Isles of Shoals Steamship Co. Makes Green Headway

For more than 20 years, the Isles of Shoals Steamship Company’s M/V Thomas Laighton has been connecting Seacoast residents and visitors with the ocean environment. On a typical cruise from Portsmouth Harbor to Star Island, passengers may be treated to sightings of Great Blue Herons, Harbor Seals, and even the occasional whale. 

“A lot of kids have their first experience with the ocean on board our ship,” according to Rich Ryzman, Marketing Manager for ISSCO.

But one doesn’t need to stray far from shore to enjoy close encounters with marine life. Each summer, ISSCO plays host to a dockside touch tank run by the Blue Ocean Society at its Market St. location in downtown Portsmouth, NH.

This year, visitors got up close with lobster and hermit crab while also learning about more obscure marine life like the periwinkle and mummichog. The touch tank closed a bit early this year in preparation for Hurricane Irene, but that hasn’t put a damper on ISSCO’s efforts to protect these natural resources.

“We’re always trying to make an effort to be as green as possible,” says Ryzman. 

Litter remains a big problem for local coastal communities – and for ocean life. Volunteers participating in last year’s New Hampshire Coastal Cleanup picked up more than 6,000 lbs of trash. At least 267 marine species are impacted by plastic pollution, according to a 2008 study published in the journal Environmental Research. Oceanographer Charles Moore of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation found that 44 percent of all seabirds ingest plastic discarded by humans, as do sea turtles.

A popular party ship, the M/V Thomas Laighton goes through its fair share of beverage containers on any given night. But onboard recycling containers make it easy for passengers not to litter.

“It is not very often you go in a bar and see recycling containers everywhere,” notes Ryzman.

“Our waste is minimal. Bottles, cans and cardboard all get recycled by Waste Management.”

“We’ve been using bio-degradeable cups as well,” he adds.

Cruise ships also have a reputation as gas-guzzlers, a problem ISSCO is working to solve.

“We try to burn as little fuel as possible,” Ryzman explains. “Our party cruises are still 3 hours long, but we idle off the coast to save fuel.”

“We use less fuel per passenger than a normal boat would,” he notes, describing the M/V Thomas Laighton as a floating form of public transportation. 

ISSCO is also working to integrate cleaner forms of diesel into their operation.

“We are also going to be using biofuel supplied by Simply Green a couple times a season,” Ryzman says.

A local pioneer in the biodiesel industry, Simply Green’s BioMarine is a blend of petroleum based Ultra Low Sulfer Diesel and biofuel made from soybean oil.

In 2010, ISSCO joined the Green Alliance, a Portsmouth based consumer co-op and business union that connects eco-minded consumers with local businesses and nonprofits who have made sustainability a central part of their business model. That kind of networking was on display in July, when more than 250 guests and entrepreneurs mingled aboard the M/V Thomas Laighton during the Green Alliance’s 2^nd Annual Summer Cruise. Partygoers even got to watch wind turbine parts being unloaded at Portsmouth Harbor, destined for the Granite Reliable Windpark in Coos County. 

All that time spent around environmentalists is starting to wear off on Ryzman.

“I don’t even turn the lights on when I’m at work anymore,” he jokes.

Check out the Isles of Shoals Steamship Company’s upcoming cruise schedule:

www.islesofshoals.com

Join the Green Alliance:

www.greenalliance.biz