Shell LNG Fleet Earns 'Green Passport'

Shell International Trading and Shipping Company (Shell) has obtained Green Passports for all 25 of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers in its managed fleet. The Green Passports were awarded by Lloyd’s Register, following the necessary surveys and audits and a review of the relevant documentation. Shell and Lloyd’s Register have led the way in the application and adoption of the Green Passport – Shell’s LNG carrier Granatina was the world’s first vessel to be awarded this recognition. The Green Passport is a document that contains an inventory of all the materials onboard a ship that require careful handling or special awareness. The record accompanies the ship throughout its operational life and is updated as necessary. At the end of the ship’s life, it helps the ship recycling yard to formulate a safe and environmentally friendly way of decommissioning the ship. “As well as being an invaluable tool for the ship recycling yards, the Green Passport also helps to raise staff awareness of the materials onboard that require special handling,” says Mats Gjers, General Manager of Ship Management at Shell. “Since Granatina was awarded the world’s first Green Passport in November 2004, we have been working to implement the programme across the entire fleet of LNG carriers. The achievement of this goal is a credit to our staff and to Lloyd’s Register, who have been working together closely to document and verify the information required for certification.” The Green Passport has also proven invaluable in the recent achievement of ISO14001 accreditation by Shell’s ship management division, as it is a means of demonstrating a ‘measurable and achievable’ enhancement of the company’s environmental standards. This helps satisfy the requirement for continuous improvement built into internationally recognised environmental management systems. “We commend Shell on its forward-thinking attitude towards environmental protection and its early and extensive adoption of the Green Passport,” says Alan Gavin, Marine Director, Lloyd’s Register. “The shipping industry now works in a zero-tolerance society which expects all stakeholders to operate in a safe and efficient manner while minimising the risks to the environment. We believe that working with industry leaders on the implementation of initiatives such as the Green Passport represents a step forward for shipping as a whole.”