Written statement on UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions

Minister for Shipping (Robert Courts MP): 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.

Urgent action is needed today – the average lifespan of vessels means that greener ships must start being deployed by 2025 to achieve a zero-emission fleet by 2050. It’s vital that every sector plays its part to remain in line with the Paris Agreement.

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 in my department a UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions, or UK SHORE. This is a world-leading initiative showcasing our climate leadership and commitment to decarbonising maritime.

Today (24 May 2022), I am kick-starting this ambitious programme, launching a package of initiatives including:

• the second round of the multi-year Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition (CMDC), which opens today 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 we 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

This is the first of a series of packages launched as part of the implementation of UK SHORE.

Initiatives will be delivered in parallel with the maritime commitments in the Transport decarbonisation plan and the 2019 Clean maritime plan.

We will continue to build momentum towards the publication in 2023 of a refreshed clean maritime plan. This will bring together our commitments, setting out a plan of action towards net zero for the UK domestic 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.

Delivered in partnership with the National Shipbuilding Office and the Department for International Trade, UK SHORE initiatives will energise UK shipyards and their supply chains as we recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It will drive innovation investment and revitalise maritime infrastructure. The implementation of UK SHORE is expected to support thousands of jobs across our communities, as programme implementation gathers pace.