9th April 2021 12:07 pm Electric boats of all shapes and sizes are beginning to make a splash in the maritime sector. Andrew Wade reports. It’s estimated that maritime greenhouse gas emissions account for around 2.5 per cent of the global total, marginally ahead of the two per cent that aviation contributes. If shipping were a country, it would be the sixth largest emitter of CO2 after China, the USA, India, Russia and Japan. International shipping – much like long-haul flight – will not be electrified any time soon, as the energy density of batteries simply cannot facilitate it. And for an industry that’s recently committed to halve its emissions by 2050, that’s a fairly significant problem.