taiwan Technical Committee
Indonesia Committee
Hong Kong Technical Committee
Singapore Committee
Malaysian Committee
European Region:
Greek Committee
Danish Technical Committee
British Committee
Turkish Committee
Middle East Technical Committee
Turkish Technical Committee
Greek Technical Committee
American Region:
North American Committee
World Maritime University
The World Maritime University or WMU is an institution of higher learning founded under the auspices of the IMO in 1983 with the aim of training of specialist maritime personnel from developing countries. Some two thousand graduates of the WMU now serve in various capacities in maritime related activities in more than 140 countries around the world. ClassNK maintains close ties with the WMU in numerous ways. This has included providing scholarships, donating personal computers and other equipment for use by the University, as well as occasionally sending specialists to speak at the University on specific topics and accepting students of the University for lectures and OJT as surveyors at a number of offices of the Society.
Maritime Exhibitions and Technical Seminars
ClassNK is an active participant at many international maritime exhibitions, including Posidonia, Nor-Shipping, and Sea Japan, amongst others around the world. The Society has also sponsored as well as contributed speakers to numerous technical seminars covering a broad range of topics of concern to many interested parties both within and outside the marine industry.
