About
Aiming to promote decarbonisation of international shipping, the principles focus on assessment and disclosure of the climate alignment of ship finance portfolios, and consist of four principles committing the signatories to:
- Assessment: assess their climate alignment in accordance with a methodology outlined in a technical guidance;
- Accountability: rely on classification societies (IMO recognised organisations) for the provision of information, as well as mandatory regulations for data collection from ships for reporting on the signatories climate alignment;
- Enforcement: require that ongoing compliance with the Poseidon Principles is made contractual for the signatories' new shipping business activities through a covenant clause or binding agreement; and
- Transparency: publish the results of the signatories' climate alignment score in the Annual Disclosure Report and the signatories' own corporate reports annually.
Who does it impact?
All signatories.
All borrowers seeking financing from the signatories relating to vessels under the scope of IMO rules (i.e. vessels 5,000 GT and above engaged in international trade).
The scope of financial products falling under the principles may be reviewed and expanded by the signatories on a timeline at their discretion. As of 2026, there are 36 signatories from 14 countries, representing nearly three-quarters of global ship finance.
Status: Launched
Launched in New York in June 2019.
Relation to other initiatives and regulations
The drafting of the Poseidon Principles was led under auspices of the Global Maritime Forum.
The UN Global Compact Sustainable Ocean Principles guidance on shipping/finance is expected to incorporate the Poseidon Principles.
The Poseidon Principles ensure consistency with the policies and regulations of the IMO and the IMO Data Collection System on fuel consumption and associated guidelines.
Participants
Several Norwegian banks are among the signatories.
Thommessen's comments
The Poseidon Principles constitute a framework for financial institutions to monitor and report on greenhouse gas emissions. Borrowers are not required to sign the Poseidon Principles themselves, but will be met with reporting covenants to ensure that the financial institutions that are signatories to the Poseidon Principles can comply.
As the Poseidon Principles are based on the same reporting requirements as ship-owners have to comply with under MARPOL Annex VI (IMO's Data Collection System) the reporting covenant is not intended to be burdensome for the borrowers. There is a standard covenant clause which may be inserted into relevant vessel financing documents. The standard covenant clause is considered market practice.
Signatories benchmark their portfolios against trajectories reflecting the revised IMO targets: net-zero GHG emissions by or around 2050, with indicative checkpoints of at least 20% reduction by 2030 (striving for 30%) and at least 70% reduction by 2040 (striving for 80%), compared to 2008 levels. The Poseidon Principles accordingly use two decarbonisation trajectories: the "minimum" trajectory reflects the baseline IMO targets (20% by 2030, 70% by 2040), while the "striving" trajectory reflects the more ambitious targets (30% by 2030, 80% by 2040). Signatories report their climate alignment scores against both trajectories, with the striving trajectory representing a voluntary additional ambition towards alignment with the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C goal.
The framework accounts for well-to-wake emissions (covering both upstream production and onboard combustion) and includes all greenhouse gas species, not only CO₂.