• Environmental programs to protect biodiversity and improve water quality have earned it recognition as a leader in Green Management and Sustainability by the Organization of American States.

Ensenada, B.C., June 7, 2023. - The Ensenada National Port System Administration (ASIPONA Ensenada) was awarded the Maritime Award of the Americas 2023 among 13 participating countries with 37 nominations for the best "Green Management and Sustainability". The contest was organized by the North American Marine Environmental Protection Association (NAMEPA), the Latin American Society of Marine Oil and Monobuoy Terminal Operators (SLOM) and other entities of the Organization of American States (OAS).

The award recognizes the strategies implemented by the Energía Costa Azul Liquefied Natural Gas Storage and Regasification Terminal (ECA), as part of the Ensenada port area, for biodiversity conservation. The other awards were given to ports in Barbados (2), Brazil, the United States (2) and Peru.

Given the constant economic growth and the increase in the demand for logistics services, ASIPONA Ensenada designed strategic objectives to meet the needs of innovative infrastructure of greater capacity with the necessary environmental protection standards, which has earned it the certification under the Ecoports standard of the European Sea Ports Organization (ESPO).

In the 9th edition of the OAS Maritime Award, successful practices were recognized for their positive contributions to the modernization of the port sector in the Americas in the following categories: Competitive Digitalization, Port Cyber Security, Green Management and Port Sustainability, Empowerment and Equality, and Outstanding Women in the Port and Maritime Sector 2023. The Award recognizes successful practices in the hemisphere's maritime and port sectors that demonstrate excellence, innovation, leadership, sustainability and replicability.

"This is an award not only for the Port of Ensenada, but for the State of Baja California and for our Country, for the team of the National Port System Administration of Ensenada of the Ministry of the Navy is an honor to have received this award of international relevance and we will maintain our commitment to the environment and port sustainability", mentions Captain Manuel F. Gutierrez Gallardo, General Director of ASIPONA Ensenada.

With this recognition, ASIPONA Ensenada consolidates its position as the first Green Port in Mexico, through the design and implementation of environmental management strategies. The port of Ensenada continues to develop in a context of sustainability, as an example that the growth of ports can be in harmony with the environment. As part of this effort, the Environmental Quality Monitoring Program (Programa de Seguimiento de Calidad Ambiental, PSCA) was developed, which has 11 conservation and environmental management subprograms.

"On behalf of Energía Costa Azul, Sempra Infraestructura, I would like to thank the more than 130 employees who every day maintain our operational excellence in safety and respect for the environment, which allowed us to obtain this recognition in the Green Management and Port Sustainability category. This is testimony to the collaboration between ASIPONA Ensenada and ECA LNG" shares Jorge Uribe, Managing Director at ECA LNG.

ASIPONA Ensenada's candidacy was built on two axes:

Improved water quality

The Sea Water Quality Monitoring program, developed by ECA using state-of-the-art technologies to capture historical records of water quality indices in the area, to correlate the variation of reference levels established prior to the construction of the ECA Terminal. After fifteen years of operations, seawater quality in the area of influence of the port facilities improved by 5%.

Biodiversity

The mammal surveillance program counts the different species of marine mammals sighted in order to study their migratory patterns. To date, 53,256 species have been counted as frequent passers-by, of which 95% are dolphins and 5% are various species of whales. To date, zero accidents involving marine mammals have been recorded.

Program for the rescue and rehabilitation of endemic flora, which allowed the rescue and relocation to safe sites of more than 900 thousand red and purple hedgehogs. At present, more than 59 thousand organisms have been conserved and successfully reintroduced into their natural environment, with a survival rate of 92%. This result represents an increase of more than 1,229% since the development of this subprogram.