Green Shipping: Investing for a Sustainable Future

“The value of an idea lies in the using of it,” said US inventor Thomas Edison.  A couple of hundred years old, the quote is as apt as ever, and might well be a slogan for Maritime UK's lobbying pitch to the UK government for £1B of investment for new maritime ‘green #shipping’ innovations.

According to Maritime UK, there are any number of inventions underway in the country – engineering concepts from companies like Smart Green Shipping (SGS) and Artemis Technologies Ltd -- which could be supported to ‘kick start’ the UK’s advancements. The association estimates this stimulus could result in the industry’s ultimately creating up to 75,000 jobs across the country.

Shipping is a key sector for all of us. According to the United Nations, shipping delivers more than 80% of world trade, also transporting people for work and leisure travel.  The International Maritime Organization, in a March 2021 report, reflected that the shipping industry accounts now for 2.89% of all emissions; thus a critical sector for #sustainable development.

When UK Prime Minister Johnson laid out his plans last year for a new Green Industrial Revolution he committed to investing £20M in clean #maritime technology and research projects to develop zero-emission ships – a far cry from the £1B for which Maritime UK is asking.

This said, Johnson has stated his interest in seeing #Britain become a “#shipbuilding superpower”, so perhaps Maritime UK’s hopes for the ‘kick start’ investment will be realised and SGS, Artemis and others like it can progress their ideas more actively.

With just under 3% contribution to #emissions, the shipping industry clearly has an immense need for #sustainability-led designs that these companies’ work may well help solve.