ClassNK: The Foundation of Class (Case Study)

Now in its 111th year and the largest classification society in the world, ClassNK is a leader in more ways than one.

By Tony Munoz

When need necessitates action, good things usually happen. And so it was when Japan required oversight of its growing commercial shipping and shipbuilding industries. Teikoku Kaiji Kyokai (the Imperial Marine Association) was created in Tokyo in November of 1899 to assist the nation in developing regulations for its burgeoning maritime industry. The new organization’s primary function was to promote the industry while at the same time developing rules and regulations for the safe building and operation of ships. By 1920 the company had classed its first vessel, Kwanan Maru. In 1926 the society’s class notation, NS*, was formally registered with the Institute of London Underwriters, which amounted to recognition of TKK as an active classification society, and by 1929 the society had reached over one million gross tons under class.

By the end of World War II, however, virtually all of Japan’s commercial ships and shipbuilding industry had been destroyed. In 1946 the society was relaunched under its current name, Nippon Kaiji Kyokai, and as the shipping industry in Japan slowly recovered ClassNK was called upon to survey the plethora of new vessel types being built in the aftermath of the war. By 1962 the company had opened offices in London and New York, and the emerging phoenix began to spread its wings with more than 70 locations including representation in every major port in the world.

Today, ClassNK is the world’s largest classification society and has approximately 20 percent of the world’s commercial fleet on its registry. With more than 110 exclusive surveyor offices around the globe, the company goes about its business of surveying, auditing, consulting and registering ship management systems, such as ISO 9001/4001 certification, and issuing material and equipment approvals 24 hours a day. Imagine the magnitude of an organization that works with over 100 flag states and classes more than 180 million gross tons with an average age of 10.2 years versus the global average of 22 years! 

Additionally, ClassNK has been leading the way with new initiatives in corporate social responsibility and in the use of new technologies to reduce marine pollution, ship emissions and ecosystem destruction. Further, the company created a Practical Promotion Division to coordinate and oversee strategic research and development throughout the organization, manage R&D work by different departments, and develop new technologies for the maritime industry and other interested parties. 

The Right Horse for the Right Course    

 

Noboru Ueda became ClassNK’s Chairman and President on March 1, 2008. He ascended to the position from within the ranks of the organization, which is rare due to the position’s normally being a political appointment. But Ueda’s vast experience provided ClassNK with the right leadership at the right time as the maritime industry was becoming the focus of global environmental issues. With a lifetime of working in the trenches, Ueda had a clear understanding of the numerous changes impacting the industry, and he set out to ensure ClassNK’s leadership, a process that included his own appointment as Chairman of the industry’s oversight organization, the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS), in 2010.

Last year Ueda announced that ClassNK would commit 2.2 billion yen ($25 million) in research and funding as part of its participation in national R&D programs to reduce greenhouse gases, representing more than 25 percent of the project’s total budget of 8.5 billion yen ($95 million) through 2012. Ueda made it clear that ClassNK and other societies must go beyond compliance goals for reducing maritime emissions and commit to the larger endeavor of funding and developing practical technologies to achieve a more meaningful reduction of atmospheric pollution from ships. Additionally, Ueda had a robust environmental agenda for his company, including solutions for problems arising from ballast water discharges, oil spills caused by ship casualties, the depletion of fishing resources, marine pollution from sources on land, and the physical destruction of the marine habitat.

Performance Standards by ClassNK

In response to the increasing demand for environmentally friendly ships, ClassNK has developed more realistic performance evaluation standards for ship designs prior to construction. Ships are normally evaluated during sea trials and usually in calm ocean conditions. While two ships may have the same efficiencies noted during the trials, they can be substantially different when operating in the real world of ever-changing currents, winds and waves. Further, there are operational differences of weather, trading routes and loading conditions, which make it difficult to measure ship performance once it has entered daily operations.

Taking a page from the automotive industry, which uses multiple modes of environmental and operational conditions, ClassNK, in conjunction with the Japan Ship Technology Research Association, the National Maritime Research Institute and other interested parties, has developed a more realistic performance evaluation for ships through its new 10 Mode Performance Index. Currently these guidelines have only been applied to containerships and vehicle carriers. The Performance Index, which is a combination of theoretical calculations and practical tank tests capable of replicating a ship’s performance in sea conditions during the design stage, will be expanded to other vessels in the near future.    

