ClassNK Surges Past 170 Million Gross Tons

The ClassNK Classification Committee officially announced it surged past 170 million gross tons (gt) making the first class society in the world to have more than 170 million gt under class.

The announcement was made following the April meeting of the Classification Committee, which certified that ClassNK’s register listed 7,211 ships, totaling 170,419,317 gt as of the end of March 2010. The Committee also certified that ClassNK newbuilding registrations for the first three months of this year stood at 4.44 million tons, signaling that the Society remained on pace for another year of near-record growth.

The ClassNK register has grown almost continuously since the end of World War II, with the most rapid growth occurring over the past 15 years. ClassNK broke the 100 million gt mark in 1997, shortly before becoming the world’s largest class society on a gross tonnage basis in 1999. In 2007, ClassNK became the first class society in history to have 150 million gt on its register, and over the past three years alone, ClassNK has added a net total of more than 20 million gt to its register.

Following the meeting, ClassNK Chairman and President Noboru Ueda cited ClassNK’s “dedication to quality and the aggressive expansion of our service network as principal reasons for our continued growth”. Mr. Ueda, who will become the Chairman of IACS in July, stated, “The success of classification societies like NK depends not only on the strength of the maritime community, but on the quality of services offered. Our ability to succeed despite the recent economic downturn is a clear reflection of our commitment to providing the best possible service to our clients anywhere in the world.”