Nor-Shipping Clean Shipping Awards

Nor-Shipping organizers, in cooperation with Den Norske Veritas (DNV), announced the nominees for the first Clean Shipping Awards. Winners will be announced at Nor-Shipping 2009’s Opening Conference, scheduled for June 9.

Working in cooperation with DNV, Nor-Shipping has established the Clean Shipping Awards, scheduled to be introduced at Nor-Shipping 2009’s Opening Conference. Selected by an independent jury, the Clean Shipping Awards cover three categories: Clean Sea, Clean Air, and Clean Innovation. In total, 60 companies were considered for the awards.

The Clean Sea Award will be awarded to one company in recognition of superior efforts to limit discharges from ship to sea.  The nominees are: Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. for the Oasis of the Seas, Farstad Shipping ASA for the Far Serenade, Viking Line for the Viking XPRS, and Wilhelmsen Lines Shipowning, Malta for Mitsubishi hull number 2262.

The Clean Air Award will be given to one company in recognition of outstanding efforts to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. The Nominees are: Clean Marine AS, a joint venture between Klaveness Invest AS and Clue AS for the Baru Majuro, Teekay Corporation for the Amundsen Spirit, Tide Sjø AS for the Tiderose and Sky Sails GMBH for the Beluga Skysails.

The Clean Innovation Award will be awarded to one company in recognition of exceptional efforts to develop new products and services that contribute to the environmental performance of the world’s merchant fleet. The nominees are: NYK for a new concept ship with sails, CTO SA, Poland for the new E-LNG, Stena Bulk for the Stena E-Max and STX Europe for the LNG Hybrid Standby Vessel.

According to Tollef Schiander, Director of Nor-Shipping, The Clean Shipping Awards have been developed in support of the Heyerdahl Award, which has been presented at Nor-Shipping since 1999 to the shipping company which contributes most to an improvement of the global environment. “The Norwegian shipping industry is internationally recognized for being a pioneer in the development of solutions and technologies to manage a broad range of environmental issues,” he said. “The Clean Shipping Awards will serve to support these efforts and reward any company with the vision and expertise to develop good environmental solutions.”

The launch of the Clean Shipping Awards corresponds with this years’ Opening Conference, titled “From Crisis to Opportunity: Shipping’s Role in the Fight against Climate Change.” The conference brings together leading industry voices representing shipowners, cargo owners and regulators to discuss climate change. The event, moderated by CNN’s former Financial Editor, Todd Benjamin, includes both presentations and roundtable discussions, allowing different parties to discuss and debate proposed legislation being considered for the historic Copenhagen Convention on Climate Change, scheduled for December 2009.

(www.nor-shipping.com)