ClassNK is pursuing aggressive expansion with the opening of new offices in Charleston, US, and Novorossiysk, Russia, in a single day.

The classification society anticipates growth at the Port of Charleston following dredging, due for completion in 2019, to a depth of 52 ft, making it the deepest harbour on the east coast. ClassNK called Charleston “one of the fastest growing ports in the US”.

The Charleston office joins an expanding network of ClassNK survey offices along the coast including in New York, Norfolk and Miami.

Meanwhile, the group’s survey office in the Black Sea port city of Novorossiysk joins an existing survey offices throughout the region including in Constanta, Romania and Istanbul, Turkey.

“The strategic positioning of the Novorossiysk office will allow ClassNK to swiftly respond to the recent increase in clients’ needs across the Black Sea and dispatch surveyors without delay,” said the group in a statement. “It is the country’s main port on the Black Sea and a leading Russian port for trade with Asia, the Middle East, the Mediterranean region, Africa and South America.”