Follow Us! Like Our Page!

Thirty recipients recognized with Blue Circle Awards for voluntary efforts to conserve energy and reduce emissions

Press Release

June 11, 2020

This week, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority recognized 28 marine carriers and two terminal operators for a combined total of 30 Blue Circle Awards for their voluntary efforts to conserve energy and reduce emissions in the Port of Vancouver.

Eighteen shipping lines, six cruise lines, four coastal marine operators and two terminal operators were the recipients of the 11th annual Blue Circle Awards. The awards recognize industry partners that excel in environmental stewardship and attain the highest level of participation in the port authority’s EcoAction Program and Energy Action Initiative.

“We are proud of the environmental leadership demonstrated by our terminal, shipping, and industry partners,” said Robin Silvester, president and chief executive officer at the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority. “We are delighted to recognize 30 recipients with a Blue Circle Award this year for their efforts above and beyond regulatory requirements to conserve energy and reduce air emissions. Congratulations to the 2019 award recipients.”

Since 2007, the port authority’s EcoAction Program has recognized a variety of fuel, technology and environmental management options that make ship operators eligible to receive discounted harbour dues rates. In 2018, the port authority expanded its industry-leading EcoAction Program to increase the number of underwater noise-reducing options and updated the air emissions reduction options eligible for discounted harbour dues.

The Energy Action Initiative is a joint program with BC Hydro that helps terminal operators and other port tenants enhance their energy-conservation practices and save costs. The goal of this program is to protect the energy security of our growing port by reducing energy waste.

2019 Blue Circle Award recipients in EcoAction Program category:

Shipping Lines

  • Alliance Maritime & Norbulk Shipping
  • CMA CGM
  • COSCO SHIPPING
  • EUKOR Car Carriers
  • Evergreen Line
  • Fednav Ltd.
  • G2 Ocean
  • Hapag-Lloyd
  • HMM
  • “K” Line
  • MAERSK
  • MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company (Canada) Inc.
  • ONE – Ocean Network Express
  • Pacific Basin Shipping (Canada) Ltd.
  • SM LINE
  • TORM
  • Westwood Shipping Lines
  • Yang Ming

Cruise Lines

  • Crystal Cruises
  • Disney Cruise Line
  • Holland America Line
  • Norwegian Cruise Line
  • Princess Cruises
  • Viking

Coastal Marine Operators

  • BC Ferries
  • North Arm Transportation
  • SAAM Towage Canada
  • Seaspan ULC

2019 Blue Circle Award recipients in Energy Action Initiative category

  • Cascadia Port Management Corporation
  • Viterra Pacific Elevators

2019 award highlights:

  • “K” Line, Princess Cruises and Westwood Shipping Lines have been awarded every year since the inaugural awards in 2009.
  • Hapag-Lloyd has been recognized ten times.
  • Disney Cruise Line has received an award for every year it has homeported in Vancouver.
  • CMA CGM, HMM, and Mediterranean Shipping Company have won this award for seven consecutive years since 2013.
  • Evergreen Line has won this award for five consecutive years since 2016.

Vancouver Fraser Port Authority initiatives focused on building and maintaining a sustainable gateway have been widely celebrated. We have been recognized for sustainability performance by Corporate Knights, MarCom and Clean Tech50.

About Vancouver Fraser Port Authority

The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority is the federal agency responsible for the stewardship of the Port of Vancouver. Like all Canada Port Authorities, we are accountable to the federal minister of transport, and operate pursuant to the Canada Marine Act with a mandate to enable Canada’s trade through the Port of Vancouver, while protecting the environment and considering local communities. The port authority is structured as a non-share corporation, is financially self-sufficient and does not rely on tax dollars for operations. Our revenues come from port terminals and tenants who lease port lands, and from port users who pay various fees such as harbour dues. Profits are reinvested in port infrastructure. The port authority has control over the use of port land and water, which includes more than 16,000 hectares of water, over 1,500 hectares of land, and approximately 350 kilometres of shoreline. Located on the southwest coast of British Columbia in Canada, the Port of Vancouver extends from Roberts Bank and the Fraser River up to and including Burrard Inlet, bordering 16 municipalities and intersecting the traditional territories and treaty lands of several Coast Salish First Nations. The Port of Vancouver is Canada’s largest port, and the third largest in North America by tonnes of cargo. Enabling the trade of approximately $240 billion in goods with more than 170 world economies, port activities sustain 115,300 jobs, $7 billion in wages, and $11.9 billion in GDP across Canada.

About the Blue Circle Awards:

The Blue Circle Awards recognize marine carriers and terminal operators that excel in environmental stewardship and attain the highest participation rates in the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority’s EcoAction Program and Energy Action Initiative. The EcoAction Program recognizes a variety of fuel, technology and environmental management options that are eligible to receive discounted harbour due rates. Ships may qualify for one of three levels in the EcoAction Program: Gold, Silver or Bronze. Marine carriers and operators can apply for the program at each call or provide an annual declaration for their vessels. Energy Action Initiative is a joint program with BC Hydro that helps terminal operators and other port tenants enhance their energy-conservation practices and save costs. Offering user-friendly financial incentives to improve environmental performance and energy management is one way the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority works together with customers and industry stakeholders to promote economic prosperity through trade while protecting the environment.

Media contact:
Danielle Jang
Manager, Strategic Communications
604.340.8617
Danielle.Jang@portvancouver.com

IBF4

Loading

NationTalk Partners & Sponsors Learn More