DULUTH, MN. – The Duluth Seaway Port Authority and its terminal operations on Rice’s Point once again ranked among the top-tier environmental performers in North America, according to the recently released Green Marine 2025 Performance Report.
BBC Genoa arrives at Duluth MN. [Duluth Seaway Port Authority]
Green Marine is recognized as the maritime industry’s leading voluntary environmental certification initiative. The annual report evaluates participants across nine categories: air emissions/greenhouse gases, aquatic ecosystems, community impacts, community relations, dry bulk handling and storage, environmental leadership, spill prevention and stormwater management, underwater noise, and waste management. The 2025 certification cycle builds on recent program updates with strengthened criteria, including a mandatory Aquatic Ecosystems indicator for ports and more ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets. All scores are independently reviewed by accredited third‑party verifiers.
“Each year, the Green Marine standards become more rigorous by design, and that helps participants strive to continually improve,” said Jeff Udd, director of government and environmental affairs, Duluth Seaway Port Authority. “It’s a system that encourages going beyond regulatory compliance.”
The Duluth Seaway Port Authority has participated in Green Marine since the program’s inception in 2007. Ongoing sustainability efforts at the Clure Public Marine Terminal include energy efficiency upgrades, phased adoption of zero-emission vehicles and equipment, increased use of renewable energy and regular progress monitoring.
Green Marine participation builds on the modal efficiency advantages already achieved by waterborne cargo transport. A thousand-foot Great Lakes freighter carries the cargo equivalent of 2,340 trucks or 564 railcars in a single trip, with substantially lower carbon intensity per ton-mile than any land-based mode. Maritime commerce on the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Seaway System provides shippers with nearly $4 billion USD in annual cost savings compared to the next least costly transportation alternative.
“The Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Seaway System is public infrastructure federally maintained by the U.S. and Canada, with enough capacity to handle double the current vessel volume,” said Kevin Beardsley, executive director, Duluth Seaway Port Authority. “When freight routes maximize the waterborne leg of the journey, they tap into the region’s most cost-efficient, lowest-emissions transportation corridor. North America already built it. The opportunity is in using it to maximum advantage.”
For more information on sustainable shipping and port operations, visit
