is a ship

classification society A ship classification society or ship classification organisation is a non-governmental organization that establishes and maintains technical standards for the construction and operation of ships and offshore structures. Classification societies ...

. It is also known by the brand name “ClassNK” or often in the industry as just “NK”. ClassNK is a non-profitable non-governmental organization dedicated to ensure the safety of life and property at sea, and the prevention of pollution of the marine environment. The principal work of the Society's expert technical staff is to undertake surveys to ensure that the rules which it has developed, are applied to both newly built and existing ships in order to ensuring the safety of these vessels. The rules cover not only hull structures, but also safety equipment,

cargo Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including trans ...

handling gear, engines, machinery, and electrical and electronic systems among others. By the end of December 2007, the Society had 6793 ships totaling 152.22 million gross tons under class. This figure represents approximately 20 percent of the world merchant fleet currently under class. Although based in Japan, ClassNK has worldwide representation through a network of exclusive surveyor offices. ClassNK's surveyors work in shipbuilding and repair yards and at ports across the world, wherever they may be called upon to examine the condition of a ship so that all of the Society's services are available worldwide. On November 15, 1999, Nippon Kaiji Kyokai celebrated the centenary of its foundation. On 28 May 2012, ClassNK officially announced that its register had surged past the 200 million gross ton mark becoming the world’s first class society in history to have more than 200 million gross tons on its register.

Main Activities of ClassNK

ClassNK offers a broad range of services such as ship classification surveys, statutory surveys and certification on behalf of Flag States based on both international conventions, codes, national statutes, as well as ClassNK’s own rules and regulations. They also include assessment and certification services of safety management systems of ship management companies as well as the quality systems of ship builders and related manufacturers as an independent third party. ClassNK also offers appraisal, consulting and supervisory services on both marine and non-marine related projects.

Ship classification related services

*Approval of service providers, manufacturers and manufacturing methods *Inspection of materials, equipment and similar products *Survey and registration of ship installations, machinery and appliances of new ships *Survey and registration of ships and offshore structures during construction *Survey and inspection of ships, offshore structures and related installations in service *Testing and inspection of material and other types of testing machines

Statutory services

*Activities concerned with the certification of freight

containers A container is any receptacle or enclosure for holding a product used in storage, packaging, and transportation, including shipping. Things kept inside of a container are protected on several sides by being inside of its structure. The term ...

*Appraisal of grain loading *Assignment of

freeboard In sailing and boating, a vessel's freeboard is the distance from the waterline to the upper deck level, measured at the lowest point of sheer where water can enter the boat or ship. In commercial vessels, the latter criterion measured relativ ...

*Assignment of load limits for cargo handling appliances *

Audit An audit is an "independent examination of financial information of any entity, whether profit oriented or not, irrespective of its size or legal form when such an examination is conducted with a view to express an opinion thereon.” Auditing ...

and certification of

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...

management systems based on the ISM Code *Statutory

survey Survey may refer to: Statistics and human research * Statistical survey, a method for collecting quantitative information about items in a population * Survey (human research), including opinion polls Spatial measurement * Surveying, the techniq ...

and certification services based on SOLAS,

ILLC The Institute for Logic, Language and Computation (ILLC) is a research institute of the University of Amsterdam, in which researchers from the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Humanities collaborate. The ILLC's central research area is the s ...

MARPOL The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973 as modified by the Protocol of 1978, or "MARPOL 73/78" is one of the most important international marine environmental conventions. MARPOL 73/78, MARPOL is an amalg ...

and other international conventions and codes on behalf of

flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

state administrations

Assessment and registration services

*Assessment and registration of environmental management systems based on the

ISO14001 ISO 14000 is a family of standards related to environmental management that exists to help organizations (a) minimize how their operations (processes, etc.) negatively affect the environment (i.e. cause adverse changes to air, water, or land); (b) ...

standards *Assessment and registration of quality systems based on the

ISO9000 The ISO 9000 family is a set of five quality management systems (QMS) standards that help organizations ensure they meet customer and other stakeholder needs within statutory and regulatory requirements related to a product or service. ISO 9 ...

series of quality standards

Technical services

*Appraisal and certification of ships and offshore structures *Commissioned testing, research and computer analysis services *Inspection and certification of non-marine machinery and equipment *Technical consulting regarding ships and offshore structures *Tonnage measurement and certification services ClassNK is one of the seven founding members of the International Association of Classification Societies, otherwise known as IACS.

External links

ClassNK official websiteIACS – International Association of Classification Societies
{{Authority control Trade associations based in Japan Water transport in Japan Ship classification societies