| Sea Princess has been honored by the Port of San Francisco with its annual “Cruise Ship Environmental Award.” This distinction was earned for the ship's outstanding record in San Francisco during the 2010 season for air emissions reduction, advanced wastewater management, and recycling and disposal programs. This is the sixth year Princess Cruises has earned this prestigious accolade. Sea Princess is able to “plug in” at the Port of San Francisco since the port’s new shore power facility launched in 2010. The cruise ship terminal enables Sea Princess, and other equipped vessels, to use power from the city’s grid instead of the engines to power the ship’s onboard services – reducing emissions when docked in San Francisco. The port became the fourth in the world where Princess Cruises’ ships can take advantage of this innovative technology. “We’re gratified that our environmental efforts are being recognized in San Francisco again, especially since we’ve been able to utilize our shore power technology at the port’s new facility,” said Jan Swartz, Princess Cruises executive vice president. “We’re committed to doing our part to help ensure that pristine and beautiful ports like San Francisco stay that way.” The Port of San Francisco’s “Cruise Ship Environmental Award” is an annual award designed to recognize cruise ships that exceed existing environmental regulations and industry standards to achieve greater protection of the air and water quality of the San Francisco Bay Area. Introduced in 2005, the award is given each year to individual cruise ships that call four times or more at the Port of San Francisco and demonstrate their commitment to safeguarding the environment The awards are traditionally presented in the summer to recognize the past year’s cruise season, and Princess Cruises ships have won one or more awards every year. Sea Princess is based in San Francisco for the summer, cruising on 10-day roundtrip Alaska cruises. Princess Cruises is committed to environmental practices which set a high standard for excellence and responsibility, and which help preserve the marine environment in which its ships operate. The company’s environmental goals and policies go beyond what is required by law and include a zero solid waste discharge policy, state-of-the-art environmental technology and waste management equipment, programs to minimize waste generated, and recycling where possible. The company also pioneered the use of shore power programs in the cruise industry to reduce air emissions. |
From “Cruise Industry News”, 26 August 2011
