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Ocean business leaders from a diverse range of industries are distinguishing themselves as “Founding Members” of the World Ocean Council - an international, cross-sectoral leadership alliance on stewardship of the seas.

World Ocean Council members have called on other responsible companies and industries to engage in this innovative partnership for “Corporate Ocean Responsibility” and participate in the Sustainable Ocean Summit (Belfast, 15-17 June, 2010).

Initial corporate and association Founding Members of the World Ocean Council include: ExxonMobil, Rio Tinto, the International Chamber of Shipping, RightShip, the North American Marine Environment Protection Association (NAMEPA), Twin Dolphins, Transocean, the Ocean Education, Technology and Science Partnership, Golder Associates, TORM AS, Nautilus Minerals, Det Norske Veritas (DNV), Holman Fenwick Willan and Beveridge & Diamond, P.C.

"Given the importance of the world's oceans to the global environment and the global economy, the World Ocean Council will serve a critical function in bringing together industry leaders in ocean stewardship," said Sherri Stuewer, vice president of environmental policy and planning for ExxonMobil. "We look forward to being a part of this collaborative alliance."

Adrian Rose, Vice President of QHSE at Transocean added “Our Corporate Responsibility is based around a common goal of no harm to our people or to the environment in which we work. Our 140 drilling installations are located in most of the world’s major oceans and therefore ocean stewardship is important to our company and our people. We believe the WOC provides a unique opportunity to engage with other ocean industry representatives to share best practices and lessons learned on how we can all use our ocean resources more responsibly.”

"Rio Tinto's product and environmental responsibilities go beyond the gates of our operations to the gates of our customers - which often includes stewarding large tonnages of products across many miles of ocean. We see our founding membership of WOC as helping with our efforts on product stewardship and, just as importantly, as an opportunity to contribute with like-minded partners towards ensuring the long-term health of our oceans," emphasized Elaine J Dorward-King, Global Head, Health, Safety and Environment at Rio Tinto.

Mr. Spyros Polemis, Chairman of the International Chamber of Shipping, said that “The World Ocean Council creates an unprecedented opportunity for shipping, the most environmentally friendly mode of transport, to work with other ocean industries to share knowledge and develop joint approaches and leadership to safeguarding the oceans, a goal of the industry for many years.”

According to Mr. Clay Maitland, NAMEPA Chairman, “The World Ocean Council is developing a committed and collective effort from all ocean industry sectors to promote balanced sustainable development of the seas, and we call on other responsible ocean industry leaders to join in this unprecedented alliance that is vital to the future of our industries and the ocean itself.”

Pietro Jarre, VP Business Development at Golder Associates said, “Golder provides services to clients all over the world who rely on ocean resources. As a global company committed to engineering earth’s development and preserving earth’s integrity, we are proud to join the World Ocean Council and expand our work with our clients and other industries to create sustainable solutions that will preserve the world’s oceans for the use and enjoyment of future generations.”

"It is the responsibility of all the users of the world's oceans to ensure that we work towards leaving our seas pristine and flourishing for the many generations yet to come”, said Claus U. Jensen, Executive Vice President of the Danish Shipowning company TORM AS. “TORM AS' decision to join and support the creation of the World Ocean Council as a Founding Member, is an important step towards uniting all industry leaders, for while utilizing the oceans for their business purposes, they will also be consciously creating sustainable policies in order to protect and promote environmentally friendly methods of transportation."

“Nautilus Minerals is committed to contributing positively to the communities in which we work while minimizing the environmental impact of our activities. We are proud to join the WOC as a Founding Member with the aim of promoting responsible development of ocean resources,” stated Stephen Rogers, CEO, Nautilus Minerals.

“As a world leading classification society – itself established as a foundation in 1864 - DNV’s purpose is to “safeguard life, property and the environment. With human activities related to a sustainable use of the world oceans at core of DNV’s business it is natural for us to join forces with others under an umbrella such as the World Ocean Council,” says DNV Vice President for External Relations, Ketil Djønne.