An apparent difference of opinion on decarbonisation has led giant Danish shipowner AP Moller-Maersk to leave the board of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS).
The container line said executive vice president Henriette Thygesen has stepped down after an annual revision of the group’s trade association memberships.
Maersk is not a direct ICS member, but is part of shipowners’ organisation Danish Shipping, which is.
The Danish group has been represented on the board for about 10 years.
But it said: “We review our membership status once a year to ensure that the trade associations in which we are members lobby in alignment with the goals of the Paris Agreement as well as other key issues.
“Our choice to step down from the ICS board should also be seen in this context,” the shipowner added.
It did not elaborate on where it differed to ICS’s stance. The ICS is not commenting.
The Paris agreement is a legally-binding treaty agreed in 2015 globally. It aims to limit global warming by lowering greenhouse gas emissions.
A spokesperson for Maersk told Reuters the decision had been announced at an ICS annual general meeting last month.
Maersk said it would continue to focus its efforts on membership of the World Shipping Council (WSC), a trade group for container lines.
Maersk moving on methanol
ICS has members from more than 40 countries and represents over 80% of the world’s commercial fleet.
Its aim is to promote “best practices throughout the shipping industry”.
Maersk aims to have a carbon-neutral fleet by 2030 as part of a commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050.
The group is a first-mover on methanol fuel in the container ship sector.
In June, TradeWinds reported Maersk was poised to order a series of 16,000-teu newbuildings that could cost more than $2.2bn.
The Danish shipping giant made headlines last year by being the first liner company to invest in methanol dual-fuelled boxship newbuildings. It is now said to be looking to order up to a dozen 16,000-teu vessels, doubling the orderbook of neo-panamax ships to 24.
