New Members, New Achievements at Green Marine

Green Marine, a joint Canada-U.S. initiative aimed at implementing a marine industry environmental program throughout North America, welcomes three new members: 

1. American Chemical Technologies is committed to providing high-performance lubricants for the marine industry. Its fully synthetic hydraulic and gear fluids meet all the new requirements for the Vessel General Permit (VGP), have been approved for use by Transport Canada, and are superior lubricants for equipment longevity.

2. Environmental Analytical Systems is an environmental instrumentation supplier and systems integrator offering a wide range of systems for monitoring dust, noise and gaseous pollutants. Enviro-Analytical installs, services and offers alarm monitoring and data collection services. The company has been working closely with property owners, consultants and government agencies since 2000 to help monitor environmental hazards.

3. The Atlantic Pilotage Authority is a Crown corporation responsible for providing marine pilotage service to Atlantic Canada. Established in 1972 by the Pilotage Act, the APA continues to work with ports, the shipping industry and other stakeholders to provide the safest and most efficient marine pilotage service possible to Atlantic Canada. With their experience and training, the pilots ensure the risks of marine incidents and related pollution are minimized. The pilots regard themselves as stewards of the environment and take great pride in preventing marine incidents. The current success ratio on the East Coast of Canada is 99.95 percent (2013).

4. The Canadian Marine Pilots’ Association was founded in 1966 to foster public awareness of the role of marine pilots in protecting public safety and the environment, and to work with other marine stakeholders to ensure a vibrant and healthy marine sector. The CMPA represents virtually all of Canada’s 400 pilots. As a national body, the CMPA is concerned with all marine issues as they affect pilots – whether expressed through legislation, regulation, policy reviews or industry consultations. Green Marine currently has 16 association members that support the environmental program and promote its value to their respective members.

In other member news, Green Marine member Transport Desgagnés is the winner of the inaugural Maritime Award of the Americas in the category Environmental Waste Management in Commercial Shipping. The award recognizes successful practices demonstrating excellence, innovation and sustainability in the maritime and port sector.

SMIT Marine Canada chose Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance, a leading international certification body, to carry out an assessment of the company’s Integrated Management System (IMS) against the four internationally recognized benchmarks for safety, quality and environmental protection, namely: ISO 9001:2008, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001 and the ISM Code. After extensive preparation that included various education and training sessions, meetings, internal audits, and the creation and implementation of a quality documentation system, SMIT underwent the external assessment by LRQA in February and received all four certifications simultaneously in May.

Green Marine is promoting the book: A mariner’s guide to whales in the Northwest Atlantic.
Commercial shipping plays a crucial role in the economy of the Northwest Atlantic region by carrying raw materials and manufactured goods on both an import and export basis. However, the Northwest Atlantic is also home to many species of marine mammals that can negatively be affected by the repeated passage of commercial ships. Unlike many areas in the world, there was no comprehensive data set that included information about both vessel transits and whale sightings.

The Shipping Federation of Canada, Dalhousie University and the Marine Mammal Observation Network therefore joined forces to create a comprehensive map of the Atlantic Northwest incorporating as much whale and vessel data as possible. The project’s objectives were to identify the species of whales most affected by vessel activity, pinpoint where the highest densities of whales occur, as well as to clearly relate what mariners should know about whales and their behavior and whom to contact in the event of a ship strike.

The guide is available for download here.