NYK Ports has acquired a 20 per cent stake in Maher Terminals, which operates a terminal in the US port of New York and New Jersey. The NYK subsidiary said it made the decision to invest together with Macquarie Infrastructure Partners III.

The port of New York and New Jersey handles more containers than any other port on the east coast. Maher is the largest terminal in the port with an annual handling capacity of three million TEU. After construction to raise the Bayonne Bridge's clearance is completed in late 2017, the terminal will be able to accommodate 14,000 TEU containerships.

Growth in demand is anticipated as traffic bound for the east coast via the Suez Canal is rising as manufacturing shifts from China to Southeast Asia. In addition, the expanded Panama Canal is drawing ships to the east coast.

The Japanese shipping group said in a statement that it will "continue its efforts to strengthen its global network and improve synergy between terminals and containerships" in accordance with its medium-term management plan, "More Than Shipping 2018."