History
| 1870 | Tosa Clan establishes Tsukumo Shokai Shipping company. |
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| 1872 | Tsukumo Shokai renamed Mitsukawa Shokai. |
| 1873 | Mitsukawa Shokai renamed Mitsubishi Shokai. |
| 1875 | Mitsubishi Shokai starts Japan's first overseas liner service between Yokohama and Shanghai. Mitsubishi Shokai changes name to Mitsubishi Kisen, then to Mitsubishi Mail Steamship Company. |
| 1882 | Kyodo Unyu Kaisha established. |
| 1885 | Yubin Kisen Mitsubishi Kaisha and Kyodo Unyu Kaisha merge on September 29 to form Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK); new company inaugurates operations on October 1 with a fleet of 58 steamships. |
| 1886 | Liner service between Nagasaki and Tientsin begins. |
| 1890 | Liner service between Manila and Kobe begins. |
| 1893 | Japan's first long-distance liner service begins on Bombay route. Nippon Yusen Kaisha becomes a joint-stock corporation and changes its name to Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha. |
| 1896 | London branch opened. Liner service begins on European, Seattle, and Australian routes. |
| 1899 | NYK joins Straits Outward (eastbound) Conference. Liner service to London begins on eastbound leg of Europe-Asia route. |
| 1902 | NYK joins Straits Homeward (westbound) Conference. |
| 1911 | Calcutta liner service begins. |
| 1914 | Tokushima Maru becomes first Japanese ship to pass through the newly completed Panama Canal. |
| 1915 | Westward around-the-world liner service begins. |
| 1916 | Liner service to New York via the Panama Canal begins. New Zealand liner service begins. |
| 1917 | Liner service to the east coast of South America begins. |
| 1918 | Mediterranean liner service begins. |
| 1919 | Liner service to Hamburg and Liverpool begins. |
| 1920 | New York branch opens. |
| 1923 | Departure of Nagasaki Maru inaugurates Japan-China (Nagasaki-Shanghai) Rapid Express Service. Near-Sea Department becomes separate entity; renamed Kinkai Yusen Kaisha Ltd. for handling coastal and short-range international service. NYK's Tokyo headquarters moves into newly completed Marunouchi Yusen Building. NYK ships provide relief for victims of the Great Kanto Earthquake. |
| 1926 | NYK acquires Dai-ni Toyo Kisen Kaisha, gaining routes to San Francisco and the west coast of South America. |
| 1929 | Distinctive twin red stripes on white background becomes official funnel marking for NYK vessels. Luxury passenger liner Asama Maru begins service on San Francisco route. |
| 1930 | Chichibu Maru and Tatsuta Maru (San Francisco route), Hikawa Maru (Seattle route), and Terukuni Maru and Yasukuni Maru (European route) begin service. |
| 1934 | Liner service to Gulf of Mexico ports in Latin America begins. Bombay route extended to Persian Gulf ports. |
| 1935 | NYK marks 50th anniversary. |
| 1936 | Scandinavian liner service begins. |
| 1937 | Madras liner service begins. Eastbound around-the-world liner service begins. |
| 1939 | NYK acquires Kinkai Yusen Kaisha Ltd. |
| 1942 | Three NYK ships, Asama Maru, Tatsuta Maru, and Kamakura Maru, provide transport for the exchange of U.S., British, and Japanese diplomats. |
| 1945 | Only 37 vessels, totaling 155,469 gross tons, remain after World War II. |
| 1950 | Japan's first private-sector vessel to sail an international shipping route since World War II brings rice from Thailand. Hikawa Maru and two other ships resume service to North America. |
| 1951 | Bangkok liner service begins. Liner service resumes to India and Pakistan, to New York, and to Seattle. |
| 1952 | Liner service resumes on Asia-Europe routes via the Suez Canal. Australia liner service resumes. |
| 1953 | Service to Gulf of Mexico ports in Central America resumes. |
| 1954 | Liner service to the east coast of South America resumes. Middle East liner service resumes. |
| 1956 | Westbound around-the-world liner service resumes. |
| 1957 | Liner service to the west coast of Central America resumes. |
