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Department of Ecology News Release - Dec. 9, 2003
03-234
OLYMPIA - Tank-ship operator M.T.M. Ship Management Private Ltd. of Singapore today received Washington state's award for excellence in marine safety and environmental stewardship.
During a ceremony in Seattle, the state Department of Ecology (Ecology) bestowed the Exceptional Compliance Program (Ecopro) Award on M.T.M., which operates oil and chemical tankers in Washington waters.
Companies may receive the Ecopro Award only if they meet or exceed all 31 of Ecology's tanker-safety standards. M.T.M. is only the third company ever to earn the Ecopro Award and the first international company to do so since the program began in 1999.
"Based on our inspections, we believe the M.T.M. tankers are in harmony with Washington state's pollution-prevention goals and operating at the highest level of marine safety in the world today," said Ecology Interim Director Linda Hoffman.
M.T.M.'s technical director of ship management, Duncan Findlay, said, "We put a great deal of effort into training our crews to reduce the risk of oil spills and other incidents. Our training program goes beyond the basics and includes extremely rigorous drill testing in an effort to be prepared for an oil spill if one should occur."
Findlay said his company's automated equipment maintenance schedule and waste-oil management processes are just some of the procedures in place to ensure the safe and efficient transport of oil and other bulk liquids.
"We firmly believe that the implementation of the Ecopro standards has made us a better organization over all," Findlay said.
Washington's spill-prevention standards are considered by many to be among the toughest in the world. The standards cover elements such as management practices, maintenance and inspection programs, emergency preparedness, vessel-position tracking, voyage planning, security issues and personnel policies on training, English-language proficiency, and alcohol and drug testing.
Hoffman said the Ecopro Award is for companies that go beyond basic compliance with Washington's marine-safety laws and isn't limited to just one winner in a given time period.
"We hope that every tanker operating in Washington waters will strive to qualify for this award. That will be the best news for Puget Sound and the Columbia River," Hoffman said.
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Media Contact: Mary-Ellen Voss, Department of Ecology, Public Information Officer, phone 360-407-7211, pager 360-956-8296
Ecology's Spills Program: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/spills/spills.html
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
