The maritime industry is paying more attention to the environment, and more and more ship owners are applying for the Green Award. But why? What is the added value for you as a ship owner? And does the development of electric ships affect the Green Award certificate? Keep reading to find out more!
Ad Schroot - Contributor to the creation of the Green Award: "If you have a Green Award, ports like welcoming your ship. The ship is cleaner, so the costs for the port are lower."
The Green Award is a certification programme for ships that are more environmental friendly and sustainable. Vessels that can be considered for this certificate are oil tankers, chemical tankers and dry bulk carriers, LNG, LPG and container carriers, and inland navigation vessels. Ships that obtain a Green Award certificate don’t only contribute to a cleaner environment, but they can also receive a discount on port dues in the countries that are a Green Award member.
To be considered for the Green Award certificate, you need to comply with a programme of requirements depending on the ship type. These obligations include topics such as main engines, auxiliary engines, waste and maintenance, fuel-saving attributes, and safety. For every element you are awarded points and depending on the number of points you have collected, you will be granted a bronze, silver or gold certificate.
In December 2017 the Green Award introduced a platinum certificate for vessels that operate without emissions. This label is for inland vessels that sail a few hours a day without the emission of carbon dioxide (CO2), sulphur oxide (SOx), nitrogen oxide (NOx) or particulate matter (PM). The emission is avoided by electric ships that operate on batteries or hydrogen. The use of zero emission ships causes a major decrease of air pollution and CO2 emissions. The first all-electric inland vessel is also being built by the Dutch company Port-Liner and it will start operating in August 2018.
Zero emission inland vessels receive a discount on the inland port charges in the harbours at Amsterdam and Zaandam. This agreement started on 1 January 2018 and an inland vessel can claim this discount if it has the platinum certificate of the Green Award. This makes the ports at Amsterdam and Zaandam the first Dutch ports that deploy the new label of the Green Award programme.
As stated before, the Green Award makes a distinction between seagoing and inland vessels. Lagersmit offers several ‘green’ stern tube seals that guarantee zero emissions of oil and get you one step closer to a Green Award certificate.
An example is our Supreme Ventus® air-type seal, which is applicable to all draughts. This makes the seal suitable for both seagoing and inland vessels. Are you sailing with a limited draught? Then our Supreme Athmos® air-type seal is the solution for you.
Green Award: “The Supreme Ventus and Supreme Athmos add 25 points to seagoing vessels and 15 points to inland vessels in relation to the Green Award. A ship owner needs to achieve at least 163 points to be considered for one of the Green Award certificates.”
Are you also sailing in US waters? Both sealing solutions are in compliance with EPA's VGP requirements.