Clearer Waters For Deep Sea Freight
Have you ever considered how many of the products we use daily are shipped across vast oceans to reach our shores? Shipping is responsible for 90% of global trade, supplying goods to virtually every industry. This provides businesses around the world with opportunities to expand trade in different countries. It also gives consumers greater access to a broader range of affordable goods. But this almost invisible method of transportation, which barely registers on the average person’s radar, comes at a cost.
International shipping is responsible for 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, or roughly 1 billion metric tonnes of carbon dioxide each year. Deep sea shipping – cargo crossing continents – makes up the majority of this figure. According to Statista there are around 5,600 container ships serving global sea routes. These vessels are traditionally powered by diesel-electric propulsion, which contributes to air and sea pollution and threatens marine life. Without clean seas, planetary health suffers, too. The United Nations (UN) reports that the oceans generate half the oxygen we need while absorbing 30% of all carbon emissions. Humans simply cannot survive without healthy oceans.
In light of this, the shipping industry has been pushing hard to decarbonise. In April 2025, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) announced their Net-Zero Framework following the organisation’s pledge for shipping to meet net zero by 2050. The framework combines mandatory limits on emissions and a global greenhouse gas pricing mechanism. The IMO says the new measures, which will be formally adopted in October 2025 and come into force in 2027, will be compulsory for large ships over 5,000 gross tonnage. These are the vessels that emit 85% of the total emissions from international shipping.
This important new framework is helping turn the tide, allowing companies across the shipping sector to innovate and investors to dive into new green shipping opportunities. Markets and Data project significant growth in the global green shipping technologies market from USD 22.31bn in 2024 to USD 140.74bn by 2032. Many industry leaders are already riding this wave.
Pioneering The Clean Fuel Transition
In 2021, Fortescue, a global technology, energy and metals company, announced the Fortescue Green Pioneer. This 75-metre-long demonstration vessel, which took two years to complete, is the world’s first dual-fuel ammonia-powered ship. In 2023 it sailed from its base in Singapore to Dubai for COP28. In early 2025 it arrived in London on the eve of a gathering of global business leaders facilitated by the Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI). The Green Pioneer has since docked in Gibraltar and the United States, and will make an appearance in Belém, Brazil for COP30. As Dr Andrew Forrest, the company’s Founder and Executive Chairman, says, "it's time to transition to green fuels – and one bold project is already leading the charge.”
Sailing In The Cloud
The transition to green fuels is only one part of the story. AVEVA use smart software to streamline shipping by designing complex ships in the cloud. This process creates a digital twin of the ship that companies can use to mirror operations, predict performance, and cut down on fuel consumption by about 30%. Caspar Herzberg, CEO of AVEVA, explains the importance of looking at the industry holistically – from the ship operators and builders to the fuel suppliers and port managers. This level of visibility allows companies to make better choices and be more efficient, removing waste and emissions throughout the supply chain.
Caspar’s dream is that “one day when a large ship enters a big industrial port, the water in that port is so crystal clear and so full of fish that it’s just wonderful. That’s what we need to achieve.”
Future-Proofing Design With AI
Efficiency is crucial for the shipping industry to become more sustainable. This is where BlueNose – a 2024 Terra Carta Design Lab winner – come in. With AI-driven retrofits, BlueNose improve the aerodynamics of cargo ships. Their innovative designs help ship owners lower their emissions, reduce costs, and keep fleets compliant with new regulations.
As the company’s CEO and Co-Founder Léon Grillet explains, BlueNose use data from ship owners to retrofit aerodynamic structures that reduce air resistance, which contributes up to 15% of the fuel consumption of very large ships. “If we were to look at a container ship with a capacity of 8,000 containers, that will represent savings of about $1 million each year for a ship owner,” he says.
Léon’s business partner, Joë Sangar, adds that “sustainability and profitability go hand in hand. If we look at our core target, which is container ships, we could save up to 11 million tonnes of CO2 each year. To give you a comparison, that’s almost 2.2 million cars off the roads each year.”
Zero-Carbon-Ready Vessels
Höegh Autoliners are setting a new environmental standard for Pure Car and Truck Carrier transport with their Aurora Class ships. Currently multi-fuel-ready, the Aurora vessel can cut carbon emissions by 58% compared to industry standard. The first Aurora vessel began commercial operations in August 2024, and by 2027, the entire Aurora fleet will be powered by clean ammonia.
Andreas Enger, CEO of Höegh Autoliners, says producing new-build vessels gives the company the opportunity to create a zero-carbon-ready product, with no more than 5% to 10% additional investment.
“Five years ago, it was the general consensus in the industry that decarbonising deep-sea shipping was almost impossible. Now,” Andreas says, “I think we know exactly what to do.”
It’s an exciting time for the shipping sector, with new challenges and opportunities ahead.
As Fortescue and Hoegh Autoliners create new blueprints for sustainable vessels while AVEVA and BlueNose optimise operations with advanced technology, there are many different routes that companies can take.
However the industry decides to navigate net-zero shipping, one thing is clear – this journey is going to require all hands on deck.
