The following is the text of a press release issued by the North American Marine Environmental Protection Association:
(SOUTHPORT, Conn.) — Clay Maitland, Founding Chairman of the North American Marine Environment Protection Association (NAMEPA), announced that the liner company APL is the recipient of NAMEPA’s 2010 Marine Environment Protection Award. The award will be presented at NAMEPA’s Awards Dinner to be held at the Harvard Club in New York following NAMEPA’s seminar on Corporate Risk Management, which will focus on the need of the maritime industry to evaluate measures required to retain corporate value in a challenging operating environment.
“We are honored to be the recipients of this year’s NAMEPA Marine Environment Protection Award”, stated Gene Seroka, President APL Americas. “APL works diligently to deploy best practices in our environmental efforts as part of our continuing commitment to operate ships that are environmentally efficient, safe, and dependable. We serve our customers, our industry and the planet.”
The NAMEPA Marine Environment Protection Award is given in recognition of an individual or organization’s efforts on behalf of preserving the marine environment 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. Eligible candidates include members of the commercial maritime industry, government agencies, and individuals.
“APL has demonstrated a strong commitment on behalf of the marine environment, and has been proactive in protecting the health of our seas” stated Mr. Maitland. “We are pleased to recognize such an able, and distinguished, partner in working to ‘Save our Seas’ “.
The first NAMEPA Marine Environment Protection Award was presented two years ago posthumously to the founder of the MEPA movement, George P. Livanos who created HELMEPA 28 years ago due to his interest and concern for the marine environment. Last year the NAMEPA Award was presented to the United States Coast Guard.
In addition to its environmental policies and investment in technologies and practices to reduce its environmental footprint, such as variable combustion systems and the introduction of 53’ containers, APL was noted for its educational programs, working with groups around the globe to better understand the need for good stewardship of the environment. Their programs help raise the awareness of environmental protection.
The NAMEPA Award Dinner will follow a half day seminar “Environmental Intelligence in Shipping: Corporate Risk Management”, featuring RADM Brian Salerno, Deputy Commandant of Operations for the United States Coast Guard, Rob Lorigan and Morten Arntzen of Overseas Shipholding Group, and Gene Seroka of APL amongst others.
Tables for the NAMEPA Awards dinner, and tickets for the afternoon seminar, may be obtained by contacting Carleen Lyden-Kluss at executivedirector@namepa.net or by calling +203 255 4686. Admittance is by reservation only and is limited.
The North American Marine Environment Protection Association was officially launched in 2007. In keeping with the mission of MEPAs worldwide, its aim is to increase environmental awareness and motivation of the human element within shipping and land-based industries that have a vested interest in preservation of the marine environment. Specifically, NAMEPA has the goal of educating the seafarers, port communities, and the wider public and school communities about the critical importance of the world’s oceans to mankind and the maritime industry’s role and actions to preserve it. NAMEPA is a maritime industry led initiative to “Save the Seas”, and welcomes members who share this mission. For more information, go to www.namepa.net .
