Three ports gain Ecoports certification

Secretary general of ESPO, Isabelle Ryckbost presented Ecoports’ PERS certification to the Port of Baku for the first time, while the ports of Vigo and Barcelona were recertified.

“I would like to congratulate Port of Barcelona and Port of Vigo for renewing EcoPorts’ environmental standard and Port of Baku for obtaining it for the first time,” said Ms Ryckbost.

Vigo

Carlos Botana Lagarón, head of environmental policies at the Port Authority of Vigo, received the award for the Spanish port.

Coordinating the award ceremony was Dr Christopher Wooldridge, honorary research fellow at Cardiff University’s School of Earth and Ocean Sciences. Speaking about Vigo’s award, he said: “It is an example of a multi-functional port, and multi-functional in its environmental achievements.”

Barcelona

Ms Ryckbost congratulated the Port of Barcelona on its investment in LNG as she presented strategy manager, Jordi Torrent, with the port’s recertification.

“You are trying to use LNG in different applications,” she said. Mr Wooldridge added that the port has a strong and practical environmental programme.

Dr Taleh Ziyadov, director general of the Port of Baku, received the port’s first PERS certificate. Commenting on Baku being the first port in the far east of Europe to gain certification, Ms Ryckbost said: “You’re breaking new ground and so is ESPO – geographically.”

Compliance with the EcoPorts’ PERS standard is independently assessed by Lloyd’s Register and the certificate has a validity of two years. EcoPorts’ PERS is revised after the two-year period to make sure that the port continues to meet the requirements.