April 21, 2022
Seaspan has been an active participant in the Green Marine program for over a decade – and was the first West Coast ship owner and shipyard to join in 2011. Green Marine is a voluntary environmental certification program for the North American marine industry and is key to Seaspan’s journey in meeting our organization’s environmental goals.
Green Marine’s rigorous and transparent certification process ranks participating shipyards, ship owners, terminals and port authorities on applicable performance indicators regarding air, land and water pollution. Seaspan’s most recent results were impressive: Seaspan Marine Transportation achieved the highest possible rating in two of six performance indicators, ranking second out of 39 ship owners, while Seaspan Shipyards placed first in its category when measured against five performance indicators.
“Our participation in the Green Marine program over the past decade has resulted in Green Marine principles and guidance becoming part of Seaspan’s culture,” said Daryl Lawes, Seaspan’s Environmental Manager. “We’re committed to sustainable operations and adopting best practices to continually improve our environmental performance.”
Seaspan Shipyards achieved these metrics, in part, through year over year reduction of wastes going to landfills, and by implementing numerous pollution prevention measures such as indoor abrasive blasting and painting, frequent yard cleaning, secondary containment usage, and stormwater treatment systems. A key initiative undertaken by Seaspan Marine Transportation has been to continually reduce fleet emissions through increased efficiencies and the adoption of lower carbon technologies such as batteries, LNG/RNG, and biofuels.
Seaspan Shipyards’ key targets for the near term include reducing waste, minimizing carbon emissions, and continuing work on large-scale environmental projects such as the creation of a new habitat area in the Burrard Inlet. Priorities for Seaspan Marine Transportation continue to be reducing fleet greenhouse gas emissions, and vessel-generated underwater noise, which can impact whales and other marine life throughout coastal British Columbia.
Learn more about Seaspan’s commitment to social responsibility and the environment here.