Environmental groups have backed AP Moller-Maersk's drive towards carbon neutrality by 2050.
The Danish boxship giant said this week that it would look to have emissions-free ships commercially viable by 2030 in a bid to meet the target.
“We will have to abandon fossil fuels," Maersk chief operating officer Soren Toft told the Financial Times. "We will have to find a different type of fuel or a different way to power our assets.
“This is not just another cost-cutting exercise. It’s far from that. It’s an existential exercise, where we as a company need to set ourselves apart.”
The move was greeted enthusiastically by commentators.
'Big step'
Jens Mattias Clausen of Greenpeace Denmark, said: "This is a big step from the world’s largest shipping company. What Maersk does now to follow through on that commitment is critical because we have no time to waste.”
Tristan Smith, a reader in energy and shipping at University College London, added Maersk's move was a major step forwards.
"At a time when many of their competitors are still trying to find ways to argue that LNG is sufficient, they send an unambiguous signal, not only that the future is zero emissions, but that that future is only 10 years away,” he said.
"I think it’s likely that Maersk will reach its goals, partly because they leave the door open on biofuels, and also because this area is moving fast and it is comparatively trivial for hydrogen/ammonia etc to be available at competitive prices within the timescale needed for these objectives."
He said the potential of biofuels was limited, because there just is not the capacity to fuel the world's fleet. However, hydrogen/ammonia produced using renewable electricity sources is "massively scaleable" and will dominate in the future.
