Jan Fransen receives the Sleepanker for his contribution to safe and sustainable shipping
Port of Rotterdam Authority has presented Jan Fransen, managing director of the Green Award Foundation, the Sleepanker. Fransen receives the award for his exceptional contribution to improving safety, environmental performance and sustainability in international shipping.
After 32 years with the Green Award Foundation, 21 of them as managing director, Fransen is stepping down as he reaches retirement age.
The foundations for his impressive career were laid in the 1990s. On behalf of the then Municipal Port Management of Rotterdam, Fransen developed a quality mark for vessels that meet the highest safety and environmental standards. This quality mark grew into Green Award, an internationally recognised certification programme for sustainable and safe shipping.
Since 1994, Port of Rotterdam Authority has rewarded vessels holding a Green Award certificate with discounts on port dues. Hundreds of seagoing vessels worldwide are now certified, and numerous ports, governments and companies work together within the Green Award network.
In 2011, Fransen took the initiative to make the quality mark available to Dutch inland shipping as well. Almost 1,500 inland vessels now hold a Green Award certificate. As a result, the programme makes a tangible daily contribution to a cleaner, safer and more sustainable living environment.
The Sleepanker is a Port of Rotterdam Authority award that has been presented since 2006 to individuals who have made an exceptional contribution to the development of the port of Rotterdam.
Fransen received the award from Vivienne de Leeuw, Chief Financial Officer of Port of Rotterdam Authority, after the Industry Panel Discussion. This event was organised by the Green Award Foundation on 9 July to mark his retirement.
At the presentation, De Leeuw highlighted the motivation that characterised Fransen throughout his career: “Jan worked for many years to make the port of Rotterdam and the international maritime sector more sustainable, not because he had to, but because he truly believed in it. As a director, ambassador and source of inspiration, he showed that economic development and sustainability are not mutually exclusive, but actually reinforce each other. His efforts have had a lasting impact on the shipping sector and on the port of Rotterdam.”