Maritime sector

ING encourages clients in the shipping sector to adopt responsible end-of-life vessel management practices, including recycling standards that are environmentally sustainable and socially responsible. To start with, our policy doesn’t permit the financing of ‘breaking yards’ or buyers of scrap vessels. Furthermore, ING seeks to finance leading and reputable shipping companies that follow a responsible policy of breaking down ships, known as ‘vessel scrapping’.

In addition, we require clients to adhere to industry best practices and for all vessels to have a Green Passport (inventory of hazardous materials).

We also, wherever possible, seek to document customers’ obligations within the loan documentation. For example, the company that owns the ship confirms that as long as it’s in a lending relationship with ING, it will ensure that any ship it controls that’s intended to be scrapped will be recycled at a yard that conducts its recycling business in a socially and environmentally responsible manner.

In 2017, ING and peers ABN AMRO and NIBC introduced the Responsible Ship Recycling Standards (RSRS) for ship financing and called on other financial institutions to unite and apply the standards.

In 2019, ING joined other leading financial institutions in endorsing the Poseidon Principles, the first sector-specific climate alignment agreement for financial institutions. A year later, ING and 14 other signatories delivered on their commitment and published the Poseidon Principles Annual Disclosure Report 2020 (PDF, 1.9MB).