Cleaning up the neighbourhood

The annual event is a part of SOHAR’s Cleaner Greener community campaign, which aims to protect the local environment and keep Oman’s coastline clean.

Suwaid Al Shemaisi, executive manager of corporate affairs at SOHAR, said: “Good environmental practice is a key objective for SOHAR Port and Freezone. As a 50:50 partnership with Port of Rotterdam, SOHAR prides itself on some of the strictest and best policed environmental policies in the region, both above and below the water.”

“It is the vision of SOHAR Port and Freezone to create and maintain an environment that is healthy, safe, and secure for staff, tenant industries and their employees, visitors and the surrounding community.”

The clean-up began with a briefing at SOHAR Port headquarters in which staff and students from participating schools were briefed on the importance of keeping beaches and ecosystems safe. After the briefing, volunteers collected and bagged rubbish from the beach, much of it being plastic waste washed up and deposited by high tides.

SOHAR is committed to protection of the environment and is the only port in the Middle East to reward ships that are certified as being environmentally clean with a Green Award certificate.

The certification allows ships to reap various financial and non-financial benefits. By offering the Green Award, SOHAR encourages sustainability and makes above standard operations economically attractive.