The , also known as NYK Line, is a Japanese

shipping Freight transport, also referred to as freight forwarding, is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it has been ...

company. The company headquarters are located in

Chiyoda, Tokyo , known as Chiyoda City in English,
." ''City of Chiyoda''. Retrieved on December 28, 2008. is a S ...

, Japan. It operates a fleet of over 820 ships, which includes

container ship A container ship (also called boxship or spelled containership) is a cargo ship that carries all of its load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. Container ships are a common means of commercial intermodal ...

s, tankers, bulk and woodchip carriers,

roll-on/roll-off Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, Trailer (vehicle), trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their ...

car carriers, reefer vessels,

LNG carrier An LNG carrier is a tank ship designed for transporting liquefied natural gas (LNG). Overview The first oceangoing liquified natural gas tanker in the world was '' Methane Pioneer'', which entered service in 1959 with a carrying capacity of ...

s, and cruise ships. It is a member of the

Ocean Network Express Ocean Network Express Holdings, Ltd., branded as ONE, is a Japanese Containerization, container transportation and Freight transport, shipping company jointly owned by the Japanese shipping Lines Nippon Yusen Kaisha, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, and K Li ...

and

Mitsubishi Group The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group traces its origins to the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company that existed from 1870 to 1946 ...

History

1870-1900

The company traces its history back to the ''Tsukumo Shokai'' shipping company founded by the Tosa clan in 1870. In 1875, as the renamed ''Mitsubishi Shokai'', the company inaugurated Japan's first

passenger liner A passenger ship is a merchant ship whose primary function is to carry passengers on the sea. The category does not include cargo vessels which have accommodations for limited numbers of passengers, such as the ubiquitous twelve-passenger freig ...

service, with a route from

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

; in that same year, the company name was changed to Mitsubishi Mail Steamship Company. In 1885, a merger with ''Kyodo Unyu Kaisha'' (founded 1882) led to the adoption of the company's present name.NYK
History.
/ref> The merged company had a fleet of 58

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

s and expanded its operations rapidly, first to other Asian ports and then worldwide, with a line service to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

established in 1896 and to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1899. The company's ''Katori Maru'' was used by

Chinese Muslims The Hui people are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the northwestern provinces and in the Zhongyuan region. According to the ...

to travel to Singapore on their way to

Makkah Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above sea level. Its metropo ...

for the

Hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

in 1925. From there, the company had the pilgrims travel on board other Japanese steamships to Suez and then to Makkah. The company promised to take responsibility for all the necessary formalities and helped contact other local transportation agencies that could take the pilgrims to Makkah. Chinese pilgrims were promised a 20% discount for their tickets. A third-class ticket that sold for £5/10/0 would be £4/8/0, while a second-class ticket sold for £14/0/0 would be sold for £11/5/0.

1900-1945

The majority of Japanese merchant ships, tankers, and liners sailed under the NYK banner in this period. Regular services linked

Kobe Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's List of Japanese cities by population, seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Port of Toky ...

and

with South America, Batavia,

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, and

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

, with frequent crossings to

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

and

. Other routes connected local Chinese

cabotage Cabotage () is the transport of goods or passengers between two places in the same country. The term originally applied to shipping along coastal routes, port to port, but now applies to aviation, railways, and road transport as well. Cabotage rig ...

vessels on the Chinese coasts and upper

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ) is the longest river in Eurasia and the third-longest in the world. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and flows including Dam Qu River the longest source of the Yangtze, i ...

. Ocean routes went east from Japan to

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

(Canada) or Seattle. Another way was to stop in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

, which continued to San Francisco and the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

. The next commercial routes were south from Japan, across the

East China Sea The East China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. China names the body of water along its eastern coast as "East Sea" (, ) due to direction, the name of "East China Sea" is otherwise ...

. These went to Southeast Asia, the China coasts, and towards India and the Indian Ocean, to Europe or Batavia (

Dutch Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which declared independence on 17 August 1945. Following the Indonesian War of Independe ...

), or

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. The fastest services took 10 days from Yokohama to Seattle, and one month to Europe. Local sea routes connected 78 home seaports (38 open to foreign trade). Yokohama, Kobe, and Osaka had the greatest importance for trading with Japan. These ports had the third, fourth, and eighth place in net tonnage registered in the world. Coal passed from Moji to Osaka and Yokohama.

