Mubasher: Maersk will accelerate plans to decarbonise sea-borne container shipping by putting the world’s first carbon-neutral vessel into operation in 2023, Reuters said on Wednesday.

The shipping industry, which carries about 80% of global trade and makes up nearly 3% of global carbon emissions, pledged in 2020 to have ships and marine fuels with zero carbon emissions ready by 2030.

“Fast-tracked by advances in technology and increasing customer demand for sustainable supply chains, Maersk is accelerating the efforts to decarbonise marine operations with the launch of the world’s first carbon-neutral liner vessel in 2023,” the shipping group said.

The carbon-neutral vessel will be fuelled by methanol.

“Our ambition to have a carbon-neutral fleet by 2050 was a moonshot when we announced it in 2018. Today we see it as a challenging, yet achievable target to reach,” said CEO, Soren Skou.