Bankers Expect Shipowners to go Green

To meet the IMO’s ambitious targets on greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping, big changes are needed in the maritime industry.

How is change usually realised? Sometimes it is through the strict enforcement of regulation. Other times it might be the incentive of reduced operational costs.

There is a new motivator for shipowners to become greener and this comes from the world of finance.

The Poseidon Principles

The maritime financial sector has recognised the importance of its role in ensuring responsible environmental stewardship and has created the Poseidon Principles.

This is a framework for financial institutions, banks, lenders, vessel mortgagees, guarantors etc. to make sure their portfolios are aligned with environmental principles – in particular, the IMO’s GHG targets for 2030 and 2050.

Thirteen leading banks,  who between them represent about US$ 100 billion in shipping finance, have publicly committed to measuring the carbon intensity of their portfolio on an annual basis and to report on whether decarbonisation efforts are on track.

Poseidon Principles shouldn’t prove to be a further administrative burden on ships’ crews. Data will be collected from the IMO Data Collection System (DCS), so there shouldn’t be double reporting.

The simple message from these financial backers of the maritime industry is that they may move away from shipowners whose fleets aren’t decarbonising at the rate needed to meet the IMO targets.

For more information

Go to Poseidon Principles.

More on the IMO DCS.