Twenty shipping lines honored by Port of Long Beach for green leadership
Twenty shipping lines were honored today by the Port of Long Beach for efforts to improve air quality locally by slowing down or deploying cleaner vessels – or both – at the annual Green Flag and Green Ship awards, said in the press release.
The Port’s Green Flag Program was created in 2005 and participation today is nearly universal. In 2012, almost 96 percent of all ships calling at Long Beach slowed to 12 knots within 20 nautical miles of the Port. In 2009, the Port added the 40 nautical mile option and last year, more than 83 percent of vessels slowed from 40 nautical miles. Slower ships burn less fuel, producing less pollution. Thirteen shipping lines were found to be top performers, earning Green Flags this year.
Meanwhile, 10 shipping lines received the first Green Ship awards, a program that since July 2012 has encouraged vessel operators to assign the cleanest ships to Long Beach. Three of the companies collected both Green Flags and Green Ship awards today.
These programs offer financial incentives. Green Flag participants were awarded $2.5 million in dockage fee discounts in 2012. And since the Green Ship Program began in July 2012, the Port has awarded $135,000 in incentives.
Since the launch of the ship-slowing program in 2005, more than 200 vessel operators have been awarded Green Flags and qualified for reductions on dockage fees. The program has been instrumental in helping the Port decrease diesel pollution from all port-related operations by 75 percent since 2005. The Green Ship program, which accelerates the deployment of newer, greener ships, aims to achieve further air quality improvements.
“Congratulations to the winners of the Green Flag and Green Ship awards. These fleets are the top performers in an industry that is working to reduce its environmental impact,” said Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners President Susan E. Anderson Wise. “We thank these winners and all the shipping lines participating in these programs, as they help to improve air quality in Long Beach.”
Green Flag 20 nautical mile winners:
Matson Navigation
CMA CGM
Green Flag 40 nautical mile winners:
Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha or “K” Line
China Ocean Shipping Company or COSCO
Nippon Yusen Kaisha -- NYK Line
Alaska Tanker Co LLC
BP Shipping Ltd.
ZIM Integrated Shipping
Pacific International Lines
Mitsui OSK Lines, or MOL, Ltd.
Green Ship award winners:
Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics
Tesoro - Gold Star Maritime Co.
Wan Hai Lines (America) Ltd.
NAVIG8 Group Holdings Inc.
Oxbow Carbon and Minerals, LLC
OSG International Inc.
OSG Ship Management (GR) Ltd.
Dual winners of Green Flag and Green Ship award:
Hanjin Shipping (20 nautical mile Green Flag)
Mediterranean Shipping Co. or MSC (40 nautical mile Green Flag)
Orient Overseas Container Line or OOCL (40 nautical mile Green Flag)
