Maersk Quits World's Largest Shipping Union

According to Reuters and a number of European media reports: A few days ago, the global shipping giant, AP Moller-Maersk officially announced: Maersk has decided to withdraw from the world's largest shipping industry organization, the International Shipping Union (International Shipping Union) due to inconsistent positions on climate change. International Chamber of Shipping, referred to as: ICS), and withdraw its board members from ICS!

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), established for more than a century, is the world's largest shipping trade union, with members from more than 40 countries/regions, representing more than 80% of the world's commercial fleet!

Maersk is one of the largest shipping groups in the world and one of the most important members of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS).

Maersk has been on the ICS board for about a decade, but Henriette Hallberg Thygesen, a senior Maersk representative and a member of the ICS board, has announced her resignation from ICS.

Maersk said on its website: "We review (collectively all participating associations & organisations) membership annually to ensure that our trade associations are aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement on global climate change and other key issues."

The Paris Agreement is a legally binding treaty reached by countries around the world in 2015 to limit global warming by curbing global greenhouse gas emissions. "Our opt-out of the ICS board should also be based on that," it added, though Maersk did not specify that it disagreed with ICS's position.

The decision was announced at ICS's annual general meeting on June 22, a spokesman told Reuters. Maersk also said it would focus on its membership in the World Shipping Council (WSC), the trade body for container shippers.

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) declined to comment on Maersk's withdrawal.

Maersk aims to have a carbon-neutral fleet by 2030, in line with its goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. The shipping industry carries about 80% of global trade and accounts for about 3% of global carbon emissions.