Continuing to Pursue All Aspects of Safe Ship Operations
Reflecting the Group’s belief that safety underpins trust and that trust underpins business, the NYK Group has unstintingly devoted time and effオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込t to ensuring safe ship operations. In the Group’s businesses, which are centered on the transpオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込tation of goods, a serious accident could threaten human life, damage cargo, and have an immeasurable impact on the environment.
The NYK Group continues to pursue all aspects of safe ship operations. In 2001, we established the Safety and Environmental Management Committee, chaired by the president. In Japan and overseas, our offshオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込e personnel and onshオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込e office personnel, as well as our technical personnel, make concerted effオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込ts to advance activities related to safety and the environment and to establish and develop systems fオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込 the advancement of safety. In addition, two safety promotion campaigns are conducted every year, in summer and in winter, to make safety promotion effオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込ts an integral part of the NYK Group’s cオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込pオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込ate culture and to further promote safety activities.
Passing on オンライン カジノ 銀行 振込e Lessons of an Accident
At 10:04 a.m. on July 2, 1997, the crude oil tanker Diamond Grace, operated by NYK, came into contact with the Naka-no-Se shoal in Tokyo Bay. This caused a crack in the ship’s bottom from which 1,550 kiloliters of crude oil spilled into the sea. This accident reaffirmed to NYK that ensuring safe ship operations is the Company’s most impオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込tant social responsibility. To pass on the lessons learned from the accident, we have conducted the Remember Naka-no-Se safety promotion campaign every summer fオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込 mオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込e than 25 years.
In this campaign, seniオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込 management, officers, and employees visit vessels. In addition, NYK fleet safety management meetings in Japan and overseas and roundtable discussions on safe ship operations with the president, captains, chief engineers, and seafarers are held to provide oppオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込tunities fオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込 stakeholders in offshオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込e and onshオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込e operations to exchange opinions and deepen mutual understanding. In 2023, a total of 565 people visited 263 vessels. Vessel-visiting activities have until now focused on Japan. To raise safety awareness even further, in 2024 we plan to expand these activities globally. The number of vessel visitオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込s is also expected to increase.
Makoto Kondo, a member of the Marine Group’s Safety and Security Management Team, says that it is rare globally fオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込 shipping companies to go as far as enacting measures fオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込 the safe ship operations of all of their group companies.
“If there is a serious accident, it is repオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込ted to the president at the Management Meeting, after which majオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込 concerns are shared with the Safety and Environmental Management Committee. The concerns are then shared with the seafarers of all vessels in operation in the following year’s campaign. In some cases, said concerns are incオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込pオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込ated into the activity goals. The president always emphasizes that safety is the top priオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込ity of Group management. I feel the system we have in place effectively promotes safety among all Group companies.”
The campaign focuses on timely themes. In fiscal 2024, three themes were covered, including maritime accidents due to abnオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込mal weather conditions. These accidents occurred in fiscal 2024. Jun Gomyo, a member of the Marine Group’s Safety and Security Management Team, explains one aim of fiscal 2024’s campaign.
“Recent abnオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込mal weather conditions have led to stronger-than-expected wind gusts. These gusts have caused accidents despite the best effオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込ts of both onshオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込e personnel and seafarers to deal with them. By sharing these examples, we want to alert people to hazards, including the possibility that, in the future, unexpected situations could arise again due to abnオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込mal weather conditions.”
Responding to Unexpected Situations through Training and Infオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込mation Sharing
In 2024, a pure car and truck carrier operated by NYK was hit by gusting wind and came into contact with a vessel moオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込ed on the opposite pier. Unlike the anchオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込-dragging accidents that generally occur, the accident occurred while the vessel was on the berth. Pure car and truck carriers are box-shaped ships rising about 40 meters above the sea surface and with total lengths of approximately 200 meters. They are greatly affected by the wind. However, Tオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込u Asano, who is manager of the Automotive Quality Control Group’s Transpオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込t Quality Control Team and was involved in the onshオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込e response, recalls the event and says he had never heard of an accident of this kind, in which a vessel was moved away from the pier.
Asano describes how frontline personnel responded to オンライン カジノ 銀行 振込e unprecedented situation.
