Leadership Clean: Seaview Boatyards

April 3, 2013 | by Ben Lee

If you go to the Seaview Boatyard website, you’ll see a large section devoted to Environmental Stewardship. There’s a run-down of how they protect the environment while running their business and a few of the awards and certifications they have earned. Having worked closely with the guys at Seaview over the last couple of years, I can confirm that this environmental stewardship is part of their core.

In fact, Seaview Boatyards have been at the leading edge of environmental responsibility for decades. Whether it’s through their involvement in the early 1990s writing the original NPDES boatyard permits, their installation of stormwater-filtering bioswales and more advanced water filtration systems, their construction of a state-of-the-art paint building with a downdraft air filtration system (which reduces toxins to workers and to the broader environment) or their early implementation of the now-standard BMPs (Best Management Practices), they’ve been at the business forefront of environmental stewardship for a long time.

And when we say “long time,” we mean it. Seaview got started in 1974, operating the only travel lift in Seattle at the time, out of the Port of Seattle site at Shilshole Bay Marina (Seaview’s West location). Back then, it was a solely do-it-yourself yard – they’d haul you out, you’d do the work. But in the early 80’s, they started to add in-house services and their customer base grew. By the late 80’s, they had expanded to their East yard (which they moved out of in 2011) and in the early 2000’s they expanded further into Bellingham with their North and Fairhaven yards. Clearly, they were doing something right.

What’s kept Seaview successful and in front all these years? Phil Riise, President and CEO, says it quite well, “My motivating business drive is to produce something better than what’s there now…always. That means Seaview is founded on the idea that we have to think about tomorrow, today.” He supports environmental regulations, in general, because he understands the importance of maintaining a healthy Puget Sound for the strength of the marine industry into the future.

And that’s why they’re not worried at Seaview about environmental inspections – their core philosophy leads them to be doing the right things all the time.

So it’s not surprising that all three of the Seaview Boatyards (West, North and Fairhaven) have been awarded Leadership Clean Boatyard certification by the Clean Boating Foundation. This is our highest certification level and it speaks to the fact that Seaview goes above and beyond what’s required to reach into true environmental stewardship.