The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. has announced that it has obtained the “Certificate of Rubber Fender Test Environment” on January 23, 2026, following a successful evaluation under the Rubber Fender Testing Environment Certification Program conducted by Japan’s Specialists Center of Port and Airport Engineering (SCOPE).
The certification confirms that Yokohama Rubber carries out testing of its marine rubber fenders in a highly reliable environment, supported by systems designed to prevent data manipulation or fraud. It applies to the company’s solid-type marine rubber fenders, as the SCOPE program currently evaluates testing facilities for solid fenders only and does not cover pneumatic fender testing.
Marine fenders play a critical role in protecting a vessel’s hull from impact during harbour berthing operations and ship-to-ship transfers at sea, making them an essential safety component for both ships and port infrastructure.
Launched on April 1, 2023, SCOPE’s certification program aims to ensure the accuracy, transparency, and reliability of rubber fender testing, enabling safe and secure use of these systems in maritime operations. The certification framework is based on the PIANC Guidelines for the Design of Fender Systems (2002) issued by the World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure (PIANC).
As part of the assessment, SCOPE evaluates compliance with a range of stringent requirements, including testing procedures, facility standards, and safeguards against data fraud—reinforcing trust in the performance and safety of certified marine fender products.
Items examined by SCOPE’s “Rubber Fender Testing Environment Certification Program”:
1. Compliance with requirements for static compression testing of rubber fenders
2. Elimination of opportunities for data falsification
3. Integrity of statistical values in fender test data
4. Establishment of corporate systems to prevent data falsification
In 1958, Yokohama Rubber developed the world’s first pneumatic fenders for use in the offshore berthing of two vessels. Since 2023, the Company has expanded its fender portfolio from high-performance pneumatic types by introducing new solid fenders, the main fender market. This strategic portfolio expansion has made Yokohama Rubber a comprehensive maker of fenders and strengthened its revenue base.
Yokohama Rubber is currently implementing its Yokohama Transformation 2026 (YX2026), the medium-term management plan for fiscal years 2024–2026. The plan includes a strategy for MB Segment growth driven by concentrating the segment’s resources in its two strongest business domains—hose & couplings and industrial products. As part of this plan, Yokohama Rubber aims to achieve steady growth in profits from industrial products by further strengthening the product lineup and maintaining high market shares for fenders and other marine products.
