SF Bay Ferry commits to Green Marine program

Aiming to “positively contribute” to a sustainable future in the San Francisco Bay Area, public ferry service provider San Francisco Bay Ferry (SF Bay Ferry) has joined Green Marine, an environmental certification program for the North American maritime industry.

As disclosed, in order to obtain the Green Marine certification, SF Bay Ferry is set to conduct an “in-depth” assessment of its environmental practices.

The assessment covers issues such as greenhouse gases and air pollutants, oily discharge, waste management and ship recycling. Once certified, members of the Green Marine program are reportedly verified by independent parties every two years with individual results released annually.

“We applaud San Francisco Bay Ferry’s decision to join our North American network of like-minded ship owners. Becoming part of Green Marine provides a structured framework to strive towards meaningful and achievable environmental goals, increasing performance, and raising industry benchmarks,” David Bolduc, President & CEO of Green Marine, shared.

Founded in 2007, Green Marine is the result of the North American shipping industry’s endeavor to “go beyond regulations”. Currently, it is believed that there are more than 185 ship owners, ports, terminals and shipyards scattered across Canada and the United States that are participating in the program.

As explained, Green Marine Europe was launched in 2020, numbering more than 30 ship owners and representing a fleet of more than 500 vessels as well as three ‘big’ shipyards.

One of the latest members of the North American branch is Enstructure, a U.S. acquirer and operator of terminals and logistics infrastructure assets that joined Green Marine in mid-October this year.

At the end of November, UAE-based logistics player DP World expanded its membership by adding the Vancouver, Nanaimo, and Saint John terminals to the program, as well.

In regards to SF Bay Ferry’s other ‘milestones’ for this year, in October, the ferry service provider clinched a $12.5 million grant to set up electric vessel charging infrastructure at the Harbor Bay Ferry Terminal in Alameda as part of the Rapid Electric Emission-Free Ferry (REEF) Program.

According to SF Bay Ferry, the grant—awarded by the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA)—has been set aside for the installation of an electrified universal charging float with battery storage and electric vessel charging infrastructure, as well as toward terminal modernization at the existing Harbor Bay Ferry Terminal on Bay Farm Isle in Alameda.