An International Maritime Organization official reiterated that one of the biggest challenges that shipping faces is the decarbonisation effort needed to meet the UN body’s 2050 goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.

Heike Deggim, director of the IMO’s marine environment division, said: “The timescale for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, embedded to the greenhouse gas strategy, is very ambitious and there is a commensurate urgency to understand related safety risks and to ensure the safety of the necessary solutions.”