NAMEPA 2017 Marine Environment Protection Awards Announced

Joseph Hughes, Chairman of the North American Marine Environment Protection Association (NAMEPA), announced that Scorpio Group, Cargill, and the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority are among the recipients of NAMEPA’s 2017 Marine Environment Protection Award for maritime shipping industry, maritime charterer, and ports, respectively.  The awards will be presented at NAMEPA’s 10^th Anniversary Awards Dinner to be held on October 26^th aboard the Hornblower Infinity in New York City.  The dinner caps the all-day NAMEPA 10^th Anniversary Conference and Annual General Meeting.

“We are very honored to receive NAMEPA’S  2017 Marine Environment Protection Award.  On behalf of the President Robert Bugbee, our Chairman Emanuele Lauro, and all the employees of the Scorpio Group, we are honored and humbled to receive this award as a recognition of the tremendous work we have accomplished, in order to achieve a higher standard of Environmental Compliance through design, training and auditing program during our expanded growth during the past four years,” said Cameron Mackey, Chief Operating Officer of Scorpio Group.  “We take great pride in the work we have done to cultivate the best environmental stewardship possible.  Our original vision and commitment for environmental stewardship has been clear from the inception of the company.  Company policies to take care of all our seafarers through our Crewsure insurance program shows that we are committed to the wellbeing of our seafarers as they work hard to protect our environment.  Every individual in Scorpio has an opportunity to truly make a difference and take pride in the results.” 

“We are delighted to be recognized by the North American Marine Environment Protection Association for our efforts to ensure that safe, sustainable ocean transportation is a critical part of Cargill’s supply chains,” stated David Dines, President of Cargill Metals & Shipping.  “Our company is committed to nourishing the world in a safe, responsible and sustainable way.”

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.  Eligible candidates include members of the commercial maritime industry, government agencies, educational organizations, associations and individuals.  Submissions are judged by NAMEPA’s Board of Directors against the criteria behind the award.

“We are very honored to receive NAMEPA’s 2017 Marine Environment Protection Award for ports,” said Robin Silvester, President and CEO of the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority.  “We have set ourselves a vision to be the world’s most sustainable port, so this award is a very encouraging endorsement of our progress towards that goal.  It is a great reinforcement for all our staff as we strive to make our vision a reality and in particular for our teams that work so hard to deliver world-leading environmental programs, such as the ECHO program to understand and mitigate the impacts of marine activities on whales.”

Other recipients of NAMEPA’s 2017 Awards include T&T Salvage for maritime response & salvage industry; CIP/OAS for government agencies; Delphinus “Festival of the Seas- Mexican Caribbean” for non-profits (co-recipient), RAC/REMPEITC-Caribe for non-profits (co-recipient), Cal Maritime for maritime education, the team of LISCR and Prevention at Sea’s Electronic-Oil Record Book (E-ORB) for innovations, MARPOL Training Institute for environmental products, marine ecologist Dr. Alan Mearns of NOAA’s Hazardous Materials Response Division for individuals, and Clay Maitland for lifetime achievement. 

The first NAMEPA Marine Environment Protection Award was presented nine years ago posthumously to the founder of the MEPA movement, George P. Livanos who created HELMEPA 35 years ago due to his interest and concern for the marine environment.  Since then, award recipients have included Maersk, CLIA, United States Coast Guard, Teekay, BSEE, Joe Cox, the American Salvage Association, Maritime Academy of Toledo, Jack Gallagher, Massachusetts Maritime Academy, MARAD, Fednav, Harley Marine Services, the Port of Quebec, and Jack Buono.

The NAMEPA Awards Dinner will follow NAMEPA’s 10^th Anniversary Conference and Annual General Meeting, featuring Rear Admiral John Nadeau of the U. S. Coast Guard.  Other invited speakers include Michael Webber of Wells Fargo, NAMEPA’s Chairman Emeritus Clay Maitland, RightShip’s Captain Anuj Chopra, Alexandra Anagnostis of Total Marine Solutions, LISCR’s  Christian Mollitor and more.

Tables for the NAMEPA 10^th Anniversary Awards dinner, and tickets for the conference, may be obtained by going to www.namepa.net/annualconferenceandawardsdinner/ 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.