Svitzer, part of A.P. Moller – Maersk (Maersk), has unveiled its decarbonisation strategy that will see it become fully carbon neutral by 2040.
The towage operator’s strategy comes in two phases. Firstly, it is aiming to reduce the CO intensity of its entire fleet by 50 per cent by 2030. This aims to pave the way for fully carbon neutral operations in 2040, in line with Maersk’s ambition.
Svitzer also said it is investing time and capital to embed sustainability throughout its day-to-day operations and its fleet, specifically through the types of fuel used by its vessels.
Methanol is just one possible fuel the company is exploring. In the long term, it aims to take steps to retrofit and renew its fleet in order to operate on low carbon fuel solutions.
Progress is to be measured against a 2020 baseline, which saw the company’s fleet of 400 ships emit 280,000 tonnes of CO2.
Finally, the Maersk subsidiary also looks to improve the efficiency of its fleet from a design perspective. To do this, Svitzer is launching its new and innovative TRAnsverse Tug design.
According to the company, this blueprint can generate higher steering forces than most designs of similar dimensions in a smaller, nimbler package with a reduced environmental footprint.
“We are proud to unveil our strategy to become fully carbon neutral by 2040,” said Kasper Nilaus, CEO of Svitzer.
“We are not committing to these ambitions lightly and understand that it will require leadership and collaboration with our customers, suppliers, industry peers, and ports around the world to ensure success. Widespread changes and investment into the way we work, the fuel we burn, and the composition of our fleet will be required.
“The work has already started, and the whole team at Svitzer is invigorated by the opportunity to contribute to solving this truly global challenge. We hope that by leading the way for towage we will be able to generate the cleaner, greener future that our children, our industry, ports around the globe and our oceans deserve.
“We recognise that we can’t do this alone. Collaboration and partnerships with our customers and suppliers will be key, and we look forward to taking the industry along with us in our journey to become carbon neutral by 2040.”
Gareth Prowse, Head of Decarbonisation at Svitzer, added: The decarbonisation strategy we are launching today is ambitious and sets a clear roadmap for Svitzer but, most importantly, it is absolutely achievable if we focus on the right areas to generate real progress.
“That is why we have split our strategy into three pillars: behaviour, equipment, and fuel, and we will focus on each of these in a step change fashion to bring about carbon neutrality in a way that works for our customers and maintains the high level of service Svitzer is known for.”
