Danish Maritime Authority strengthens ties with Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center

The Danish Maritime Authority and Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping have signed a knowledge partnership agreement as a formal recognition of their joint work on the decarbonization of shipping.

The partnership is said to confirm the existing relationship and collaboration between the two organizations that co-lead the Zero Emission Shipping Mission under Mission Innovation along with the Governments of the US and Norway and the Global Maritime Forum.

As part of this effort, the two partners have committed to extensive knowledge sharing as they work to accelerate the development and implementation of the future fuels and solutions needed to decarbonize shipping.

Close collaboration between the public sector and industry is said to be essential to succeed with this systemic change.

“The Danish Maritime Authority has a clear ambition of creating quality shipping where growth and safety go hand in hand. This approach is critical to ensure a safe and just transition towards a decarbonized global maritime industry,” Bo Cerup-Simonsen, CEO of Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, commented.

“We need standards, policies, and regulation to mature in the same pace as the technology develops and close collaboration between governments and industry is critical to achieve this. We know the Danish Maritime Authority well and appreciate them as our close co-leaders of this global transition.”

“New fuel types and technologies within decarbonization call for new legislation, and the Danish Maritime Authority will contribute to push for international regulation that creates incentives for the production of renewable fuels and provides a level playing field for the industry,” Andreas Nordseth, Director General at Danish Maritime Authority, said.

“This effort can only succeed through successful public-private partnerships that build bridges between industry developments and regulation, and I am therefore pleased that we with this partnership agreement build further to our existing, close collaboration with the Center to enable the transition to a decarbonized global shipping.”

Shipping’s roadmap to decarbonization

With 100,000 ships consuming around 300 million tons of fossil fuel p.a., global shipping accounts for around 3% of global carbon emissions, a share that is likely to increase due to the foreseen growth in global trade in the coming decades.

Achieving the long-term target of decarbonization requires new fuel types and a systemic change within the industry.

Shipping is a globally regulated industry, which provides an opportunity to secure broad-based industry adoption of new technology and fuels. To accelerate the development of viable technologies a coordinated effort within applied research and demonstration is needed across the entire supply chain. Industry leaders play a critical role in ensuring that laboratory research is successfully matured into scalable solutions matching the needs of the industry. At the same time, new legislation will be required to enable the transition toward decarbonization.

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