NYK president Yasumi Kudo and executive officers held a meeting with six captains and chief engineers at the NYK headquarters in Tokyo.
This
meeting was a part of the Remember Naka-no-Se Safety Campaign* that NYK
conducts every July. President Kudo chairs NYK’s Safety and
Environmental Management Committee,** which oversees the safe operation
of the NYK fleet, and he holds the meeting to hear directly from
captains and chief engineers working on the front line of operations and
to encourage the implementation of practical, workable activities.
During
the meeting, proposals for safe operations and fuel-saving activities
were offered by the captains and chief engineers. In addition, issues
facing seafarer training and initiatives to mitigate environmental loads
were discussed in depth for two hours.
During
the campaign period, the NYK Group conducts activities intensively to
help related parties refocus on the importance of safety. The activities
include NYK Group members, including NYK executives, visiting vessels
to deepen communication between onboard crew and onshore staff by
exchanging opinions about safe ship operations and holding safety
meetings with shipowners and ship-management companies. A
crisis-response drill was also held and a mock press conference
separately to help practice mobilizing a quick response to a serious
accident.
NYK
continues to make efforts to further deepen the mutual understanding
between onshore and ship staff, and promote the establishment of safer
ship-operation systems within the group.
*Remember Naka-no-Se Safety Campaign
A
two-month annual campaign started in an effort to learn from the
mistakes that led to a 1997 oil spill from an NYK VLCC when the vessel
touched bottom at Naka-no-Se in Tokyo Bay. From July, the month the
incident occurred, top management and other staff visit NYK-operated
ships to ensure the implementation of safe ship operations.
**Safety and Environmental Management Committee
Supreme
decision-making body that monitors activities on safety measures and
environmental issues. The committee was established in April 2001 as a
cross-sectional organization chaired by the president.
