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For the third consecutive year, the port of Venice has awarded Crystal Cruises' Crystal Serenity the environmental Venice Blue Flag award.

The prize recognizes the ship's voluntary efforts to safeguard the city of Venice, reducing air emissions by burning low sulphur fuel in port.

The US-based luxury line began using low sulphur fuel in consideration of the port city's location in an urban environment, and the need to protect its artistic and architectural treasures for future generations.

Since the award's inception in 2007, Crystal Serenity has been recognized for its commitment to reducing its environmental impact, both on land and by sea.

"Crystal Cruises is very proud to once again receive the Venice Blue Flag award," said Crystal's president, Gregg Michel.

"Like the port of Venice, Crystal Cruises places the utmost importance on the respectful treatment of the environment and the ports we visit. In addition to ongoing conservation training of staff, Crystal's operational policies are designed to minimize our environmental footprint," Michel said.

Crystal Cruises says it has long been committed to environmentally conscious practices aboard Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity, strictly adhering to a collection of "Crystal Clean" environmental initiatives for more than a decade.

An in-house audit of its ships' lighting and energy consumption resulted in measures conserving more than 960,000 kWh - equivalent to eliminating more than 5,000 light bulbs, or nearly 200 tons of fuel, per year.

Crystal Serenity will visit Venice during several Mediterranean/Black Sea voyages of seven to 12 days from May through September.

Crystal's environmental achievements have also been recognized by other ports. In the past, the line was recognized by the ports of Stockholm and San Francisco for outstanding environmental efforts.