Karafuto , was established by the Empire of Japan in 1907 to govern the southern part of Sakhalin. This territory became part of the Empire of Japan in 1905 after the Russo-Japanese War, when the portion of Sakhalin south of 50°N was ceded by the R ...

timber represented a third part of local trade.

Soybean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean. Soy is a staple crop, the world's most grown legume, and an important animal feed. Soy is a key source o ...

products from

Dairen Dalian ( ) is a major sub-provincial port city in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, and is Liaoning's second largest city (after the provincial capital Shenyang) and the third-most populous city of Northeast China (after Shenyang ...

and Ryojun arrived at Yokohama. The

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

of the

South Seas Mandate The South Seas Mandate, officially the Mandate for the German Possessions in the Pacific Ocean Lying North of the Equator, was a League of Nations mandate in the " South Seas" given to the Empire of Japan by the League of Nations following W ...

and

Formosa Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The island of Taiwan, formerly known to Westerners as Formosa, has an area of and makes up 99% of the land under ROC control. It lies about across the Taiwan Strait f ...

, cotton, salt, and minerals represented other important parts of these transport transactions. In 1926, Toyo Kisen Line (TKK), with its fleet of nine ships, merged with NYK. The current funnel livery was introduced in 1929. The company also ran services connecting metropolitan Japan to its exterior provinces ( Chosen,

, Kwantung,

and South Mandate) of the Empire. From 1924, all new cargo ships for NYK were motor ships. NYK introduced its first passenger motor ships in 1929, but continued to buy a mixture of steam and motor passenger ships until 1939. In World War II, the NYK Line provided military transport and

hospital ship A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating healthcare, medical treatment facility or hospital. Most are operated by the military forces (mostly navy, navies) of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or ...

s for the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy. Many vessels were sunk by the Allied navies, and installations and ports were attacked from the air. Only 37 NYK ships survived the war. The company lost 185 ships in support of military operations in the Pacific. Before the war, NYK had 36 passenger ships; by the time of

Japan's surrender The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, ending the war. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) was incapable of conduc ...

only one, the motor ship ''

Hikawa Maru is a retired Japanese ocean liner that Yokohama Dock Company built for the NYK Line. She was launched on 30 September 1929 and made her maiden voyage from Kobe to Seattle on 13 May 1930. She is permanently berthed as a museum ship at Yamashit ...

'', survived. NYK's surviving vessels and equipment were confiscated by the Allied authorities as reparations, or taken by recently liberated Asian states in 1945-46. Shipping Control Authority for the Japanese Merchant Marine requisitioned ''Hikawa Maru'' as a transport ship to repatriate Japanese soldiers and civilians from territories that had been liberated from Japanese occupation.

Fleet until 1945

The NYK tonnage expanded in bursts, responding to changes economic conditions and perceived changes in the market for passenger liner travel. The evolution of the fleet mirrors some of those developments. In the following lists, the dates of maiden voyages are indicated with each ship's name. Amongst the many ships in the early NYK fleet, some names comprise serial categories.ShipsList
NYK Line fleet
Some ships were named after

Shinto , also called Shintoism, is a religion originating in Japan. Classified as an East Asian religions, East Asian religion by Religious studies, scholars of religion, it is often regarded by its practitioners as Japan's indigenous religion and as ...

shrines, and others were named after ancient

provinces of Japan were first-level administrative divisions of Japan from the 600s to 1868. Provinces were established in Japan in the late 7th century under the Ritsuryō law system that formed the first central government. Each province was divided into and ...

cities of Japan A is a local Public administration, administrative unit in Japan. Cities are ranked on the same level as and , with the difference that they are not a component of . Like other contemporary administrative units, they are defined by the Local A ...

, mountains of Japan or

islands of Japan Japan is an island country of 14,125 islands, of which approximately 260 are inhabited. Japan is the third-largest island country in the world, behind Indonesia and Madagascar. Japan is also the second-most-populous island country in the world, ...

. Some ships had explicitly non-Japanese names, such as ships named after cities. Shinto shrines
''

Chichibu Maru The was a Japanese passenger ship which, renamed ''Kamakura Maru'', was sunk during World War II, killing 2,035 soldiers and civilians on board. The ''Chichibu Maru'' was built for the Nippon Yusen shipping company by the Yokohama Dock Company. ...

