In June, NYK and its group company NYK Bulk & Projects Carriers Ltd. completed the dismantling of a heavy lifer named Kamo at the PHP Ship Recycling Facility in Bangladesh. The NYK Group is the first Japanese shipping company to complete dismantling at the yard, meeting ship recycling regulations specified in the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships,2009 commonly known as the Hong Kong Convention.¹

The facility is operated by PHP Ship Breaking and Recycling Industries Ltd., which meets the requirements of the Hong Kong Convention and has been certified² by NYK.
To confirm adherence to these standards, the NYK Group dispatched supervisors and seafarers to monitor the prevention of environmental pollution and industrial accidents. Following the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs),³ the NYK Group confirmed that human rights were thoroughly respected through human rights due diligence⁴ conducted by a third party.


Ship-recycling yards are mainly located in developing countries such as India and Bangladesh, and some of those yards have received international attention for needing to adopt proper measures to prevent environmental pollution and industrial accidents. Bangladesh’s ratification of the Hong Kong Convention on 26 June paved the way for the treaty's entry into force two years later on 26 June 2025. In the meantime, international society is expected to step forward to address issues at ship-recycling yards.

NYK has actively worked to improve antipollution measures and safety controls in the ship-recycling industry by participating in the Japanese government’s monitoring committee for Bangladesh yards. On July 3, NYK newly certified two ship-recycling yards in Bangladesh that meet the company’s standards. To realize a sustainable society and environment, the NYK Group will continue to promote ship recycling at yards that meet the standards of the company and the Hong Kong Convention.

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 mission statement 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.”

¹ The Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships,2009

The International Maritime Organization adopted the Convention in May 2009 to ensure occupational safety and environmental protection during ship dismantling. To enter into force, the Convention requires the following:
1. Ratification by at least 15 countries
2. At least 40% of the merchant shipping tonnage of the signatory countries
3. At least 3% of the maximum annual dismantled tonnage of the signatory countries in the last 10 years
As of June 2023, 22 countries have ratified the treaty, including Japan, India, and Bangladesh.


² NYK certification
Certification is granted to yards that meet our standards for environmental protection, worker health and safety management, and respect for human rights

³ the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs)
A set of U.N. guidelines articulated in 2011 for States and companies to prevent, address, and remedy human rights abuses committed in business operations

⁴ Human rights due diligence
A series of processes to analyze and evaluate risks to human rights and implement appropriate measures