SEB joins standard for responsible ship recycling

Ship finance provider SEB becomes the 12th member of the initiative, which was founded by a group of European banks active within shipping.

SEB global head of shipping coverage Hans Christian Kjelsrud said “We want to increase awareness of the environmental and social risks associated with recycling ships. By joining RSRS we want to demonstrate we are dedicated to promoting responsible handling of ships throughout their lifetime.”

SEB noted that RSRS is aligned with the 2010 Hong Kong Convention. This convention, which is still to be formally ratified, establishes a minimum standard for recycling ships. The EU has formulated further requirements that apply to all vessels sailing under one of the EU member states’ flags.

“To a great extent, these are requirements which our customers already meet and standards we have complied with over many years. Joining RSRS formalises what we did previously. But it also means we will start to work more actively on these issues together with the other banks. We often participate in loan syndicates where together we can put pressure on customers to commit to complying with the standards in the loan terms,” said Mr Kjelsrud.

The other ship finance banks that are part of the RSRS initiative are ABN AMRO, Danske Bank, DNB, Eksportkreditt, Hamburg Commercial Bank, ING, KfW IPEX-Bank, NIBC, Nordea, Sparebank SR-Bank and Sparebanken Vest.

SEB previously signed the Poseidon Principles, a global bank initiative to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases from shipping. The Principles are consistent with the International Maritime Organisation’s ambition that by 2050 carbon dioxide emissions from shipping shall be reduced by 50% compared with the base year 2008.

Ship finance providers reactions to the ESG behaviour of shipping companies will be part on the ESG ratings: the new focus of shipping boardrooms panel on 30 March 2021. See all the ESG webinars here.