Hapag-Lloyd Receives the Friend of the Sea Whale-Safe Award 2022

The “Friend of the Sea” program of the World Sustainability Organization (WSO) has identified Hapag-Lloyd as the international shipping company most committed to reducing the risk of ship collisions with whales, awarding them the Whale-Safe Award 2022 for shipping companies for their measures to prevent such accidents. The assessment pertains to the 20 largest shipping and cruise companies.

(Hamburg) “We are very honored to have received the Whale-Safe Award,” says Captain Wolfram Guntermann, Director of Regulatory Affairs at Hapag-Lloyd. “Hapag-Lloyd is aware of the impact of shipping on whales and endangered species. To protect them, we reduce the speed of our ships in many high-risk areas and strictly adhere to the designated ATBAs (areas to be avoided), where many whales are present.”

Every year, numerous whales are killed or injured due to ship collisions. To this day, many of the world’s busiest shipping routes directly overlap with the routes that whales swim between their feeding grounds and breeding areas. The Whale-Safe Award aims to raise awareness of this issue within the shipping industry.

“Friend of the Sea is committed to giving a voice to those shipping companies that view the sea not just as a means to an end, but as an invaluable resource that we must respect and protect,” says Paolo Bray, founder and director of Friend of the Sea.

Hapag-Lloyd is actively collaborating with the World Shipping Council (WSC) to promote the optimization of the existing traffic separation scheme (TSS) off the southern coast of Sri Lanka in favor of protecting blue whales. As part of its sustainability strategy and commitment to whale conservation, the shipping company participates in various programs and collaborates with NGOs and authorities, such as the “Blue Whales and Blue Skies” program and the ECHO program for the protection of orcas.

Over 1,500 Companies Hold the Certification

Friend of the Sea is an international certification for products and services that respect the marine habitat. Today, more than 1,500 companies and 5,000 products from 80 countries carry this seal. The organization evaluates shipping and cruise companies to recognize their commitment to reducing the risk of collisions with whales. Friend of the Sea assesses companies based on their commitment to compliance with slow zones, initiatives to reduce noise pollution, a full-time onboard observation program, and accurate reporting of whale incidents.

Photo: © “Friend of the Sea”/Loginfo24