0 Shares

Submitted by Port of Olympia

Swantown Marina and Boatyard has been re-certified as a Clean Marina and a Leadership Clean Boatyard. Swantown Marina first obtained Clean Marina certification in 2007, and in 2012, Swantown Boatworks was certified as a Leadership Clean Boatyard.

The Clean Marina Washington program, created in 2005, helps marinas assess their operations and make improvements to better protect the environment. The program has a set of qualification standards that must be reached in order to gain certification. Swantown Marina has exceeded the clean marina requirements and achieved a five-star, Leadership Clean marina designation, the highest rating available in Washington State. Bruce Marshall, Port of Olympia Harbor Director stated, “I am proud of all the hard work the staff at the marina and boatyard performs on a daily basis to ensure our facilities and operations operate at the highest level of efficiency while also remaining environmentally sustainable.” Information about the Clean Marina program is available here.

Clean Boating Foundation is a similar program, with a mission to create cleaner waters in Washington State. Incorporating boaters, boatyards, environmental groups, the Washington state Department of Ecology and scientific experts, the Clean Boating Foundation is a voluntary, market-driven effort to improve Puget Sound and the rest of our waters. The Clean Boating Foundation works with Washington boatyards to go above and beyond their legal requirements and showcase those businesses that act as true stewards of the environment.

“When meeting with Swantown Marina’s Bruce Marshall, I was particularly impressed by the high level of environmental safety training that was occurring at Swantown,” noted Adria Lau, Clean Boating Foundation Program Manager. Annually, Swantown staff conducts a half-day oil response drill alongside the Department of Ecology. This entails deploying their 700-foot boom and simulating an oil spill at the dock. This training occurs at the marina, but will extend to the boatyard in future drills.

“The leadership distinction for the Clean Boatyard certification highlights not only the hard work done by boatyard staff and management, but the cooperation of customers and contractors,” stated Swantown Boatyard Manager, Nathan Saline.

According to Port of Olympia Commissioner E.J. Zita, “The Port of Olympia continues working to improve on our environmental impact. I am pleased to see our Marina and Boatyard take environmental considerations seriously, showing commitment to greater sustainability at the Port. These are core values in our strategic plan.”

In addition to being a certified Clean Marina and Clean Boatyard, the Port of Olympia’s marine terminal is part of the Green Marine environmental certification program. Green Marine is a global voluntary third-party certification program that requires participating port authorities to establish baseline performance indicators in multiple facets of terminal operations, and then demonstrate tangible year-over-year improvements to maintain certification.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
0 Shares