April 12, 2010
Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. ("K" Line) takes pleasure in having been recognized once again for its contribution on behalf of environmental conservation during 2009 by the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners that has been promoting a voluntary ship speed reduction program to aid in curbing air pollution from exhaust gas in certain designated offshore waters.
All of us at "K" Line feel deeply honored to have been given this special award for five consecutive years --2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010-- by the Port in recognition of our company's excellent performance during each of the preceding years, i.e., 2005 through 2009, as "K" Line was first honored with this award in 2006.
This is an entirely voluntary program in which ships calling at the Port are asked to observe a 12-knot speed limit within 20 miles (about 37 kilometers) of the Port in order to curb emissions of exhaust gas, with a speed limit within 40 miles (about 74 kilometers) of the Port having been added in 2009.
Ships operated by the "K" Line Group made a total of 232 callings at Port of Long Beach with a 96.9% compliance rate during 2009 within 40 miles, which is the highest among all ocean-going cargo carriers with more than 100 calls during that year. "K" Line reduced approximately 4,400 tons of CO2 emission as the result of this achievement in 2009.
Receipt of this award is evidence of the strong commitment prevailing throughout the "K" Line Group to continuously exert every possible effort for achieving each environmental preservation goal defined in our own company program, as well as signifying our company’s on-going determination to fully cooperate with any other environmental preservation objectives being implemented by other parties such as the Port of Long Beach in order to make a substantial contribution to the environmental preservation of our earth’s limited resources.