NYK recognised for achieving Top Tier in U.S. West Coast Vessel Speed Reduction Incentive Program

July 4, 2023

NYK has been recognised for the company’s participation in the Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies vessel speed reduction (VSR) incentive program along the West Coast of North America, a collaborative effort sponsored by the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation,* among others. For 2022, NYK achieved the Sapphire tier, the top ranking in the program.

This program encourages voluntary vessel speed reduction in the Santa Barbara Channel and the San Francisco Bay area to protect whales and cut air pollution. For about seven months from May 1, 2022, the program’s partners analyzed each participating company’s automatic information system (AIS) data and evaluated the company’s adherence to the request that vessels transit at 10 knots or less through the VSR zones. More than 85% of NYK operating vessels maintained a navigation speed of less than 10 knots, a higher rate than in the last four years.

NYK will use the incentive of US$20,000 to address social and environmental issues under the NYK Group Sustainability Initiative.

As a company that operates in the world’s oceans, preventing air pollution and protecting marine life is an integral part of our mission, and we will continue to work even more earnestly to preserve the marine environment and biodiversity.

A NYK group employee holding the plaque

On March 10, 2023, the NYK Group released its medium-term management plan “Sail Green, Drive Transformations 2026 — A Passion for Planetary Wellbeing.” The NYK Group is promoting growth strategies with ESG at the core, based on the Group’s basic philosophy of “Bringing value to life” and a new corporate vision for 2030, which reads, “we go beyond the scope of a comprehensive global logistics enterprise to co-create value required for the future by advancing our core business and growing new ones.”