Qatar Petroleum’s (QP) Ras Laffan Port, located in Ras Laffan Industrial City, has become the first port in the Arabian Gulf to join the international Green Award network as an Incentive Provider for certified LNG carriers.

Qatar Petroleum and the Green Award Foundation have worked very closely to materialize this incentive to reward and recognize the efforts and investments of LNG ships that are adopting the latest environmental standards.

The Green Award is a platform that recognises safety, quality and environmental performance in shipping by facilitating an international network of over 150 incentive providers that offer a wide range of benefits to its certificate holders. Green Award recipients demonstrate their commitment to continually improve their performance in safety and environment for shipping above and beyond international standards.

As the premier location of the global LNG supply chain, Ras Laffan Port plays an integral role in providing international markets with LNG as an environmentally friendly source of energy. With more than 1,000 LNG tankers calling at Ras Laffan Port annually, its track record in promoting environmentally sustainable practices in shipping has been well established since its inception in 1996. Since then, Ras Laffan Port has also worked closely with Qatargas to support the certification of its LNG shipping fleet.

Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, President and CEO of Qatar Petroleum, said: “Through the Green Award for shipping, we are also building upon QPs’ track record of providing environmentally friendly energy by supporting sustainable practices in shipping as well.”

Ras Laffan Port authorities said that through this framework, certified tankers will continually strive to improve the environmental performance of their operations. Certified LNG Tanker Operators under the Green Award scheme will now be offered a discount on Port Dues making Ras Laffan Port the first in the region to do so.

Jan Fransen, Executive Director of Green Award Foundation, said “Ras Laffan Port is the first port in the Arabian Gulf to join the Green Award Foundation as an Incentive Provider. We appreciate the continued cooperation we have with Qatar, as Qatargas was involved in the setup of our ship certification program for LNG carriers in 2011, which later included LPG carriers as well.  We welcome Ras Laffan Port’s support to protect the marine environment which the Green Award has been pursuing for over 27 years.” – TradeArabia News Service