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Italy's d'Amico Group was recently named 'Green Shipowner of the Year' for the implementation of a fleet system that enables it to reduce its environmental impact and monitor energy consumption.

The award ceremony was held in Copenhagen during the Green Ship Technology Conference, held between March 15 and 18. The Green Ship Technology (GST) Award rewards the most innovative technology put into use since January 2015, which shows a benefit to the marine environment. It also recognizes the most efficient and sustainable shipping group worldwide.

"We are really proud of this award, rewarding our commitment in reducing the marine environmental impact. Thanks to the introduction of innovative technologies on our ships and to the new eco-ships investment plan, we have been able to pass the energy efficiency international standards, building a best practice globally recognized in the world of shipping," said Paolo d'Amico, Chairman of d'Amico Group.

On its new eco-ships, the Italian shipping group has introduced latest generation of electronic engines that, combined with a revisited hull bottom form able to maximize water flow, are said to significantly increase propulsive energy compared to older generation ships.

"Caring for the environment cannot be limited to the purchase of new eco-vessels, it has to necessarily involve management of the whole fleet instead. A constant monitoring of vessels, thanks to highly advanced sensors on board, which allow to track consumption and performance in real time, led to a deeper responsibility assignment of the crew on environmental issues," stated Domenico Savio Taiano, HSQE Director of d'Amico Group.

In addition to engineering solutions, which are said to produce a "considerable reduction" of fuel consumption and emissions (CO2, SOx and NOX), d'Amico Group has established a Performance Monitoring Department that is focused exclusively on monitoring the whole performance of the fleet.

"Since our special commitment towards the marine environment, we promptly believed in this advanced system able to monitoring consumption and performance, in order to achieve continuous improvements in reducing emissions, in a context where every kWh used efficiently is a contribution to the society and the environment," explained Fabio Tagliavia, Technical Director of d'Amico Group.

"D'Amico Group has always settled among its 'core values' a strong commitment to the environment. The environmental policy and the plans on sustainable development are, and will still be, important pillars of the strategy of the group," d'Amico added.

The jury that selected the projects comprised Craig Eason (Deputy Editor, Lloyd's List), George Papagiannopoulos (Common Progress), Lars Robert Pedersen (COO, BIMCO), Mark Cameron (COO, Ardmore Shipping), Hanna Lee Behrens (Norwegian Shipowners' Association).