C-Suite Interview: Hayato Suga, President & CEO, ClassNK Maritime Activity Reports, Inc. Greg Trauthwein , Editor Gregory R. Trauthwein has covered the global maritime market for more than 25... June 2, 2026 Hayato Suga President and CEO ClassNK. Image courtesy ClassNK Classification societies have always occupied a unique position in maritime: technical arbiters, rule makers, certifiers, and, increasingly, strategic advisors helping shipowners navigate some of the most consequential decisions in shipping’s and shipbuilding’s history. As maritime grapples with decarbonization mandates, digital transformation, automation, and the growing influence of artificial intelligence, that role is becoming both broader and more complex. For ClassNK, one of the world’s largest and leading classification societies, the challenge is not simply keeping pace with industry change, but helping define how that change unfolds. For President and CEO Hayato Suga , who took the helm just over a year ago after nearly four decades with the organization, the industry’s current moment is unlike anything he has seen in his career. Suga hails from Hiroshima and graduated Hiroshima University , joining ClassNK in 1986. “This was a time when the maritime industry was facing a significant downturn,” said Suga. “While many of my classmates chose to pursue careers in other industries, such as the automotive sector, I deliberately chose this field. Rather than focusing on a narrow area of specialization, I was motivated by a desire to contribute to the maritime industry as a more comprehensive field. For that reason, I aspired to build a career in classification, where I believed I could gain broad experience and make meaningful contributions to society.” That thinking naturally led him to classification. “I wanted a more comprehensive role,” Suga said, explaining that classification offered exposure not only to ship design and survey work, but also regulation, certification, development and broa