'' (1930).
'' Hie Maru'' (1930).
'' Heian Maru'' (1930).
''

'' (1930).
'' Kasuga Maru'' (1940).
'' Kitano Maru'' (1909).
''

Nitta Maru Nitta may refer to: Places * Nitta, Sweden, a locality in Ulricehamn Municipality, Västra Götaland County of Sweden * Nitta, Gunma; a.k.a. Nitta, Nitta, Gunma, Japan. A town in the district of Nitta of the prefecture of Gunma in Japan * Nitta ...

'' (1939).
'' Tatsuta Maru'' (1930).
''Terukuni Maru'' (1930).
'' Yawata Maru'' (1939)
Provinces
''Awa Maru'' (1899).
''Awa Maru'' (1943).
''

Kaga Maru __NOTOC__ Kaga may refer to: Places * Kaga, Ishikawa, a city in Japan. * Kaga Province, an old province of Japan, now part of Ishikawa prefecture. * Kaga Domain, an old feudal domain (''han'') in Kaga Province * Kaga, Nigeria, a Local Government A ...

'' (19__).
'' Noto Maru'' (1934).
''Tango Maru'' (1905). Mountains
''

Asama Maru was a Japanese ocean liner owned by Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK). The ship was built in 1927–1929 by Mitsubishi Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. at Nagasaki, Japan. The vessel was named after an important Shinto shrine. ''Asama Maru'' set a reco ...

'' (1929).
'' Maya Maru'' (1925).
'' Rokko Maru'' (1923). Cities
''Asuka Maru'' (1924).
''Calcutta Maru'' (1917).
''Dakar Maru'' (1920).
''Durban Maru'' (1920).
''Hakone Maru'' (1921)
''

Lima Maru ''Lima Maru'' was a 6,989-ton Japanese troop transport during World War II, which sank on 8 February 1944 with great loss of life. The ''Lima Maru'' was built in 1920 by the Mitsubishi Zosen Kaisha (Mitsubishi Shipyard & Machinery Works) in Nag ...

'' (1920).
'' Lisbon Maru'' (1920).
'' Lyons Maru'' (1920). Miscellaneous
'' Korea Maru'' (1901).
'' Kyushu Maru'' (1862).
'' Rosetta Maru'' (1900).
'' Siberia Maru'' (1901).
'' Taiyo Maru'' (1911).
'' Toyama Maru'' (1915).
'' Yoshida Maru'' (1941).

Fleet in post-war era

The modern NYK tonnage encompasses a variety of ship names. Some names form series, as in those ships named after

flowers Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

stars A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by self-gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night; their immense distances from Earth make them appear as fixed points of ...

, star constellations, and

provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

of pre- Meiji Japan. Flowers
''ACX Cherry'' (1994)NYK
fleet list
/ref>
''ACX Hibiscus'' (1997)
''ACX Jasmine'' (1996)
''ACX Lily'' (1990)
''ACX Magnolia'' (1998)
''ACX Marguerite'' (1997)
''ACX Salvia'' (1997)
''Plumeria Leader'' (2022) Stars
''Altair Leader'' (2011)
''NYK Altair'' (2010)
''NYK Canopus'' (1998)
''NYK Deneb'' (2007)
''NYK Rigel'' (2009)
''NYK Sirius'' (1998)
'' NYK Vega'' (2006)
''Rigel Leader'' (2011)
Constellations
''Andromeda Leader'' (2007)
''Aphrodite Leader'' (2007)
''Apollon Leader'' (2007)
''Aries Leader'' (2014)New Car Carrier Aries Leader Delivered
/ref>
'' Auriga Leader'' (2008)NYK-Nippon Oil Joint Project
The World First Solar-Powered Ship Sails

''Cepheus Leader'' (2006)
''Cetus Leader'' (2005)
''Equuleus Leader'' (2005)
''NYK Antares'' (1997)
''NYK Leo'' (2002)
''NYK Orion'' (2008)
''NYK Pegasus'' (2003)
''NYK Phoenix'' (2003)
'' NYK Virgo'' (2007)
''Volans Leader'' (2003)
Provinces
''Iga Maru'' (1996)
''Izu Maru'' (1997)
''Izumo Maru'' (1997)
''Kaga Maru'' (1988)
''Sanuki Maru'' (1997)
''Settsu Maru'' (1997)
''Shima Maru'' (1997) Miscellaneous
''Asama Maru'' (1954)
''Astoria Maru'' (1952)
'' Galaxy Leader'' (2002)
''Hakone Maru'' (1968)
''Hikawa Maru'' (1974)
''Zeus Leader'' (2009)

