(OSHAWA, Ontario) — The Oshawa Port Authority, one of Green Marine’s founding members as the former Oshawa Harbor Commission, is again a Green Marine participant.
In 2012 the port temporarily suspended its participation in the Green Marine environmental program while it transitioned to become one of 18 Canadian Port Authorities (CPAs).
“Becoming a CPA was a very demanding goal for our small port, and we did not simultaneously have the resources to comply with all of the requirements within the Green Marine certification process,” said Donna Taylor, the Oshawa Port Authority’s CEO. “We are delighted to return to the Green Marine program and once again contribute to the organization that we initially helped to put in place in 2007 as one of the original port members from the Great Lakes region.”
The Port of Oshawa is an Ontario gateway to world markets through the St. Lawrence Seaway. This national deep-sea port has welcomed more than 500 vessels and shipped upwards of 3 million tonnes of cargo over the past decade. The port annually handles $23 million worth of cargo on average — everything from asphalt and grain to salt and steel products.
“We are delighted to welcome this founding member back into the fold with the port’s recently acquired resources as a new letters-patented port authority to implement the environmental program,” said David Bolduc, Green Marine’s executive director.
Green Marine is a voluntary marine industry initiative with the goal of achieving levels of environmental performance that exceed regulatory requirements in areas such as air/land/water emissions. There are currently more than 90 shipowners, port authorities, terminals and shipyards from coast to coast, in Canada and the United States, participating in the program, as well as international shipowners in Europe and Australia. The Green Marine certification process is rigorous and transparent; results are independently verified every two years and each company’s individual results are published.