The Poseidon Principles: Can they accelerate the transition to greener vessels?

Shipping is a capital-intensive industry. However, over recent years, the availability of capital within the sector has shrunk considerably as western banks cut their exposure to the market after struggling with bad shipping loans.

Too many regulations, especially those targeting environmental issues and climate change, have made shipping finance rather complex and unattractive when taking into account all the risks involved.

It is estimated that the withdrawal of many western banks combined with the reduction of market exposure of those that remained in the business has resulted in halving the available capital for shipowners in the syndicated and club market, from $80 billion to $40 billion over the past ten years.