HANSA 11-2019

FINANZIERUNG | FINANCING
so as the IMO steps up its role in policing
CO2 emission goals for the shipping industry,
seeking to extend its remit over to
ports as well in order to achieve the same.
Parker has a particular reason for
highlighting environmental matters as
he chaired the Drafting Committee of
the new Poseidon Principles of »responsible
ship lending« that a group of major
banks and other industry players launched
in June and is now chairman of the
initiative’s Steering Committee.
The Poseidon Principles establish a
global framework for assessing and disclosing
whether ship finance portfolios
align with the IMO’s 2050 goal of reducing
shipping’s total annual greenhouse
gas emissions by at least 50% by 2050.
They take as their basis IMO’s Data Collection
System for ships that came into
force for vessels over 5,000 GT this year,
requiring them to provide details of their
quantity and type of fuel consumption;
distance travelled; hours underway; and
technical description of the ship including
design deadweight.
Eleven shipping banks were founding
signatories to the Principles – Citi, DNB,
Soc Gen, ABN Amro, Amsterdam Trade
Bank, Credit Agricole CIB, Danish Ship Finance,
Danske Bank, DVB, ING and Nordea
– with a combined shipping loan portfolio
of around 100 bn $, roughly 20% of the
global total. Other providers of shipping finance,
including Chinese leasing companies
and export credit agencies, are now
being actively canvassed to join.
While the Poseidon Principles are truly
global in scope, with Parker saying that
he hoped »every serious shipping financial
institution will be part of it as soon
as possible«, the UK capital played a key
role in their gestation, both through Parker
and British law firm Watson Farley &
Williams (WFW) which provided legal
oversight and drafting input via its London-based
Partner and Global Head of
Maritime, Lindsey Keeble.
»Lenders, lessors and guarantee providers
will take carbon intensity into account
when considering providing finance,«
WFW explained in a briefing paper on the
Principles. »Owners of non-aligned ships
might find the pool of financiers reduced.«
During LISW, this sentiment was
echoed by Tony Foster, Chairman and
Founder of London-based Marine Capital,
which seeks to attract institutional
investment to shipping. »Banks are leading
the way with Poseidon Principles,« he
said, which will »constrain investment in
old technology.«
Foster also said he viewed London as a
promising market for his institutional investors
– mainly international pension funds
– going forward, given its solid reputation
for »probity and standards« in areas such as
financial transparency. But he added: »We
can’t discuss with institutional investors any
more without talking about the environmental
impact of their investments.«
Indeed, the UK is now seeking to take
a lead in environmental matters having
earlier this year launched a Clean Maritime
Plan as part of a wider Maritime
2050 Strategy. The latter stated that
»Government will work in partnership
with the British banking sector to encourage
the provision of finance towards
zero emission shipping technology development
and manufacturing.«
»In reality both green bonds and
equity have been outperforming
markets in the last two years«
Sir Roger Gifford, former Lord Mayor
Hence a Green Finance institute has been
set up by the UK Government, together
with a Green Finance Taskforce tasked
with accelerating growth of green finance
and the UK’s low carbon economy.
A separate »Greening Finance/ Financing
Green« for Maritime Initiative is due to
be launched shortly.
Chairman of the Green Finance Taskforce
Sir Roger Gifford, a former Lord
Mayor of financial district the City of
London, said that the reality today is that
»people want low carbon in their investment«
and that despite the perception this
is driven by climate concerns, »in reality
both green bonds and equity have been
outperforming markets in the last two
years.« The Maritime 2050 Strategy and
Clean Maritime Plan »can lay the foundations
for the UK becoming a leader in
green shipping finance,« he confidently
predicted.ED
HANSA International Maritime Journal 11 | 2019
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