Campbell Johnston Clark had the privilege of hosting a SPNL - Shipping Professional Network London panel discussion on Sustainable Ship Finance: Navigating the Future of Maritime Investment on 26 November, bringing together industry professionals for an engaging session, lively debate and a well-attended social evening.
A timely discussion of trends, risks and opportunities in sustainable ship finance took place at CJC headquarters at the end of November, as the SPNL audience assessed the market at a time of uncertainty for global regulators on decarbonisation. The discussion highlighted how shifting regulation, evolving lender appetite and scaling constraints on alternative fuels are reshaping the economics of green investment across the sector.
Hosted by CJC Managing Associate Harry Savva, panellists Silvia Bota, Senior Legal Counsel for Union Maritime Ltd., Nikolaos Soulopoulos, Head of Commercial Transport Research, BloombergNEF and Marina Ledaki, Clean Tanker Freight Analyst at S&P Global, the session offered no shortage of insights.
The discussions opened with encouraging signs for “green” newbuilding at a time when owners are experiencing a cash-rich period driven by market volatility – a backdrop enabling private capital to invest in fleet renewals, new technology and alternative-fuel projects.
It was noted that the financing landscape is now “competitive once again”, and while traditional lenders continue to dominate, increased competition is arising from other sources, including leasing houses and alternative lenders that are willing to offer higher levels of leverage.
On sustainability-linked products, it was observed that interest in green loans had “cooled”, with market sentiment and heavy reporting requirements cited as contributing factors. It was also noted that some banks are seeking to broaden the KPIs used in their assessments beyond ship-emission metrics alone. Taken together, these pressures appear to have reduced the appeal of such products, prompting the moderator to question how achievable many of these KPIs are in practice.
Turning to alternative fuels, a key theme was that “the vast majority of the people wanting to go into cleaner shipping either do some combination of LNG or potentially biofuels”, largely for cost reasons. It was noted that meeting scale requirements “for all other fuels” – and to some extent biofuels – is viable only where a firm offtake agreement is in place. It was remarked that “There are very few people - shipowners or anyone in the supply chain - that are willing to backstop something like that” meaning that viable financing for next-generation fuels will remain limited until such commitments and supply-chain scale are secured.
The panel reflected on the “regulatory uncertainty” that has cast a shadow over shipping’s energy-transition debate in late 2025. Investing in assets with 25+ years life-span for global trading already carries significant risk and doing so at a time of heightened geopolitical tension compounds the challenge.
It was explained that the IMO’s 2020 sulphur-cap restrictions ultimately passed through to higher consumer prices due to increased fuel costs. It was also noted that whilst the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme can have inflationary effects, its full market impact remains to be seen.
In a wide-ranging session, discussions covered the market influence of President Trump, tariffs, sanctions, the ‘shadow’ fleet, nuclear ship propulsion and the concern that some emission-reduction bank-finance packages may not yet be fit for purpose. The challenges raised during this session— and the questions they pose for the future of ship finance — are certain to resurface as the industry navigates another pivotal year.