On June 4, NYK Shipmanagement Pte. Ltd.* appointed seafarer Aikins Kofi Obeng as its first Nigerian chief engineer aboard a liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier. The vessel, LNG BORNO, is on a long-term time-charter to Nigeria LNG Ltd. (NLNG).

The development and advancement of Nigerian seafarers is a shared commitment by both NLNG and NYK in line with NLNG’s Nigerianisation process, which led to Tanko Olanrewaju Usman becoming the first Nigerian captain aboard an NYK LNG carrier in February.

NYK has been promoting the training of seafarers regardless of nationality, and the promotion of Aikins Kofi Obeng to chief engineer is a tangible result of NYK’s efforts to support the appointment of senior management to high-risk vessels.**

Chief Engineer Aikins Kofi Obeng commented as follows:
“I am incredibly grateful to God for the blessings in my life, and I want to express my heartfelt appreciation to NYK group, my exceptional employer. I want to use this opportunity to inspire my Nigerian colleagues at sea, that with the Nigerian spirit of resilience and the determination to excel despite the storm, nothing is impossible.”

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.”

* NYK Shipmanagement Pte. Ltd.
A wholly owned subsidiary established in 2001 and headquartered in Singapore. As the core of the Group's ship management, the company dispatches seafarers to and manages ships operated by the NYK Group. It has branches in the Philippines, India, Malaysia, and other countries.

** high-risk vessels such as tankers and LNG carriers that transport dangerous goods.