HGK Shipping supports barge owner/operators with Green Award certification

HGK Shipping is joining the Green Award certification programme, which provides environmentally-friendly solutions for inland waterway vessels, and it is therefore completing another important step in its commitment towards offering greater sustainability. HGK Shipping is Europe’s largest inland waterway shipping company and has now become a provider of Green Award incentives, backdated to 1 March 2023. Vessels, which fly the shipping company‘s flag, but are not owned by it or, for example, equipped by it, now have the opportunity of claiming full reimbursement for the certification costs of the Green Award. HGK Shipping is also offering to support its partners with the certification process through its internal Ship Management department.

This incentive to obtain certification is designed to apply to all vessels that are used as part of a permanent contract arrangement for the “Dry” business division (HGK Dry Shipping GmbH or HGK Shipping GmbH) or the “Liquid Chemicals” division (Royal Wijgula B.V.).

HGK Shipping is constantly looking for more barge owner/operators for these divisions and is therefore seeking ship owners that want to operate their fleets or vessels in a sustainable manner. The aim is to support them, as well as existing partners, in their efforts to achieve sustainability with the help of the incentive system.

HGK Shipping has at its disposal 350 company and chartered vessels, making it the largest inland waterway shipping fleet in Europe. Jan Fransen, the Executive Director of Green Award, says, “We’re proud that HGK Shipping has opted to use the Green Award system. The fact that such a leading market participant is using Green Award as a tool to press ahead with sustainability in inland waterway shipping is giving our team a great motivational boost too. We’re also aiming to continue rolling out Green Award in Europe and this step will support us in this process.”