Ship financiers’ lending portfolios are getting closer to reaching climate alignment with the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) ambitious decarbonisation trajectories, with average scores against the ‘minimum trajectory’ improving by nearly 8 percentage points.
The news was revealed today in the Sixth Annual Disclosure Report of the Poseidon Principles, the world’s first sector-specific framework for financial institutions to assess and disclose the climate alignment of their shipping portfolios. With 36 signatories across 14 countries, representing nearly three-quarters of the world’s ship finance portfolio, the initiative establishes a benchmark for the industry in line with the IMO’s goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping by 2050.
This year, signatories disclosed 95% of their eligible portfolio activity, up from 93% last year and the second-highest level since reporting began.
Paul Taylor, Vice Chair of the Poseidon Principles and Global Head of Maritime Industries, Societe Generale, said: “Transparency is key. It fosters collaboration between financial institutions and shipowners, and guides capital toward more efficient vessels and cleaner fuels. The results of this year’s report show encouraging, measurable, real-world momentum and progress in action. Signatories are disclosing the vast majority of their portfolios, showing increasing collaboration between financiers and clients, and climate alignment scores have moved closer to the IMO’s decarbonisation pathways. This progress is particularly striking considering the pathways become more stringent year-on-year. In short, the Poseidon Principles continue to demonstrate the power of financial transparency in guiding the shipping industry’s transition.”
The report shows that emissions data is increasingly informing credit decisions and innovative financial products, such as sustainability-linked loans. Operational efficiency, retrofits, and emerging fuel pathways are noted as key drivers of score improvements this year, and the scores were also impacted by evolving methodologies and external factors, including rerouting vessels on longer routes and disruptions in supply chains. The framework positions financial institutions as active partners in the industry’s transition.
2025 Annual Disclosure Report key findings
— Increasing transparency: Twenty-nine signatories disclosed 90% or more of their in-scope portfolio, while nine signatories achieved 100% reporting, the highest number of signatories to hit these two respective targets to date. The average disclosure rate across all signatories was 95%.
— Improved climate alignment: While the average scores remain misaligned with the IMO’s net-zero pathways, substantial year-on-year improvements were recorded. Against the IMO’s ‘minimum trajectory’, the scores went from just over 19% misaligned last year to just under 12% misaligned this year, representing a nearly 8 percentage point improvement. Against the IMO’s ‘striving trajectory’, scores went from 25% misaligned to just over 18% misaligned.
— Meaningful progress in the cargo and passenger segments: The cargo and passenger segments saw improvements from 14% to 6% misaligned, and from 38% to 26% misaligned, respectively. These shifts demonstrate advances in vessel efficiency, increased uptake of low-emission fuels, and the entry of more efficient dual-fuel vessels into the fleet.
It is important to note that the decarbonisation trajectories set by the 2023 IMO’s GHG Strategy get more challenging to reach each year, making it more difficult to achieve alignment as time goes on. Seeing improvements year-on-year is promising, but additional efforts are still needed to reach milestones in 2030, 2040, and 2050.
Reinforcing the initiative as an established, globally recognised standard for shipping finance, the Poseidon Principles methodology has been included as an acceptable method to set near-term and long-term portfolio alignment targets as part of the Science Based Targets initiative’s Financial Institutions Net-Zero Standard.
Associate membership expansion
Since 2019, the Poseidon Principles have matured into a globally recognised benchmark for transparent, industry-wide climate reporting that has been replicated by other critical sectors, such as steel, aluminium, and aviation. Now, there is a willingness to go further in bringing other institutions on board.
In addition to the lenders, lessors, and financial guarantors historically represented in the signatory list, the Poseidon Principles are now expanding to offer associate membership to a broader range of financial institutions, including private equity, hedge funds, and capital markets underwriters. This expansion will increase the initiative’s potential impact by engaging the wider financial community in the framework without initial reporting obligations. This expansion will strengthen the Association’s influence across the full maritime finance ecosystem and support a broader, more consistent approach to emissions accountability.
Michael Parker, Poseidon Principles Chair and Chairman of Global Shipping & Logistics, Citi, said: “The Poseidon Principles Annual Disclosure Report has become a vital pulse check for the industry, showing how global lending portfolios measure up against the climate ambitions set by the IMO. This consistent transparency gives us a clear view of progress across approximately three-quarters of global ship finance. Without it, we would have no meaningful way to understand how far we and the industry have come, or how far we still need to go.
“Today, the Poseidon Principles are taking another important step to deepen that transparency. By opening Associate Membership to any institution providing or arranging capital for the maritime sector—including private equity firms and hedge funds—we are broadening the lens through which climate considerations can be directly integrated into financing decisions. This expansion supports a broader commitment to transparency and accountability across finance and reinforces the sector’s contribution to a more sustainable future for shipping.”