In 2009 the Society reorganized the manner in which research and development was carried out within the company, foreseeing that it could be accomplished more effectively and efficiently by integrating departments engaged in similar

activities. The key areas of the new streamlined endeavor are:
• R&D directed at classification and technical consultation services (rule development and related software, etc.)
• Practical R&D to provide solutions in the short-term to client/industry needs (damage prevention, etc.)
• R&D in new areas and fields (marine environmental preservation technologies, etc.), and
• Fundamental R&D (new and improved technologies, etc.).

PrimeShip = “Total Ship Care”

ClassNK has a wealth of technical and scientific data within the organization. In its continuing effort to provide the industry with the most up-to-date software available, it has upgraded, enhanced and organized this abundance of information into a program called PrimeShip. The concept of “Total Ship Care,” which is the premise of PrimeShip, allows ClassNK to ensure the safety and reliability of a vessel throughout its lifecycle – from inception, design and construction to operation, management and maintenance, until it is finally scrapped.

As computers and software applications advanced, so did the scientific information collected, and new services were offered capitalizing on the various R&D activities and related technical advances. Today, PrimeShip consists of four groups and fourteen services. The primary groups are:

• Hull Group, which includes IPCA (Integrated System for Ship Performance Capability, NAPA Manager (Naval Architect Package), Hull Rules (ship designer structural requirements in accordance with IACS common structural rules), and Hull DSA (Direct Strength Assessment System).

• Machinery Group, which includes Shaft (Shaft Alignment Analysis Program), Crank (Crankshaft Stress Calculation Service) and Torres (Shaft Torsional Vibration Analysis Service).

• Operation Group, which includes ETAS (Emergency Technical Support Service), Chemisys (Integrated Database Service for Chemical Products), BulkCargo (carriage of dangerous substances and solid bulk cargoes), and Inventory (managing inventory of toxic substances for ship recycling per Ship Recycling Convention).

• Maintenance Group, which includes Hullcare (managing huge volumes of maintenance information and survey data), CAP (certifying the condition of aging vessels beyond the scope of regular classification and statutory regulations), and OAS (fuel oil and stern lubricant analysis).

Today’s PrimeShip program has been based on years of scientific study and analysis. But new services will continue to be offered pursuant to the R&D activities, which are ongoing. While the aim of ClassNK’s sophisticated programs is to provide ship designers, shipbuilders, owners and managers with critical information for the overall safety of their ships, it also contributes to the safety of personnel and the marine environment.

ClassNK’s Leadership in International Affairs

The recent announcement that the combined tonnage of Panamanian-flagged vessels under the society’s register had broken the 100-million-gross-ton barrier (the first time in history any flag state had registered this amount of tonnage with a single class society) once again emphasized the ever-growing need for a class society to ensure that its organization functions at the highest level of global maritime standards. In this regard, ClassNK is a leader, as demonstrated by its relation to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the division of the United Nations responsible for global maritime affairs. IMO’s agenda is to develop and ratify conventions and resolutions related to ship safety, environmental protection and maritime security. ClassNK participates in IMO via both IACS, which has observer status and acts as a technical adviser to IMO, and by representing the Japanese government as its delegate. Additionally, it dispatches researchers and maritime experts to meetings of the Assembly and Council as well as the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) and the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) and their respective subcommittees.

Thus it was only appropriate that last year Noboru Ueda was appointed Chairman of IACS. After all, ClassNK was one of the seven founding members of IACS in 1968, and IACS has worked closely with the IMO and other international organizations on standards for safety and quality within the classification sector.

Ueda has made his position clear about ensuring that IACS will be an active partner with IMO and other international bodies in finding solutions to greenhouse gas emissions, ensuring better communications about the role of class societies in addressing issues of global maritime safety, and offering industry-wide strategies on environmental issues related to shipping activities.     
Ueda had previously served as Chairman of the Association of Asian Classification Societies (ACS), which had been meeting informally since 1993. During its Annual Meeting in February 2010, the Association – with Ueda’s guidance – finally formalized and adopted its charter and appointed a successor. As ninety percent of the total tonnage constructed by shipyards emerges from Asia, as well as most marine cargoes and personnel, Ueda’s participation ensured that ClassNK would have a voice in the foundation of this important Asian organization.

As the largest classification society in the world, ClassNK’s leadership role in the shipping and shipbuilding communities of Asia is unquestionable and vital due to the region’s dominance in maritime affairs. With the society now in its 111th year, its global political influence, generational expertise on scientific technical data, and leadership in contemporary environmental issues will mark its course for decades to come. Well done, ClassNK! – MarEx 

Tony Munoz is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of The Maritime Executive.