1950-present

By the mid-1950s NYK ships were again seen around the world. As the demand for passenger ships dwindled in the 1960s, NYK expanded its cargo operation, running Japan's first

''Hakone Maru'' on a route to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

in 1968 and soon establishing container ship routes to many other ports. NYK became a partner in Nippon Cargo Airlines in 1978, Following the enactment of the U.S. Shipping Act of 1984, NYK shifted its focus towards mass intermodal transportation, including: (1) enlarged container ships in the trade, (2) NYK owned/operated container terminals at the U.S. West Coast gateways, and (3) participation in US inland transportation by introducing the operation of mile-long Double Stack Trains (two-tier container freight train service across the U.S., in collaboration with U.S. railway companies)." NYK Line decided to enter the world-wide luxury cruise ship market and established Crystal Cruises Inc. in Los Angeles. In July 1990 the first post-war cruise passenger ship Crystal Harmony has been completed (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Nagasaki), and she marked the beginning of services of

Crystal Cruises Crystal Cruises is an American cruise line owned by A&K Travel Group. It was founded in 1988 by Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kaisha, and sold to Hong Kong-headquartered conglomerate Genting Hong Kong in 2015. Following insolvency in 2 ...

. (Los Angeles to Alaska and returned to San Francisco) The sister ship of Crystal Harmony, Crystal Symphony (built at Finland: Kvaerner Masa), commenced operation in Mediterranean cruises. The third ship of Crystal Cruises, Crystal Serenity (France: Chantiers de l'Atlantique), commenced operation in Europe. Crystal Harmony was sold from Crystal Cruises to NYK Cruises and began operation as Asuka II. Crystal Cruises was sold to Genting Hong Kong. In May 2021 NYK Line became the first Japanese shipping firm to join the Sustainable Shipping Initiative's Ship Recycling Transparency Initiative, which incorporates the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships. Car carrier Galaxy Leader

On 19 November 2023, the NYK operated vessel '' Galaxy Leader'', while sailing in Red Sea en route to India, was hijacked by the Iranian backed

Houthi The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, is a Zaydi Shia Islamist political and military organization that emerged from Yemen in the 1990s. It is predominantly made up of Zaydi Shias, with their namesake leadership being drawn largely ...

on the grounds it was an Israeli owned vessel. In May 2024 the owners asked the Houthis to release the crew.

Merger of container operations

On Monday, 31 October 2016, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Mitsui OSK Lines and Nippon Yusen Kaisha agreed to merge their container shipping business by establishing a completely new joint venture company. The integration included their overseas terminal activities. The joint venture company operates under the name "

" (ONE), with the company headquarters in Japan (Tokyo), a global business operations headquarters in Singapore and regional headquarters in United Kingdom (London), United States (Richmond, VA), Hong Kong, and Brazil (São Paulo). The new company started its operations on 1 April 2018.

Container vessels fleet

Roll-on/roll-off division

NYK is also the world's largest

ocean carrier. NYK's RORO fleet has a 660,000 car capacity which represents just over 17% of the global car transportation fleet capacity. Over 123 vessels are deployed worldwide transporting cars manufactured in Japan, US, EU towards Asia, Middle East, North & South America, Australia, Africa and Europe. In addition to brand new cars, High and Heavy cargo (such as excavators, mobile cranes, new and used trucks and buses, trailers, Mafi roll trailers) and break bulk static pieces are carried all over the globe by NYK. Nippon Yusen Kaisha 1918 ad

References

Bibliography

* * * * * *

External links

Company website (in English)Regional website for NYK Group in Europe (in English)NYK Line RORO
{{Authority control Transport companies based in Tokyo Companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Companies in the Nikkei 225 Mitsubishi companies Shipping companies of Japan Container shipping companies Economy of the Empire of Japan Postwar Japan Transport companies established in 1885 Japanese companies established in 1885 Japanese brands Car carrier shipping companies Ro-ro shipping companies