Port of Montreal President and CEO confirms record results for the Port in 2008

The Managing Director of the Green Award Foundation, headquartered in Rotterdam, today personally delivered the Green Award Plaque to the Port of Montreal into the hands of Montreal Port Authority President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Patrice M. Pelletier. This ceremony recognizes the fact that the Montreal Port Authority decided to grant a 10% fee reduction on port dues to all vessels with Green Award certification.

Vessels eligible for certification are dry and liquid bulk carriers, including oil tankers, with a registered minimum deadweight of 20,000 tonnes. They are evaluated according to criteria set by the Green Award Foundation on their technical condition, the quality of their crew and the vessel’s onshore management. Subject to annual verification, their certification is valid for three years. It guarantees that the vessel is “extra clean and extra safe”. In return, the vessel is entitled to reductions from about 30 ports in seven countries, including Canada. Around the world, approximately 220 seagoing vessels are currently certified by Green Award.

On this occasion, Mr. Patrice M. Pelletier stated that: “The Port of Montreal is very proud to display its commitment to improving environmental performance in the marine industry as a whole through its participation in the Green Award program”

For his part, Mr. Jan Fransen, Managing Director of the Green Award Foundation, stated: “The Foundation is very delighted with this partnership and we expect it to lead to a further expansion of the Green Award program in North-America. This is a perfect example of Corporate Social Responsibility.”

Mr. Pelletier also took the opportunity to deliver the final figures for Port operations, which saw an overall growth of 3.9% in 2008, for a total of 27,021,342 tonnes. Container traffic alone increased by 8.1 %, for a total of 1,473,914 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs). “This means that the start of the recession did not stop the Port of Montreal from beating its average growth rate over the last five years, which was 6.4%” pointed out Mr. Pelletier, adding the Port of Montreal recorded higher growth in 2008 than North America’s top ten container ports.

The Green Award Foundation has as its objective, the stimulation of safety and environmentally aware conduct of shipowners, crews and ships. Green Award is independent and impartial and since 1994, has focused on the worldwide certification of seagoing vessels. Seagoing vessels from 20,000 DWT and above (both oil tankers and dry bulk carriers) are evaluated on their technical condition, quality of the crew and the management on shore. Those that comply with the criteria receive the Green Award certificate, which subject to annual verification, is valid for three years. The certificate is evidence that the vessels can be expected to be extra clean and extra safe. This in turn, is rewarded by ± 30 ports in 7 countries with a reduction on port dues, encouraged by approximately 220 seagoing vessels certified by Green Award.