The following is text of a news release from the North American Marine Environment Protection Association (NAMEPA):
(NEW YORK) — Joseph Hughes, Chairman of the North American Marine Environment Protection Association, has announced that the United States Coast Guard (USCG), Euronav and the Montreal Port Authority are the recipients of NAMEPA’s 2018 Marine Environment Protection Awards for Government, Corporations, and Ports, respectively. The awards will be presented at NAMEPA’s Awards Dinner to be held on Oct. 25 aboard the Hornblower Infinity in New York City. The dinner caps the afternoon NAMEPA Annual Conference, which will focus on sustainability in shipping.
“The Coast Guard is proud to partner with NAMEPA in protecting and preserving our marine environment to ensure essential natural resources for generations to come. The Coast Guard’s selection as the 2018 Marine Environment Protection Government Award recipient is a fantastic honor and all the more significant because of the values and missions we share with NAMEPA. On behalf of our service and the dedicated professionals who comprise our ranks, we are truly thankful and proud to receive such a prestigious award. We look forward to future endeavors with NAMEPA to continue our critical work together,” stated Adm. Karl Schultz, commandant. This is the second time that the Coast Guard has been recognized for its work.
The NAMEPA Marine Environment Protection Award is given in recognition of an individual or organization’s efforts in environmental stewardship as exemplified by a commitment to a program which has specific objectives set for environmental performance and improvement, and which is innovative and goes beyond minimum environmental compliance.
Paddy Rodgers, CEO of Euronav, said, “We are very honored and pleased to receive this prestigious asward, as a recognition of the efforts we do to minimize our ecological footprint.”
Eligible candidates include members of the commercial maritime industry, government agencies, educational organizations, innovation providers, port, associations and individuals. Submissions are judged by the organization’s Board of Directors against the criteria behind the award.
“The concept of sustainable development is anchored for many years in the Port of Montreal’s DNA. These principles guide and color our thinking and actions in every area of our activities, port operations and development projects alike," said Sylvie Vachon, president and CEO of the Montreal Port Authority. “We are very proud that NAMEPA recognizes our efforts along these lines.”
Other recipients of NAMEPA’s 2018 awards include the Caribbean Maritime University, Total Marine Solution’s Ocean Guardian, Seafarers' International House, Restore America’s Estuaries, and Blank Rome’s Joan Bondareff for individual achievement.
Alexandra Anagnostis-Irons, owner of Total Marine Solutions, said, "Collaboration is the key to protecting our marine environments. We built Ocean Guardian to be a tool for collaboration and information sharing, for the benefit of everyone in the industry and our oceans. We're extremely proud to accept this award from NAMEPA, which shares our desire to bring together industry partners to help 'Save our Seas'."
The first NAMEPA Marine Environment Protection Award was presented 10 years ago posthumously to the founder of the MEPA movement, George P. Livanos, who created HELMEPA over 30 years ago due to his interest and concern for the marine environment. Since then, award recipients have included Maersk, CLIA, Teekay, BSEE, Joe Cox, the American Salvage Association, Maritime Academy of Toledo, Jack Gallagher, Massachusetts Maritime Academy, MarAd, Scorpio, Harley Marine Services, Ocean Conservancy, Clay Maitland and Fednav.
The NAMEPA Awards dinner will follow the NAMEPA annual conference featuring Rear Adm. John Nadeau of the U.S. Coast Guard, Donald Roussel of Transport Canada, Jan-Willem van den Dijssel of Cargill, Ole Chr. Schroder of Scorpio, Nancy McGaw of the Aspen Institute and more. The theme for the conference is “The New CSR: Ethical, Strategic, Sustainable.”
Tables for the NAMEPA Awards dinner, and tickets for the conference, may be obtained by going to NAMEPA Annual Conference and Awards Dinner or by calling (203) 255-4686. Admittance is by reservation only and is limited.
The North American Marine Environment Protection Association (NAMEPA) was officially launched in 2007. NAMEPA is a marine industry-led organization of environmental stewards preserving the marine environment by promoting sustainable marine industry best practices and educating seafarers, students and the public about the need and strategies for protecting global ocean, lake and river resources. For more information, go to www.namepa.net.
