ATHENS: September 13, 2018. GAC has become the first ship’s agency in the UK to join the Green Award (GA) Foundation. Under the scheme, GA-certified ships that use GAC’s services at UK ports can claim a 10 percent discount.

The Green Award Foundation is a neutral, independent foundation, established 1994 by the Rotterdam Municipal Port Management and the Dutch Ministry of Transport.

The object of the GA is to create a market preference for “extra clean, extra safe” seagoing vessels that reduce the risk of damage to the marine environment.

GAC UK managing director Herman Jorgensen said his company signed up as a commitment to improving the environment by supporting shipowners and operators who share the same ethos.

GAC UK handles around 7,000 calls at UK ports every year and follows sister companies in Belgium, the Netherlands and Greece that have already joined the scheme.

Presenting the GA to Jorgensen in Athens recently, chairman Dimitrios Mattheou said: “At Green Award we aim at promoting high safety, quality and environmental standards within the maritime community on a voluntary basis. The realization of the importance of having a strong will to change for the best, to support the best practices and excellence in shipping, are crucial for achieving sustainable results.

“We are glad that GAC Group is so consistently committed to this approach and enrolls its fourth agency to Green Award. It is unique as they are the first and only ship agent with four branches in our system,” he added.

(Pictured left to right: GAC UK managing director Herman Jorgensen, GA chairman Dimitrios Mattheou and executive director Jan Fransen.)