Meet the Finalists: Clean Maritime Operator
Over the coming days, Maritime UK will be profiling each of the finalists in this year’s Maritime UK Awards. Winners will be announced on 12 November in an event live streamed from Plymouth. Registration is open here.
The Royal Navy are proud sponsors of the first ever Clean Maritime Operator Award, part of the 2020 Maritime UK Awards.
Open to businesses, charities and organisations of any size, the Clean Maritime Operator Award will recognise a maritime organisation that has taken action to move their UK operations towards zero emission targets. The Clean Maritime Operator Award forms part of the Department for Transport’s Clean Maritime Awards recently incorporated into the Maritime UK Awards.
The Royal Navy is key to Britain’s prosperity and success as a maritime nation, helping stabilise conditions at sea and keeping trade, the lifeblood of the UK economy, flowing. Focused on the sustainable use of the sea in the future, the Royal Navy just introduced their greenest and most efficient ship, the HMS Tamar, which helps cut carbon emissions and contributes to a wider policy of countering climate change.
First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff at the Royal Navy, Admiral Tony Radakin said:
“It is a real privilege for us to be part of the Maritime UK Awards, showcasing the breadth of talent that the UK has in the maritime sector and proving why the UK is at the centre of the maritime world. Sponsoring the Clean Maritime Operator Category is important to the Royal Navy, as awareness of the environmental impact of this sector grows.”
Highly respected experts from a variety of businesses and government departments were involved in the judging panel for this year’s Maritime UK Awards, which celebrate the achievements of the UK’s maritime sector, which adds £46.1bn to the UK economy every year, and supports 1.1 million jobs.
Three strong entries have been shortlisted for the Clean Maritime Operator Award: Wightlink, Shoreham Port and the Port of Tyne.
Wightlink is a cross-Solent ferry operator normally carrying around 4.5 million people to and from the Isle of Wight every year. Wightlink’s flagship Victoria of Wight now uses 17% less low sulphur marine gas oil than the company’s next largest ship St Clare; both ferries are in the top ten of ro-pax ships with the lowest emissions in Europe according to the European Maritime Safety Agency. Wightlink has developed a Green Agenda which aims to ensure clean water in its ports with thriving marine life through daily inspections to remove rubbish and to have 50% of waste recycled and ship and vehicle emissions reduced by 5% by the end of 2020.
ShorehamPort is a port operator providing commercial, maritime and leisure services and facilities, including cargo handling, storage, warehousing and fishing. Shoreham Port are aiming to achieve net-zero air quality emissions by 2021, and net-zero carbon emissions by 2030. They have therefore introduced a large-scale solar energy production that provides sufficient electricity to power 500 homes. Other initiatives include the installation of wind turbines, an LED lighting strategy across the port, electric port vehicles and machinery powered by low emission fuels.
Port of Tyne is a deep-sea port handling cargo from across five continents. Their ambitious Tyne 2050 strategy includes a commitment to becoming nationally recognised as a test-bed for green innovation, becoming carbon neutral by 2030 and an all-electric port by 2040. The Port of Tyne launched their 2050 Maritime Innovation Hub in 2019 to foster collaborative sustainability within the maritime sector, and to stimulate green innovation, both commercially and internally at the port. As part of the Port’s commitment to becoming a low carbon hub, Port of Tyne’s new Tyne Clean Energy Park will play an important role in supporting the government’s goal to power every UK home with offshore wind electricity. Tyne Clean Energy Park will provide an infrastructure catering for all renewable energy production needs, with a total of 200 acres of land soon to become available within the park’s perimeters
Harry Theochari, Chair of Maritime UK, said:
“We’re delighted to announce the finalists for the Maritime UK Awards 2020. Across all fourteen categories we can see some genuinely world-beating products, services, and operators. I’m particularly pleased to see some fantastic projects being showcased in the new Clean Maritime categories. Given the importance the sector places on getting to net zero, it is important that we celebrate the progress made on that journey and connect people together so that they can achieve more than on their own. These awards help do just that. The quality of entries this year is testament to the strength and commitment of our maritime sector to be world-class despite the most challenging of circumstances.”
Ben Murray, Director of Maritime UK, said:
“We were determined that these awards would go ahead, and in an ideal world would have been one of the first occasions at which colleagues from across the sector could come back together following COVID-19. With that not being possible due to new restrictions, we think it’s really important to celebrate the remarkable work that has been going on – in responding to COVID-19, and in spite of it – which sends a message of resilience and ambition.”
The 2020 Maritime UK Awards are hosted by Maritime UK South West and delivered by Plymouth City Council. Diamond Sponsors are the MLA College and the University of Plymouth.
Tickets to the live-streamed event are free and open to everyone. To register visit the official website.