UK announces initiatives to accelerate zero emission shipping

According to the UK government, decarbonising maritime is essential to achieve net zero emissions across the UK economy by 2050, as domestic shipping alone produces more greenhouse gases than buses, coaches and rail combined.

This transition of the shipping industry to zero emissions, as well as fulfilling our objectives to combat climate change, will also improve air quality in and around our ports and coastal communities

Earlier this year the National Shipbuilding Strategy announced £206 million to establish a UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions, or UK SHORE. This is an initiative showcasing UK’s climate leadership and commitment to decarbonising maritime.

In addition, Robert Courts, UK Maritime Minister, started this program, launching a package of initiatives including:

• The second round of the multi-year Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition (CMDC), which opens for applications – building on the success of the first CMDC – to fund feasibility studies and pre-deployment trials in innovative clean maritime solutions, enabling full-scale technology demonstrations;
• Feasibility studies exploring green shipping corridors, as part of the multi-year CMDC, placing the UK at the centre of emerging clean maritime routes – these will align with our ambition to drive the transition to zero-emission shipping at the IMO, implementing the commitments in the Clydebank Declaration for Green Shipping Corridors, announced at COP26;
• Exploring initiatives on green shipbuilding skills this year in partnership with the Department for Education and their UK Shipbuilding Skills Taskforce, working closely with the National Shipbuilding Office – future programmes will be targeted at upskilling our workforce, making sure we are ready as a shipbuilding and maritime nation for net zero shipping;
• Working with the devolved administrations to support the greening of intra-UK ferry routes via a zero emission ferries programme – this will build domestic green corridors, tackling climate change and levelling up of the UK’s island communities;
• Confirmation that this year UK will set out plans for a Centre for Smart Shipping (CSmart), a commitment in the Maritime 2050 strategy – providing a coordinating function in new and emerging technologies, CSmart will build on the UK’s strength in smart shipping systems and enable innovation hubs to support regional clusters of expertise across the UK;
• Grant schemes for early research projects delivered by our world-leading universities, in partnership with the UKRI Supergen programme and marine industrial stakeholders – this initiative will build on the excellence of UK academia, exploring new ideas to create a pipeline of future technology solutions to decarbonise the maritime sector.

The transition to zero emission shipping is a unique opportunity to radically reboot our marine manufacturing and gear up productivity, building on our competitive edge in clean maritime solutions

Mr. Courts concluded.