Will Britannia dominate the waves of the green shipping revolution?
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he wants Britain to become a shipbuilding superpower again. At his last annual party conference, held in cyberspace due to the pandemic, Johnson announced a revival in a British industry which by the 1890s controlled more than 80% of the global shipbuilding market but contracted sharply in the second half of the 20th century. In his conference speech, the Prime Minister evoked a recent controversy to a patriotic song written in the 1700s: Rule Britannia. The anthem, with its rousing chorus of Britannia towering over the waves, has aroused the ire of progressive Britons who see it as a hymn to empire and oppression. Traditionalists, including Johnson, see it as an exuberant celebration of the history of the UKs maritime supremacy. We dont mind singing old songs about how Britannia rules the waves, he said. In fact, they even understood it with a concerted national shipbuilding strategy that will create jobs in all parts of the UK. Making Britain a shipbuilding superpower is a tall order. While the country still builds its own warships, superyachts, specialized research and patrol boats, no one thinks it will ever compete with the huge commercial shipyards of China, Japan and South Korea. I dont think we should be kidding ourselves about building massive container ships, tankers or cruise ships in the UK. United Kingdom maritime. Ben Murray, Managing Director of Maritime UK, said this moment in time is an opportunity to create fantastic new products and solutions that help us decarbonize. Murray believes that a big part of Britains maritime future lies in designing and building new systems to tackle climate change. The International Maritime Organization has set a goal for the global shipping industry reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 50% by 2050, and the US government I would like to see them cut of 100%. Murray described this as an opportunity to create fantastic new products and solutions that help us decarbonise. One way to reduce a ships carbon emissions, currently under development by several UK companies, involves one of the earliest forms of marine propulsion. The wind, said Diane Gilpin of Smart green shipping. Were looking for wind power for 21st century shipping. The sails his company designed are not the big, puffy canvases of yesteryear. They look more like an airplane wing, she says. These are vertical metal sails. And smart. They know how to pluck to get the best wind speed and direction. If there is a bridge, they know they have to retract and go down to the bridge. They are fully automated, so the crew wont need to learn which rope to pull. The UK is really in a good position to lead the world, says Diane Gilpin, Managing Director of Smart Green Shipping. The Gilpins vertical sails, which help propel the ship, will reduce fuel consumption by at least one-fifth, reducing costs and carbon emissions. She thinks it will be a money generator. The transition of the global fleet of 60,000 vessels represents a huge business opportunity for people who can find solutions to decarbonise it, she said. Edwin Pang, naval architect and founder of the maritime consultancy firm Arcsilea, has embarked on a similar mission to decarbonize maritime transport. He is part of a consortium developing a small car ferry powered by hydrogen fuel cells operate on a short trip between two Orkney Islands off the northeast coast of Scotland. We have to start small. The ferry is only about 40 meters long, takes about 16 cars, Pang said. Once we put the demonstrator in the water and understand how it works, then we can start to consider scaling up. The consortium is international, so its unclear how much work this will generate in the UK if it turns out to be successful. But Pang pointed out that a British company, Johnson matthey, is one of the largest producers of components for fuel cells, and British companies will develop processes for integrating fuel cells into ships. Anyone can guess at this point to what extent this innovation and Boris Johnsons rhetoric will translate into British manufacturing and jobs. But maritime innovator Gilpin believes the UK could lead the green shipping revolution. And so, perhaps, Britannia could rule the waves again, but not this time in a militaristic way. Yes, absolutely, said Gilpin. Climate leadership has to be the way forward, and I think the UK is really in a good position to lead the world. Money could be a problem, however. The government pledged to invest $ 28 million to launch the green shipping revolution. But Maritime UK says it needs $ 1.5 billion.