The UK has revealed a new plan to enforce the ordering of zero-emission ships.
Its Clean Maritime Plan states that all newbuilding contracts must comply with this requirement from 2025 if the vessels will be operating in UK waters.
Maritime minister Nusrat Ghani wants to cut pollution from the country’s maritime sector.
The scheme includes a £1m ($1.26m) competition to find innovative ways to reduce emissions.
It will also help deliver the UK's commitment to be net zero on greenhouse gases by 2050.
Ghani said: “Our maritime sector is vital to the success of the UK’s economy, but it must do everything it can to reduce emissions, improve air quality and tackle climate change.
“The Clean Maritime Plan sets an ambitious vision for the sector and opens up exciting opportunities for innovation. It will help make the UK a global hub for new green technologies in the maritime sector.”
"Valuable piece of work"
Hybrid ferries are already being used in UK waters, including in the Scottish islands and on cross-Solent journeys to the Isle of Wight.
Tim Morris, chief executive of the UK Major Ports Group and a member of the Clean Maritime Council, added: “The Clean Maritime Plan is a really valuable piece of work, setting out an ambitious path forward for the transformation of the maritime sector in the UK.
"It doesn’t shy away from the scale or complexity of the challenge of such a transformation. But it’s a transformation that the ports industry, along with the rest of the maritime sector and working in partnership with government and other stakeholders, is determined to take on.”
A further consultation to increase the uptake of low carbon fuels will also take place next year.
The plan document reveals that by 2025 the UK expects all vessels operating in UK waters to be maximising the use of energy efficiency options.
By 2035, it expects that it will have built a number of clean maritime clusters.
These combine infrastructure and innovation for the use of zero emission propulsion technologies, the government said.
It also expects low or zero-emission marine fuel bunkering options are readily available across the UK.
