The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) announced improvements to its Green Connection Environmental Recognition Program, which sees vessels that comply with the highest environmental performance standards; The Panama Canal reduces fuel consumption and emissions depending on the travelling distance and the capacity offered.
Alexis Rodriguez, Panama Canal’s Environmental Protection Specialist, during IMO’s MEPC74 in London commented that
With these improvements to our environmental and conservation initiatives, the Panama Canal solidifies its leadership in the adoption of carbon-reduction best practices. The proposed updates will provide our customers a more comprehensive picture of their environmental contributions, encouraging them to continue implementing good practices in the reduction of emissions and their use of the Panama Canal’s Green Route.
The Emissions Calculator will feature geo-referenced data in September 2019, to enhance the quality and precision of the carbon emissions data coming from vessels voyaging through the Panama Canal.
In addition, the Environmental Premium Ranking will factor in the use of low-carbon fuels and environmentally conscious transit operations starting mid-September. This ranking affords customers with high environmental efficiency standards the opportunity to improve their position within the Panama Canal’s Customer Ranking System.
Also, the canal will provide extra updates to carbon-reduction and watershed conservation initiatives such as the Environmental Economic Incentives Program and the Panama Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS).
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The program’s goal is to reach more than 4,000 reforested hectares within the next five years.
Additionally, the Panama Canal will commission a study to quantify and analyze the environmental and wildlife conservation benefits of the Panama Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) approved in 2014 by the IMO aimed at protecting whales from ship collisions.
Most recently, the waterway registered historic transit milestones by Qatargas’ Al Safliya Q-Flex carrier, the world’s second-largest LNG tanker class, and Evergreen’s Triton, the largest containership in dimension and container cargo capacity to pass through the Expanded Canal since it opened in 2016.
