MSC Cruises has won at the North American Marine Environment Protection Association (NAMEPA) 2020 Marine Environment Protection Awards, being honored with the Maritime Industry category award, according to a press release.

The company said the award notes the its multifaceted environmental work and acknowledges three key sustainability milestones achieved in 2019: the start of construction of MSC World Europa, the first of up to nine latest-generation LNG-powered vessels to join the company’s fleet in the next decade; the restoration of Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve in the Bahamas to its original, pristine state; and the meaningful steps taken to phase out single-use plastic items across the fleet.

Pierfrancesco Vago, MSC Cruises’ Executive Chairman said: “We are honored to receive this award, which recognizes our ongoing efforts to embrace a zero-impact future. As a company we are unequivocally committed to protecting the environment, the coastal communities that we reach and all our employees. Our long-term vision is to become an environmental leader within the overall maritime sector. We are doing this by constantly taking steps to decrease our fleet’s environmental impact and investing in the accelerated development of next-generation environmental technologies and solutions.”

Linden Coppell, MSC Cruises’ Sustainability Director, commented: “Our 2019 Sustainability Report confirming our priorities and actions, not least in supporting the ambitious carbon reduction goals of the shipping industry, puts sustainability firmly at the beating heart of our business. We look forward to implementing the objectives contained within it and continuing MSC Cruises’ journey towards environmental leadership in the global maritime sector.”

Vago added: “At MSC Cruises, our priority is the sea and the oceans. And as a family company we always prioritized the long term over short term considerations. Despite the challenges that our industry currently faces, our eyes remain fixed on our long-term environmental ambitions.”