Speaking yesterday at a Seatrade Maritime Middle East session on “The difficult road to zero carbon maritime transport”, Mathiassen noted new sustainability criteria linked to finance and particularly underlined the impact of initiatives such as the Poseidon principles.

Starting with just three banks, no less than 28 financial institutions active in shipping have now adhered to the Poseidon principles, he said, which set a framework for climate alignment of loan portfolios and potential investments. in energy-related maritime transport. Banks and finance companies now account for a total of around $ 185 billion in shipping finance, he said.

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“I have noticed a change in attitude with the banks for the financing of oil companies, for example”, revealed Mathiassen. “It is much more attractive to be associated with the financing of vessels for wind turbines. We have seen a number of IPOs in this industry where it is oversubscribed in ten minutes. It’s a sign of the times… we are now having trouble finding funding for some projects that I am currently working on. Banks are no longer so inclined to finance the storage or transport of oil.

Other panelists included Ali Shebab, Director of Middle East and Africa Affairs at DNV, who recently joined the classification society after a long career at the Kuwait Oil Tanker Company, and Panos Koutsourakis, Director of ABS, Development Strategy sustainable, which participated remotely from Singapore.

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The fourth presenter, Ida Fredriksson, who runs the Stena Bulk facility in Dubai, was much more optimistic. “Sustainability is about the environment, yes,” she said, “but it’s also about making sure that people around the world can heat their homes, have food and can get to work. Our philosophy is to engage in the development of future fuels while continuing to transport oil in the most sustainable manner possible for as long as the world needs it. “

Fredriksson revealed Stena Bulk’s initiatives to adopt sustainable strategies in oil transportation today. The company now offers its customers biofuel offsets, she said, and will put dual-fuel methanol tankers into service in 2022. Meanwhile, developments in carbon capture technology and wind power are being assessed.

“We have ambitious goals,” Fredriksson told delegates, revealing that the company aims to have a series of “zero-emission ready” ships on the water by 2035, a carbon-neutral corporate operation of by 2040, and ten years later, in the middle of the decade, a company with zero net emissions, including shipments shipped. The investment in the technology is seen by the company as a progressive step that will lead to further business success, she said.