GREEN shipping faces an uncertain future with a mix of fuels to cut emissions.

Greek shipmanager Enea Management’s operations and business development manager Elpi Petraki told a Lloyd's List webinar the company had not chosen a fuel to invest in without knowing what would be available.

WinGD product digital senior manager Luca Sala said interim efficiency technologies were important before zero-carbon options were ready.

Mr Sala said fuels such as methanol were not yet made sustainably, nor at the scale needed to meet demand. “For me the journey will be many, many stops with improvements in operation of the vessel.”

Biofuels could play an important role in the short term as they presented no technical challenge, he said.

Tech firm 90 Percent of Everything founder Richard Buckley said he was “very worried” about the safety of hydrogen and ammonia and seafarers were a “long way off” being comfortable with using them.

Shipping would have to compete with other industries for them “My fear is there is going to be a huge battle for these new green energy sources,” he said, adding carbon capture could be a solution to the safety fears.

He called molten salt nuclear reactors a “fascinating technology with a whole load of political and regulatory problems ahead of it… but actually is a true carbon-zero alternative”.

The number of maritime start-ups was exciting but “probably won’t be sustainable” and consolidation in the industry was likely.