ClassNK announced during the Nor-Shipping 2013 exhibition that it will soon[ds_preview] open more than five new offices in Europe. The announcement was highlighted by a special signing ceremony which saw four renowned Northern European owners transfer nearly a dozen vessels to ClassNK. The new expansion which includes new offices already established in Klaipeda, Lithuania, and Ebeltoft, Denmark, will see ClassNK open new offices in Bergen, Norway, Würzburg, Germany, and Helsinki, Finland, with further offices planned in Ukraine and Sweden. ClassNK’s recent growth has been led by German and Norwegian owners who have together transferred nearly 100 existing and newbuilding vessels totaling more than 2.5 mill GT to ClassNK since the beginning of 2012. The growing trend among European owners to choose ClassNK for their vessel classification was clear during the signing ceremony, which commemorated the official transfer of three existing bulk carriers from Orion Bulkers, two bulk carrier newbuildings from Johann M. K. Blumenthal, one existing tanker from Medallion Reederei, and five bulk carriers from Norway’s Stove Rederi to the ClassNK register.
