Ship financiers are moving closer to meeting international climate goals as transparency in the sector increases.
The latest Poseidon Principles disclosure shows signatories reported an average of 95% of their eligible portfolio activity in 2025, up from 93% last year.
The Sixth Annual Disclosure Report tracks alignment with the International Maritime Organization’s net-zero ambitions.
The 36 signatories across 14 countries represent nearly three-quarters of global ship finance.
Climate alignment improved across almost all categories. Against the IMO’s minimum trajectory, misalignment fell from just over 19% to just under 12%, an improvement of nearly eight percentage points.
Under the more demanding striving trajectory, misalignment fell from 25% to just over 18%.
Paul Taylor of Societe Generale said: “Transparency is key. It fosters collaboration between financial institutions and shipowners, and guides capital toward more efficient vessels and cleaner fuels.” He said the progress is notable because the IMO pathways “become more stringent year-on-year.”
Cargo and passenger ship segments saw strong gains. Cargo vessels improved from 14% to 6% misaligned while passenger vessels improved from 38% to 26%.
Emissions data is increasingly shaping credit decisions and sustainability-linked finance. Operational efficiency upgrades and low-emission fuels are key drivers of the improved results.
The Poseidon Principles framework has also been adopted as an acceptable methodology under the Science Based Targets initiative’s FINZ Standard.
This reinforces its status as a global benchmark for climate reporting in shipping finance.
The initiative is expanding its membership model to include private equity, hedge funds and capital-markets underwriters.
These institutions can join as associate members without initial reporting duties, widening engagement across the maritime finance ecosystem.
Michael Parker of Citi said: “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.”
Global shipping finance moves closer to climate alignment appeared first on Energy Live News.