On December 9, NYK chairman Tadaaki Naito was conferred the Commander of the Order of the Crown (Commandeur de l'Ordre de la Couronne) by Roxane de Bilderling, the Belgian ambassador to Japan, at the Belgian Embassy in Tokyo.

This is the highest decoration of the Order of the Crown of the Kingdom of Belgium that can be awarded to a foreign civilian and is conferred by His Majesty the King of Belgium to those who have made national contributions.

The NYK Group has been actively developing its business in Belgium for more than 120 years since the opening of a European liner service in 1896.

In February this year, as part of the Sail GREEN project* promoted by NYK’s Automotive Transport Headquarters, operation of 11 wind turbines installed at the finished-vehicle logistics terminal owned and operated by NYK subsidiary International Car Operators N.V.** began at the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium.

This conferral by the Kingdom of Belgium resulted from an appraisal of the NYK Group’s investment and employment promotion in the country.

Chairman Naito expressed his gratitude by saying, "I am genuinely honored to have been granted the very prestigious Commander of the Order of the Crown. We will continue to make further efforts to contribute to the development of Belgium, even if only in a small way.”

* Sail GREEN project
A project being promoted by NYK’s Automotive Transportation Headquarters to reduce CO2 emissions at all the transportation stages of vehicles and contribute to the eco-friendly supply chains of customers. The chief component of the project is a switch to LNG-fueled PCTCs, which emit less CO2 compared to conventional heavy-fueled vessels. In addition, reducing CO2 emissions at finished-car logistics terminals that NYK operates throughout the world, as well as during short sea and inland transportation, is also an important target of this project.

** International Car Operators N.V. (ICO)
ICO, a wholly owned NYK subsidiary company headquartered in Zeebrugge, Belgium, operates terminals for finished vehicles in the ports of Zeebrugge and Antwerp, two important hubs for importing and exporting finished vehicles in Europe. In addition to its cargo handling service, ICO provides value-added services such as inspection before car delivery and installation of accessories. Website: http://www.icoterminals.com/en