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Greek operator Neda Maritime Agency Co Ltd has become the first ship owner to receive carbon credits through a landmark scheme developed by global paints and coatings company AkzoNobel.

A total of 13,735 carbon credits, worth around $60,000, have been presented to Neda Maritime via the award-winning program. Launched in 2014, it rewards ship owners for converting to sustainable hull coatings that improve operational efficiencies and reduce emissions.

The carbon credits were accrued by the tanker vessel Argenta, which was converted from a biocidal antifouling to a premium, biocide-free advanced hull coating from AkzoNobel's Intersleek range - part of the company's International brand.

"We are extremely proud to be the world's first ship owner to receive carbon credits from AkzoNobel's initiative," said Costas Mitropoulos, Technical Director at Neda Maritime. "As the shipping industry faces more pressure to improve its sustainability, we will also continue our commitment to further increase our environmental performance. We see AkzoNobel’s pioneering carbon credits initiative as a key part of our strategy to deliver a more sustainable, profitable and ultimately successful business."

Oscar Wezenbeek, Managing Director of AkzoNobel's Marine Coatings business, added: "This is a landmark moment for AkzoNobel, Neda Maritime and the wider shipping industry. It demonstrates how our carbon credits initiative can incentivize investment in more sustainable practices, accelerating carbon reduction within the shipping industry, and enabling owners to gain from operational, environmental and bottom line benefits from clean technologies."

Neda Maritime will use its carbon credits to voluntarily offset other sources of CO2 emissions within its business. Each carbon credit accrued represents the removal of one ton of CO2 from the atmosphere, which means the company has offset a total of 13,735 tons of CO2 from its business.

Developed in conjunction with The Gold Standard Foundation and Fremco Group, the first issue of carbon credits through the scheme - worth more than $500,000 - was announced in February 2016.