| 1958 | Black Sea liner service begins. |
| 1962 | World's first large LPG carrier, Bridgestone Maru, and heavy lifter Wakasa Maru completed. |
| 1964 | NYK and Mitsubishi Shipping Co. Ltd. merge; newly enlarged NYK Group owns 153 vessels of 2,287,696 deadweight tons. |
| 1965 | Sitka Maru, Japan's first pulp carrier, commissioned. |
| 1967 | Chikushi Maru, ore and oil carrier, begins service. |
| 1968 | Hakone Maru, Japan's first fully containerized ship, begins service on new California route. |
| 1969 | Near Seas and domestic coastal services transferred to Kinkai Yusen Kaisha Ltd. NYK Line (Hong Kong) Ltd. and NYK (Thailand) Co. Ltd. established. Container service to Australia begins. |
| 1970 | Container service to the West Coast of North America begins. |
| 1971 | Container service to Europe begins. |
| 1972 | Container service to the East Coast of North America begins. |
| 1973 | NYK listed on Frankfurt Stock Exchange. |
| 1975 | First foreign bond in Japanese shipping industry issued (in the Federal Republic of Germany; DM50 million). |
| 1978 | NYK headquarters moves into newly completed Yusen Building. NYK, three other Japanese shipping companies, and All Nippon Airways Co. Ltd. establish Nippon Cargo Airlines (NCA). |
| 1979 | Container service to Persian Gulf begins. |
| 1980 | Australia-Malaysia-Persian Gulf container service begins. |
| 1981 | Container service to the west coast of South America begins. Container service to South Africa begins. |
| 1983 | NYK Line (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. established. LNG shipments from Indonesia to Japan initiated. |
| 1985 | NYK centennial celebration. Double-stack container train service begins between Los Angeles, Chicago, and Cincinnati in cooperation with Southern Pacific Transportation. |
| 1986 | Long-term vision, “NYK 21,” introduced. Logistics Research and Development Center opens. Toronto Logistics Center completed. |
| 1987 | Ultraefficient containership California Mercury launched; known as a pioneer ship and navigable with an 11-member crew. Ohi Logistics Center opens in Tokyo. |
| 1988 | NYK Systems Research Institute established. NYK Line (North America) Inc. established. Hong Kong Logistics Center completed. |
| 1989 | NYK Ship Management Co. Ltd. established. NYK Line (Europe) Ltd., NYK Bulkship (USA) Inc., and NYK Bulkship (Europe) Ltd. established. Bangkok, Los Angeles, and Sydney logistics centers open. Rokko Logistics Center (Kobe) opens. |
| 1990 | Singapore Logistics Center opens. Worldwide Information Network Services for Logistics (WINS) implemented on transpacific routes. World-class luxury cruise ship Crystal Harmony, expedition ship Frontier Spirit, and party yacht Lady Crystal begin service. |
| 1991 | Nippon Liner System Co. Ltd. acquired; container liner service to New Zealand begins. Asuka, Japan's largest luxury cruise ship, begins service. Los Angeles and Oakland container terminals open. Three British transport and distribution companies acquired. Logistics centers opened in Antwerp (Belgium), Port Kelang (Malaysia), and Milton Keynes (United Kingdom). Majority interest acquired in Australian cruise company Dectar Pty. Ltd. Laem Chabang (Thailand) Container Terminal opens. NYK Line (Australia) Pty. Ltd. and NYK Shipping (N.Z.) Ltd. established. |
| 1992 | Kaohsiung (Taiwan) Container Terminal opens. Milan (Italy) Logistics Center opens. |
| 1993 | Liner service begins between the west coast of South America and Europe. Double-hull tanker Takamine Maru completed. NYK Maritime Museum opens in Yokohama. |
| 1994 | Kobe Container Terminal opens. NYK Line (Deutschland) GmbH, NYK Line (Benelux) B.V., and NYK Line (Sverige) AB established. NYK-supported Yamaha wins Whitebread yacht race. Yokohama Container Terminal opens. NYK Tennoz Building completed. NYK Altair, 4,800 TEU containership, launched. |
| 1995 | Good Hope Express Service links Asia, South Africa, and the east coast of South America. Luxury cruise ship Crystal Symphony completed. NYK Line (China) Co. Ltd. established. Ocean Carrier Technology Laboratory opens. |
