Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress he has made on developing improved fuel efficiency technologies for domestic shipping.

The government is committed to driving down emissions from ships and reducing the impact of emissions from the maritime sector on the environment, climate and public health. In the current Clean Air Strategy consultation, we have set out our intention to focus on the role domestic shipping and ports activities can play in delivering these improvements.

Reducing shipping emissions and improving ship efficiency is a complex issue and there is no single solution to the problem. There are a number of alternative fuels and technologies that are available to shipowners and ports. For this reason, the Department for Transport is improving its evidence base to produce a comprehensive body of data on emissions from all ships operating in UK waters. This will establish the extent of the problem and underpin the appraisal of proposed interventions.

To meet the vision of Maritime 2050, a long-term strategy for the UK’s maritime sector currently being developed, the government will publish the first Clean Maritime Plan by spring 2019. Recognising that a holistic approach is needed, this plan will set out our ambition of zero emission shipping and policies covering both alternative fuels and fuel efficiency technologies to achieve this. We will also establish a Clean Maritime Council to bring together different parts of the maritime sector to drive the uptake of cleaner technologies and greener fuels.