A number of Seafarers-contracted companies earned accolades at a recent Chamber of Shipping of America (CSA) event.
The CSA on Nov. 7 hosted its annual environmental achievement awards dinner in Washington, D.C. Among the vessel and tug operators recognized were SIU-contracted Alaska Tanker Company, Crescent Towing, Crowley Maritime and several of its subsidiaries, E.N. Bisso & Son, Keystone Shipping, Matson Navigation, OSG Ship Management, Patriot Contract Services, American Ship Management, Seabulk Tankers, Seabulk Towing, TOTE, and USS Vessel Management.
U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. John Nadeau, assistant commandant for prevention policy, participated in the ceremony and congratulated the award recipients and the industry as a whole for their extraordinary performance. D. Lee Forsgren, deputy assistant administrator, Office of Water, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, also addressed the attendees and expressed his congratulations to the participants on their exceptional environmental efforts.
Kathy J. Metcalf, president of CSA said, “These awards celebrate the dedication to environmental excellence of our seafarers and the company personnel shore-side who operate our vessels to the highest standards. In today’s world, it seems our industry only gets front-page news when spills or other environmental problems occur. It is encouraging to see how many vessels go for years achieving environmental excellence. It should be clear to the American public that we in the maritime industry take our stewardship of the marine environment very seriously. Safe and environmentally responsible operations is a culture fully embraced by the maritime industry as a whole and as evidenced by the performances of the award recipients recognized tonight.”
According to the host organization, 1,730 ships and boats owned by 109 companies with a total of 15,205 years of environmental excellence were recognized. The average number of years operating without incident for ships and vessels that received awards is 8.1 years. Some 267 of the vessels have logged 16 or more years of environmental excellence.
The awards are open to all owners and operators of vessels that operate on oceans or inland waterways.
“The CSA Board encourages all operators and owners to take advantage of this opportunity to recognize their crew and shoreside operating personnel and encourages all operators and owners to consider participating in next year’s program,” the organization noted. “Participation guidance is found on CSA’s website www.knowships.org.”
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