| 1996 | New container service by the Grand Alliance for the United States and Europe trades starts. Qatar LNG service starts. |
| 1997 | Tanker accident by Diamond Grace occurs in Tokyo Bay. |
| 1998 | New container service by the New Grand Alliance for the United States and Europe trades starts. NYK and Showa Line Co. Ltd. merge, adding three owned vessels of 549,031 deadweight tons and 75 chartered vessels of 6,140,134 deadweight tons to the shipping lineup. Taipei branch established. |
| 1999 | UWDC transloading base opens. Liner Division and Car Carrier Division obtain ISO 9002 certification. |
| 2000 | NYK decides to build a third vessel for Crystal Cruises. NYK enters a new business field with the establishment of e-JAN Co. Ltd. NYK Logistics (China) established. |
| 2001 | “Double Wing,” the unified group logo bearing the words “NYK Logistics & Megacarrier,” launched. NYK Shipmanagement Co. Ltd. established in Singapore. |
| 2002 | NYK (including chartered fleet) obtains ISO14001 certification, world's first for a shipping company. Ceres Terminals Inc. in the United States acquired. |
| 2003 | NYK Logistics (Europe) Ltd., a united logistics company, established. NYK 21 "Forward 120," the company's medium- and long-term group management vision, announced. Renewed NYK Maritime Museum opens in the Yokohama Yusen Building. |
| 2004 | All NYK logistics subsidiaries uniformly rebranded as “NYK Logistics.” MTI (Monohakobi Technology Institute) established for the development of new technology. Office of Corporate Citizenship (OCC) established. |
| 2005 | Relief offered for areas overwhelmed by natural disasters. New medium-term management plan, “New Horizon 2007,” released. Nippon Cargo Airlines (NCA) becomes a consolidated subsidiary of NYK. Resident representative established in Russia. NYKLauritzenCool AB established. The Grand Alliance and the New World Alliance announce cooperation on key trade routes. NYK Line (Italy) S.p.A established. |
| 2006 | Local trade headquarters in Sao Paulo established for container transport operations for South Africa and Central/South America service routes. Resident representative established in Istanbul. NYK Group and Yamato Group form strategic alliance. NYK Line (Rus) LLC established. |
| 2007 | NYK deploys 38 containerships that have Alternative Maritime Power capability. NYK-TDG Maritime Academy opens in the Philippines. |
| 2008 | “New Horizon 2010,” the company's new medium-term management plan, released. NYK Cool Earth Project launched. Auriga Leader, a solar-power-assisted vessel, completed. |
| 2009 |
Emergency Structural Reform Project, “Yosoro,” implemented. Exploratory design for NYK Super Eco Ship 2030 released. Good Design Awards received for two of NYK's environment-friendly ships, Auriga Leader and NYK Super Eco Ship 2030. Participation in project for ultra-deepwater drillship, to be chartered by Petrobras, begins. |
| 2010 |
Yusen Logistics established to integrate the NYK Group's logistics. Two module carriers equipped with an Innovatiove air-lubrication system delivered. Offshore shuttle tanker business entered. |
| 2011 | New medium-term management plan, “More Than Shipping 2013,” launched. NYK sends support teams of volunteers and offers aid to the area devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake. NYK-TDG Maritime Academy graduates its first class, enhancing the NYK Group's measures to proactively employ seafarers. |
| 2012 | NYK's Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP) was the first in the world to be certified by ClassNK. A plan was announced for the building of four post-Panamax pure car and truck carriers equipped with the latest energy-saving technology. NYK hosted a cruise on Asuka II to aid reconstruction of the area damaged by the quake. More Information: Top News Stories for 2012
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