Historical Chronology of the Society
| 1899 | Teikoku Kaiji Kyokai (Imperial Japanese Marine Corporation - former name of present Society) founded. |
|---|---|
| 1901 | First edition of Record of Japanese Ships published. |
| 1903 | Issued Regulations for the Classification and Registration of Ships. |
| 1905 | Formulated Rules for the Assignment of Load Lines to facilitate services related to load line assignment in advance of similar rules created by the Japanese government. |
| 1920 | First ship classed by the Society, the Kwanan Maru, constructed. |
| 1921 | First edition of Rules and Regulations for the Construction and Classification of Steel Ships published. |
| 1922 | Authorized to assign load lines and issue load line certificates with the implementation of the Load Line Law of Japan. |
| 1924 | First edition of the Register of Ships published. |
| 1926 | Society's highest class, NS*, registered in the classification clause of the Institute of London Underwriters. |
| 1934 | Society recognized as a ship classification society by the Japanese government with implementation of the Ship Safety Law. |
| 1946 | Society renamed Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (NK). Services for inspection of material testing machines commences. |
| 1949 | Society celebrates fifty years of service. |
| 1952 | NS* classification character recognized by the American Marine Insurance Clearing House. The Nippon Kaiji Kyokai Award established. |
| 1953 | NS* designated ships carrying dangerous cargoes authorized passage by Suez Canal Authority and Panama Canal Commission. |
| 1955 | NK Research Institute established. NK's first single-classed, oceangoing freighter, the Tatekawa Maru, constructed.  |
| 1962 | Exclusive surveyor offices opened in London and New York. World's largest oil tanker, the Nissho Maru, constructed under NK class.  |
| 1965 | NK-classed fleet tops 10,000,000 gt. First Japanese-built oceangoing vehicle carrier, the Oppama Maru, constructed under NK class.  |
| 1967 | The Rules for the Construction and Certification of Freight Containers formulated; commence inspection services for freight containers. Exclusive surveyor office opened in Singapore. |
| 1968 | Indian Technical Committee established. NK becomes one of founding members of the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS). |
| 1969 | The Japan Magnolia becomes the first MO-designated ship to be constructed under NK class. |
| 1971 | NK representative elected as chairman of the IACS Council. |
| 1972 | First high-speed container ship to be built in Japan, the Elbe Maru, constructed under NK class. Exclusive surveyor office opened in Taipei.  |
| 1973 | Services for registering offshore structures commence. Exclusive surveyor offices opened in Hong Kong and Lisbon. |
| 1974 | Exclusive surveyor office opened in Pusan. |
| 1975 | Hong Kong Committee established. NK-classed fleet tops 50,000,000 gt. World's largest semi-submersible marine structure, the Aquapolis, constructed for the Okinawa International Ocean Exposition under NK class. Exclusive surveyor office opened in Piraeus.  |
| 1976 | Exclusive surveyor offices opened in Manila and Kuala Lumpur. |
| 1977 | Oil drilling rig, Hakuryu No. 5, constructed under NK class. Computer-based ship classification database system completed. Exclusive surveyor offices opened in Dubai and Rotterdam.  |
| 1980 | Exclusive surveyor offices opened in Rio de Janeiro,Buenos Aires, and Marseilles. |
| 1982 | Exclusive surveyor offices opened in Hamburg and Bilbao. |
| 1983 | Society authorized by Japanese government to conduct surveys and issue certificates in accordance with laws relating to MARPOL 73/78. |
| 1984 | Exclusive surveyor offices opened in Bangkok,Jakarta, Antwerp, and Jeddah. |
| 1985 | Southeast Asia Committee established. Exclusive surveyor office opened in Bombay. |
| 1986 | Exclusive surveyor office opened in Panama. |
| 1990 | Korea Committee established. |
| 1991 | Danish Technical Committee established. Exclusive surveyor offices opened in Copenhagen and Shanghai. |
| 1992 | Greek Committee established. ClassNK logo created. |
| 1993 | Research Center complex inaugurated. Research Institute relocated to the new Center. Commence Quality System assessment and certification services. QualityNK logo created. Commence Safety Management System assessment and certification services. Exclusive surveyor office opened in Kuwait. |
| 1994 | China Committee and Korea Technical Committee established. Indian Technical Committee reorganized as the Indian Committee. Exclusive surveyor offices opened in Beijing and Istanbul. |
| 1995 | China Technical Committee established. Accredited as a quality system certification body by RvC and JAB. PrimeShip advanced technology systems and programs announced. Society begins providing technical support to the Mega-Float project. Exclusive surveyor offices opened in Oslo and Vancouver. |
| 1996 | Society receives ISO 9001:1994 certification from SGS. Exclusive surveyor offices opened in Auckland and Dalian. First LNG carrier of Qatar Project, the Al Zubarah, constructed under NK class.  |
| 1997 | NK-classed fleet tops 100,000,000 gt. Exclusive surveyor office opened in Guangzhou. Commence NK-SHIPS survey status, history and particulars information service. |
| 1998 | Philippine, Singapore, and Thai Technical Committees established. Exclusive surveyor offices opened in Qingdao, Miri, and Hachinohe. CD-ROM versions of the Register of Ships and the Rules and Regulations for the Construction and Classification of Steel Ships released. Commenced Environmental Management System assessment and certification services. |
| 1999 | Society celebrates 100th anniversary of service. Exclusive surveyor office opened in Durban.  |
| 2000 | NK representative elected for third time as chairman of the IACS Council. Taiwan Committee established. Exclusive surveyor offices opened in Norfolk (USA) and Sendai. |
| 2001 | Information Center established. Taiwan Technical Committee and Indonesia Technical Committee established. |
| 2002 | Hong Kong Technical Committee established. Information Center received a "New Office Concept Information Technology Award". |
| 2003 | NK received a "Special Award for Innovation in Technical Development". Ship Safety Law amended. British Committee established. |
| 2004 | Turkish and Singapore Committees established.
Exclusive surveyor offices opened in Ho Chi Minh and Veracruz. Received approval to conduct statutory surveys on behalf of the UK. |
| 2005 | Exclusive surveyor office opened in Amman. Malaysian Committee established. |
| 2006 | Exclusive surveyor offices opened in Guayaquil, Miami and Newcastle. |
| 2007 | NK-classed fleet tops 150,000,000 gt. Middle East Technical Committee established. Exclusive surveyor offices opened in Barcelona and Nha Trang. |
| 2008 | Exclusive surveyor offices opened in Tianjin, Kochi, Zhoushan and Mokpo. Plan approval centers opened in Busan, Mumbai and Istanbul. World’s first CSR applied bulk carrier Western Wave constructed under NK class. |
| 2009 | Exclusive surveyor offices opened in Algeciras, Damman, Nantong, Fujairah, Dahej, Accra, Turkish Technical Committee and Greece Technical Committee established. |