Ship financiers’ lending portfolios have moved closer to alignment with the IMO’s decarbonisation trajectories in 2025, despite increasingly demanding emissions reduction targets, according to Poseidon Principles.

Its Sixth Annual Disclosure report shows average alignment with the IMO’s ‘minimum trajectory’ improved by nearly eight percentage points year on year.

Signatories, representing almost three-quarters of the global ship finance portfolio, disclosed 95% of their eligible activity in 2025, up from 93% in 2024.

The report measures how far financed vessels’ emissions sit above the IMO’s decarbonisation pathways.

That gap narrowed against the minimum trajectory from just over 19% last year to just under 12% in 2025. Progress was also recorded against the more ambitious ‘striving trajectory’, with misalignment improving from 25% to just over 18%.

Cargo and passenger vessels showed the strongest gains, supported by efficiency improvements, vessel retrofits, wider use of lower-emission bunker fuels and the addition of newer dual-fuel ships.

The Poseidon Principles are a global framework that helps banks and insurers align ship financing and insurance with climate goals.