April 11, 2013
Yoichi Hasegawa, a former Senior Managing Executive Officer of "K" Line and current President and CEO of Taiyo Nippon Kisen Co., Ltd. (TNKC) which is one of "K" Line’s consolidated ship management companies, was awarded the degree of Doctor Honoris Causa by Nikola Y. Vaptsarov Naval Academy (Naval Academy) in recognition of his contributions for the relationship that "K" Line and TNKC have developed with the Naval Academy and support for the development of the Academy’s facilities.
After giving a speech at the award ceremony, Hasegawa planted a tree in memory of the day together with Commander of the Naval Academy, Mr. Boyan Mednikarov, on the grounds of the Naval Academy. A nameplate embossed with planting date and name of Hasegawa will be beside the tree. He was interviewed by the local media before the ceremony and about 200 people, including a high official of the Bulgarian Navy, attended the ceremony.
TNKC started manning with Bulgarian ship officers in 1997 and established Stargate Maritime Ltd. as a manning company in Bulgaria in 2004. Bulgarian officers currently serve aboard about 30 TNKC ship management vessels for which about 400 Bulgarian officers are hired by TNKC group. "K" Line and TNKC have supported the development of the facilities of the Naval Academy since 2005, and a class room supported by "K" Line and TNKC is named “K-Line Class Room”. In addition, renovation work of a large lecture room supported by "K" Line and TNKC was completed in 2012.
The Naval Academy was established in 1881 and cultivates both Naval offices and merchant vessel officers. About 90% of Bulgarian officers of TNKC are graduates from the Naval Academy, and many students who experienced cadet training at TNKC continue to work for TNKC and have become Captain and/or Chief Engineer. The "K" Line Group continues to keep good continuous relationship with the Naval Academy in order to secure excellent Bulgarian offices who are recognized for their high quality ability, as we believe this greatly contributes to "K" Line’s emphasis on safe navigation.
