Matson Navigation Co. Inc. has been honored with the U.S. Coast Guard’s 2012 Rear Adm. William M. Benkert
Marine Environmental Award for Excellence.
The Benkert Award was created to recognize outstanding
achievements in marine environmental protection that go beyond mere compliance
with industrial and regulatory standards. Matson first received this biennial
award in 2006.
“For our industry partners, the Rear Adm. William Benkert
Award provides the ideal venue to strive for and recognize environmental
excellence,” says Capt. Eric Christensen, chief of the office for commercial
vessel compliance, in a company press release. “The commandant’s guiding
principle of strengthening our partnerships is a valuable tenet to honor
industry’s efforts in continual pollution prevention, safety management and
environmental stewardship.”
“As a company that has a long history of serving some of the
most pristine environments in the world — including Hawaii, Guam and California
— Matson has quite naturally evolved into a carrier focused on setting a high
bar when it comes to environmental stewardship,” adds Matt Cox, Matson’s president.
“For example, Matson is the only carrier in the world to have a zero discharge
policy — this means that nothing is discharged into the ocean, with the
exception of food scraps. Our philosophical approach to environmental and most
other regulatory issues is to meet or exceed federal, state and local
legislative and regulatory requirements. We also believe that where existing
laws and regulations do not provide adequate controls to ensure the protection
of the environment, we establish and adhere to our own more stringent
standards.”
Besides the prestige associated with the Benkert Award, Matson
says, the award application process offers a venue for the creative exchange of
ideas and innovations, and heightens awareness, underscoring the innovation
required to achieve environmental excellence.
“When we were first honored with the Benkert Award in 2006,
Matson and SSA Terminals had just signed a new ‘green port’ lease agreement
with the Port of Long Beach, which involved a commitment to reduce air
emissions in port by shutting off our vessel diesel generators and plugging
into the local electrical grid, a process called cold ironing,” says Ron
Forest, Matson’s senior vice president, operations. “This technology set a new
standard for terminal leases in Long Beach. Because the concept of using a
dockside electrical infrastructure to power ships while in port was new, the
project involved innovative engineering work. By the end of this year, all of
Matson’s motor ships that call Long Beach will plug in — making our terminal
facility a 100 percent cold ironing operation, far ahead of the regulations set
by the California Air Resources Board.”
“Matson also has learned through experience about the power
of partnerships in developing new processes and technologies that advance
marine environmental protection,” said Paul Londynsky, vice president, safety,
quality and environmental affairs. “We have a longstanding and successful
relationship with the California State Lands Commission in addressing issues
related to invasive species and ballast water management. We have also
partnered with the U.S. Coast Guard in testing a ballast water treatment system
on one of our vessels. The success of that project led to Matson having one of the
first ships to receive approval for the testing under the Coast Guard’s
Shipboard Technology Evaluation Program.”
Cox commended Matson’s SQE and vessel operations departments
for this distinguished achievement, and also credited the efforts of Matson personnel
throughout the organization.
“Our success in achieving a leadership role in marine
environmental initiatives can be directly attributed to Matson’s ‘green’
culture,” Cox says. “All Matson employees, both offshore and shoreside, are
part of our environmental management system. Our own internal surveys of
employees have shown a high awareness of Matson’s green programs and
environmental objectives, and the support our personnel demonstrate for these
initiatives is remarkable. This honor is a source of pride for all of us at
Matson.”