On April 10, Jari Gustafsson, Finland’s permanent secretary of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment; government officials; and representatives of seven Finnish maritime companies — 15 guests in total — visited the NYK head office and met with NYK director and senior managing corporate officer Hidetoshi Maruyama, corporate officers Tomoo Kitayama and Taizo Yoshida, and Yasuo Tanaka, president of MTI Co. Ltd.

Finland’s government is actively promoting digitalization and R&D into autonomous vessels to improve the international competitiveness of its shipping industry. During the meeting, the representatives of the Finnish maritime companies introduced their marine technologies, and the NYK Group presented its initiatives in the areas of ship IoT and big data, and an active exchange of opinions followed.

On the same day, the “Finland Arctic Seminar” was held at the Finnish embassy in Tokyo on the theme of business development in the arctic. A total of 60 guests from maritime affiliated companies and organizations attended and exchanged ideas on business cooperation between the two countries. At the event, Hideyuki Ando, senior general manager of MTI Co. Ltd., made a presentation on IoT and autonomous navigation in the shipping industry.

In accordance with its new medium-term management plan “Staying Ahead 2022 with Digitalization and Green,” the NYK Group seeks to create new value by making use of the latest digital technology for innovation in the shipping industry, in addition to building good relationships with the governments of various nations, and companies in the maritime industry.