Three companies are being honored for their exceptional participation in the Prince Rupert Port Authority’s (PRPA) Green Wave program.

The recipients of the 2023 Green Wave Award are container shipping line COSCO, liquefied gas shipping line Navigator Gas LLC, and coastal passenger and vehicle transportation service BC Ferries.

PRPA also recognizes the owners of bulk carrier KEY GUARDIAN and cruise vessel ROALD AMUNDSEN for using underwater noise mitigation technology to reduce the impacts of vessel noise on marine mammals’ communication along Canada’s west coast. The ROALD AMUNDSEN is the world’s first hybrid electric expedition cruise ship and the first vessel with an underwater noise notation from globally recognized ship classification society DNV to call on Prince Rupert.

Introduced in 2013, the Green Wave program provides financial incentives to commercial vessel owners who voluntarily invest in environmentally sustainable measures. Using standards recognized throughout the global maritime industry, PRPA offers reduced harbour fees based on a vessel’s emissions and underwater noise performance. The Green Wave program requirements are regularly updated to incorporate evolving environmental best practices.

“The Prince Rupert Port Authority applauds the 2023 Green Award recipients - each of whom are repeat winners of this accolade - for their continued investment in sustainable transportation and proactively reducing their environmental footprint,” said Shaun Stevenson, President and CEO, Prince Rupert Port Authority. “Our organization takes pride in the level of participation in the Green Wave program and how it represents our collective efforts within the global shipping industry to enable the adoption and acceleration of sustainable practices.”

The Green Wave program is an important component of PRPA’s commitment to environmental stewardship and supports the organization’s ongoing actions to reduce carbon dioxide, airborne particulates, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide in the airshed surrounding the Port of Prince Rupert. Since 2014, there have been a total of ~540 calls that met the standards for Green Wave under the RightShip Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG) Rating. The method, developed by the world’s leader in maritime environmental assessment, rates vessels on their relative efficiency. As a result, approximately 615,200 tonnes of GHG emissions were avoided in the local airshed over the past decade, which is equivalent to removing 12,960 passenger vehicles from the road for a year. These savings are key to PRPA’s goal of reducing carbon intensity at the Prince Rupert Gateway by a further 30 percent by 2030 and reaching carbon neutrality by 2050.