Green Marine Europe, the environmental certification program for European maritime transport, unveiled on June 27th its 2021 results and the certified ship owners during the conference dedicated to this purpose in Marseille.

This high point in the environmental commitment of European maritime transport and services is being echoed farther with the 2022 UN Ocean Conference taking place in Lisbon from June 27 to July 1, according to Green Marine Europe’s release.

The 13 certified ship owners represent a fleet of 323 vessels: Brittany Ferries, CMA CGM, Compagnie Maritime Nantaise, Compagnie Maritime Pen Ar Bed, Corsica Linea, Compagnie Polynésienne de Transport Maritime (Aranui Cruises), Ifremer/Genavir, La Méridionale, Maritima, Ponant, Socatra, Sogestran Shipping et Stena Line.

In 2020, the program had 11 certified ship owners for a fleet of 85 vessels.

Two other ship owners evaluated their performance this year based on the detailed Green Marine Europe framework. They are Orange Marine – one of the founding participants – and MSC Cruises Management, which just recently joined the program. New participants always have the option of reporting unverified results for their first year of evaluation. They are certified once the certification process – i.e., the external verification – is completed.

The certification of CMA CGM, a world leader in container transport, reinforces the diversification of business elements within Green Marine Europe – transporting passengers, delivering liquid bulk, installing underwater cables, conducting scientific research teams, etc.

The addition of Stena Line, an international company based in Sweden, reinforces the presence of ferry activity within Green Marine Europe, while augmenting the European program’s dimension.

Overseas France is also present with the Compagnie polynésienne de transport maritime (Aranui Cruises).

First to note is the progress made regarding underwater noise, especially by the Brittany Ferries and Ponant companies, with the later improving by two levels. This is a positive element as underwater noise is only an emerging issue in terms of public policy regarding marine environments, and still rarely taken into account as a type of pollution.

Progress in terms of waste management was also made with ship owners such as Corsica Linea and Penn Ar Bed.

Notable efforts in other areas include SOCATRA, for example, improving its management of aquatic invasive species, as well as NOx emissions, and its approach to ship recycling.

Green Marine Europe is already focused on the 2022 and 2023 programs. This includes advancing the criteria for oily discharge, aquatic invasive species, underwater noise, SOx/particulate matter, along with creating a working group for shipyard owners/managers to develop program criteria for this segment of the maritime industry, as well as other key reflections. In the Green Marine North America program, the landside operations of ports, terminals, and shipyards each already have specific criteria.