Shipping will look different after the effects of the Poseidon Principles, the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) movement and the efforts of the IMO to dramatically curtail the carbon emissions of vessels.
But that is not something to fear, and something for the more “enlightened” to embrace, argued veteran banker Michael Parker at last week’s joint shipping conference of the Hellenic-American & Norwegian-American Chambers of Commerce.
There may be fewer ship types, but also fewer vessels, and that can be quite a boost for the industry, said Parker, who is a key architect of the Poseidon Principles and chairman of Citigroup’s logistics and shipping unit.
Decent money
He said: “This is the greatest opportunity to stop building ships we don’t need,” while yielding a chance “to make decent money”.
“Embrace this, it will happen,” he added. “It will make us the industry that everyone is looking up to.”
For the first time, he said the principles align bank-lending practices with shipowners’ commitments to cutting carbon emissions.
Seventeen major lenders have signed up to date.
Parker has been perhaps the industry’s leading voice in calling owners to embrace ESG advances and the need to evolve propulsion systems towards the IMO’s goal to halve carbon emissions by 2050.
Parker addressed the chamber event as its keynote luncheon speaker, telling his audience that shipping has a rare chance to lead the way for other industries and regulators.
“One of the weaknesses of this industry has been its political weakness,” Parker said.
“Shipping has lacked political power with anyone. Now is the opportunity through initiatives like the Poseidon Principles to exercise more influence.”
Parker said that after 42 years as a banker and 36 in maritime, it is the “first time that shipping is the industry that can help set the agenda”.
Parker drew a line between two types of shipowners: one who takes the narrow view that “it’s just about the ship” and may oppose reform, and “the more enlightened” owners “who realise that a ship is just a piece of the supply chain”.
