The Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (Nippon Yusen Kaisha or NYK Line) shipping company was founded in 1885 after the merger of the shipping assets of the Mitsubishi Mail Steamship Company and Kyodo Unyu Kaisha. The company began with a fleet of 58 ships with transportation and passenger liner services between Nagasaki and Tianjin, China. The first liner service to the United States was established in 1896. The route was limited to the West Coast cities of Seattle and San Francisco until the completion of the Panama Canal in 1914, after which NYK expanded its liner service to New York in 1916.

Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (Nippon Yusen Kaisha or NYK Line) opened its New York branch in 1920. Pictured are some of the company’s vessels in New York Harbor in the 1950s and 1960s. ● Akagi Maru II. Named with the letter A, it was the first of the “A-Class” cargo ships operating in the postwar era. It was the first to make port in New York after the war under the Japanese flag. The ship was completed in October 1951 in East Japan Heavy Industries’ Yokohama Shipyard (present day Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ Manufacturing Plant). With a total length of 150.50 meters (493.77 feet), it weighed 7,592.87 tons in total. The first three photographs are from 1951 when it called in at New York Harbor. ● Sagami Maru IV. Named with the letter S, it was the first of the “S-Class” postwar high-speed cargo ships. Fifteen S-Class ships were built over a period of six years, each serving a dedicated shipping line. It was completed in Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ Yokohama Shipyard in April 1955 (present-day Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ Manufacturing Plant). With a total length of 155.27 meters (509.41 feet), it weighed 9,203.34 tons in total. The fourth photograph is from 1960 when it entered New York Harbor. ● Sanukimaru III. One of the postwar high-speed S-Class cargo ships. It was completed in Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ Yokohama Shipyard in May 1955 (present-day Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ Manufacturing Plant). With a total length of 156.70 meters (514.11 feet), it weighed 9,096.62 tons in total. The fifth photograph is from 1960 when arrived at New York Harbor. ● Sapporo Maru I. The last of the postwar high-speed S-Class cargo ships. Upon completion it served on European routes, and thereafter it operated services to New York. It was completed in Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ Yokohama Shipyard in October 1961 (present-day Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ Manufacturing Plant). With a total length of 155.49 meters (510.14 feet), it weighed 9,328.99 tons in total. The last photograph is from 1960 when it called in at New York Harbor.