Green Marine revises performance indicators

These discussions resulted in the identification of a new issue for ports and terminals entitled “prevention of water and soil pollution”, which will be linked with three performance indicators related to the management of run-off waters, the risk of spills and the management of solid bulk residues. In addition, a new performance indicator entitled “environmental leadership” has been designed exclusively for port administrations, with a view to enabling them to evaluate their ability to engage their users and tenants in environmental port initiatives. The results of these discussions were recently presented to GreenMarine’s two environment committees, and will be integrated into the environmental programme (and its accompanying guides) for use during the next self-evaluation process.

• Building on the success of last year’s event, Green Marine has announced that preparations are underway for the 3rd Annual Conference on Green Technologies for Marine Transportation. The event, which will take place on May 19 and 20 2010 at Hyatt Regency Hotel, Montreal, Canada. Further information will be posted on the event’s website:

ISO certification

Green Marine also report that Montreal Gateway Terminals Partnership’s two container terminal facilities at Port of Montreal have been awarded ISO 14001:2004 certification for their environmental management systems. The certification, which involves regulatory compliance as well as continuous environmental improvement, was awarded after an audit by BSI Management Systems. The ISO 14001 standard was introduced in 1996 and is designed to provide a common framework for developing a continuously evolving environmental management system. The Quebec Port Authority has set up a special area on its territory for treating soil contaminated by hydrocarbons resulting from earlier tanker activity. The decontamination process involves placing the soil onto a waterproof asphalt surface and mixing it with large quantities of nutrients. A watertight canvas is then spread over the treatment area, and the air under the canvas is sucked out using an underground suctioning device. This creates an ideal environment in which microorganisms can grow and carry out the decontamination process. After a treatment period of approximately 26 weeks, the decontaminated soil is ready to be re-used as filling material. By conducting the treatment process on its territory rather than transporting the contaminated soil elsewhere, the port is also minimising the number of trucks (and thus the level of GHG emissions) on the region’s highway network.

* Green Marine Management Corporation has announced the appointment of. David Bolduc to the position of executive director of the Corporation. Green Marine Management Corporation was formed in 2008 to oversee the development and management of the Green Marine Environmental Program.

As executive director, Bolduc will be responsible for all aspects of the administration and strategic development of Green Marine and provide support for the Green Marine CEO Steering Committee, the St Lawrence and Great Lakes’ Environment Committees. Ray Johnston, chairman of Green Marine Management Corporation commented: “Mr. Bolduc has played an instrumental role in developing the Green Marine Program since its launch in late 2007 and has demonstrated excellent skills in project management. This is an important step forward for Green Marine that will strengthen the management of the program and ensure that our strategic goals are achieved”.