Celebrating those who make Aberdeen a safer, healthier and more sustainable port
Dales Marine and North Star were awarded top honours at Port of Aberdeen’s 2025 Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) Awards for their ongoing commitment to making Aberdeen a safer, healthier and more sustainable port.
More than 80 industry leaders, HSE professionals and Port of Aberdeen employees attended the ceremony held on 10 April 2025 at Aberdeen Football Club. Rhett Hatcher, Chief Executive of UK Chamber of Shipping, delivered the keynote speech, providing expert insights into the opportunities and challenges facing the sector.
Dales Marine received the Port Health and Safety Award recognising the strong commitment to safety demonstrated by its employees, contractors, and vessel crews at its Aberdeen site and successful implementation of safety initiatives. This contributed to a 50% reduction in lost time incidents and a 75% reduction in medical treatment cases over the past 12 months. Peterson Energy Logistics was a runner-up in the Port Health and Safety category.
North Star won the Port Environment Best Practice Award for implementing several initiatives aimed at enhancing energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions during port operations. These initiatives included vessel fleet upgrades, employee incentives for electric vehicle use, investment in digital transformation and route optimisation. Tidewater was runner-up in the Port Environment category.
Bob Sanguinetti, Chief Executive, Port of Aberdeen, said: “We were blown away by the quality of nominations. Dales Marine and North Star are worthy winners. The examples of best practice we heard today will undoubtedly inspire others to achieve similarly high levels of HSE excellence.”
This year saw the introduction of a new Net Zero category, recognising Port of Aberdeen employees who have contributed to making Aberdeen a more sustainable port.
Five members of the electrical team – Graham Burnett, Stuart Young, George Slater, Shaun Duffy and Aaron Reid – received the Net Zero Award for their collective efforts and innovative ideas in upgrading the port’s infrastructure to achieve its 2040 net zero vision. Recent projects include installing new LED lights at the central multi-storey car park and air quality monitors in North Harbour, in conjunction with the SHEQ department.
Benji Morrison, Harbour Master, received the Zero Harm award for demonstrating the 7Cs - Commitment, Change Management, Control of Work, Competence, Complacency, Communication, Collaboration – particularly focused on the effective delivery and execution of the port’s emergency response plan.
Special mentions were also given to Aleksandra Naprawska, Amber Inglis, Anne Williamson and the Port Operations Team.
Naveed Qamar, Head of SHEQ, Port of Aberdeen, said: “We are building a Zero Harm culture and reducing emissions as part of our drive to net zero. Achieving these ambitious goals is only possible through the continued dedication and innovation of our port team. Today we celebrated some of their achievements, which represent just a glimpse of the outstanding work delivered every day.”
