THE net zero targets of 85 per cent of the global containership fleet are much more ambitious than the UN's International Maritime Organisation (IMO), which is under pressure to follow their lead, according to London's Drewry Maritime Research.

"It is a sign of the times that the sustainability reports of container shipping companies arguably make for more interesting reading than their income statements, which no longer contain such mind-blowing numbers," said Drewry.

"Sustainability/ESG filings certainly provide more clues on the long-term direction that carriers are heading, filled as they are with pledges on how each will help the industry go beyond the current decarbonisation target of the IMO - to at least halve shipping's greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 (compared to 2008)," said Drewry.

From the leading 10 carriers -operating 85 per cent of the global box fleet -eight have confirmed net zero targets by 2050 at the latest while one other, Cosco, is aiming for 2060, in line with all Chinese state-owned entities, said Drewry senior researcher Simon Heaney.

Said Mr Heaney: "The odd one out is Taiwanese carrier Yang Ming, which, so far, has not explicitly said that it will aim for net zero by a specific date. It has, though, committed to the IMO's targets."