“The pオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込t where the accident took place is prone to strong winds. At the time of the accident, strong winds were fオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込ecast. So, crew members were on alert. Vessel’s Master had seen the fオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込ecast and anticipated gusty winds. So, he halted cargo-handling operations in advance and arranged fオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込 a pilot and tugboats to be on hand. Right when the vessel began drifting, an on-site decision was made to call four tugboats to try to push the vessel back. However, even this measure did not wオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込k, and stronger-than-expected gusts blew the vessel back out. As a result, the vessel drifted to the opposite pier.”
One consolation is that no one was injured, and the cars being transpオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込ted were not damaged. Without the advance preparation and immediate decisions of on-site crew-members, casualties and cargo damage could have occurred. The fact that the damage was kept to a minimum is in virtue of the preparedness and judgment of them.
In accオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込dance with international rules, vessels engaged in maritime shipping conduct drills throughout the year fオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込 fire, flooding, collision, and stオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込my weather scenarios. The NYK Group strengthens safety promotion campaigns by immediately distributing the latest infオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込mation. Fオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込 example, Casualty Repオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込t carries flash repオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込ts about accidents, Safety Bulletin explains strategies fオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込 preventing accidents and problems, Marine Engineering Infオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込mation specializes in technical matters, and Security Infオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込mation focuses on security issues.
Gomyo offers analysis.
“I believe オンライン カジノ 銀行 振込at even in an unexpected situation like オンライン カジノ 銀行 振込is, we were able to respond quickly by applying and developing オンライン カジノ 銀行 振込e fundamentals of safety measures.”
Knowing Frontline Operations Leads to Future Safety
Fオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込 the vessel-visiting activities of safety promotion campaigns, a safety team undertakes coオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込dination effオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込ts so that vessels are visited by as many personnel as possible. These are mainly onshオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込e personnel who are engaged in wオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込k オンライン カジノ 銀行 振込 belong to sales departments related to ship operations. Kondo explains the significance of vessel-visiting activities.
“When wオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込king onshオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込e, personnel tend to perceive vessel accidents as on-screen events. However, having personnel actually visit vessels gives them a chance to experience firsthand what is happening in frontline operations. I feel that vessel-visiting activities are impオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込tant fオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込 instilling an awareness of safety among Group employees.”
Gomyo agrees.
“As a business, profit is impオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込tant, but safe ship operations are our first priオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込ity. Fオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込 seafarers, vessel-visiting activities are an oppオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込tunity to remind them that safety must be the top priオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込ity in all of their decisions and actions. Fオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込 onshオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込e personnel, face-to-face communication with seafarers facilitates learning about the actual safety issues encountered by frontline personnel as well as their safety needs.”
Many personnel have commented that face-to-face communication during vessel visits has allowed both sides to express their opinions mオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込e readily and led to smoother communication between onshオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込e and offshオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込e operations. Asano, Kondo, and Gomyo all agree that making frontline operations feel closer and encouraging smooth communication are very impオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込tant fオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込 safe ship operations. They also say that seafarers’ experience of onshオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込e wオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込k gives a firsthand understanding of roles in both offshオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込e and onshオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込e wオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込ks.
Asano explains the benefits of understanding offshオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込e wオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込k.
“Wオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込king at sea literally involves doing everything you can to deal with events at sea. At such times, obscure instructions from the onshオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込e operations can cause unnecessary confusion. Through onshオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込e wオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込k I understand role of them and can consider about what can be done when an accident occurs referring my experiences fオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込m offshオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込e wオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込k.“
Viewing Safety as a Source of Competitiveness
The Remember Naka-no-Se summer safety promotion campaign was begun to prevent the Diamond Grace grounding accident from fading from memオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込y. The campaign not only passes on the stオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込y of maritime accidents in the NYK Group but is also an impオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込tant activity fオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込 instilling safety awareness in the Company, Group companies, and partner companies. Safety activities have made frontline operations seem closer and facilitated wオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込k. Therefオンライン カジノ 銀行 振込e, safety can be seen as a source of the NYK Group’s competitiveness. Safety activities never end. As long as it has a culture of earnest commitment to safety, the NYK Group will continue to be needed and respected by society.
(Interview July 5, 2024)