RightShip released From Pledges to Practice, a new report with Thetius, showing a persistent gap between Environmental Social Governance (ESG) ambitions and actual vessel selection and chartering.
Drawing on in-depth interviews with shipowners, technical managers, and charterers, alongside a pulse survey, the report finds that most shipowners believe they exceed baseline compliance in safety, sustainability, and crew welfare. Yet only a small portion receive commercial recognition for these efforts.
While 73 per cent of owners say they go beyond baseline compliance on safety, 60 per cent on sustainability, and 67 per cent on crew welfare, only 27 per cent of charterers provide better terms to higher-performing vessels.
Despite many charterers citing safety as a priority, commercial pressures often dictate final decisions. While 73 per cent of charterers report that safety records significantly influence vessel selection, 87 per cent of shipowners say charterers deprioritise ESG performance when budgets tighten or vessel availability is limited.
The visibility gap is even wider for crew welfare: nearly half of charterers consider it important, yet only 7 per cent have tools or data to assess it during negotiations.
Panelists at the report’s launch highlighted the operational and financial impacts of these gaps. One case involved a $4,000 mooring line failure, causing three to four hours of lost loading time — equivalent to roughly 28,000 tonnes of iron ore and nearly $3 million in lost value.
The example underscored that safety and crew welfare are not abstract ideals but core drivers of commercial performance.
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The report highlights a widening gap between intent and incentive. Owners who invest in safer, greener, and more responsible vessels often find their efforts invisible in the market.
Without standardised metrics and reliable data, even well-intentioned charterers struggle to recognise and reward leadership.
To address this, the report recommends four key actions: rewarding ESG leadership with tangible commercial benefits; defining and standardising good performance across vessel types; ensuring ESG data is trusted, transparent, and integrated into decision-making; and recognising high performers through both financial and reputational means.
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Steen Lund, CEO at RightShip said: “Closing the ESG gap requires collaboration across the value chain, linking safety, sustainability, and crew welfare not only to ethics but also to a commercial advantage, ensuring a safer, fairer and more resilient maritime future.
“Our intention is to spark fresh conversations across commercial, operational and ethical boundaries, encouraging the industry to think differently, and collaborate more openly and take collective steps toward zero harm.”
Christopher Saunders, Chief Maritime Officer at RightShip, stated: “Ambition is not yet reaching the fixture desk. Owners are investing in safer operations, lower emissions and better crew welfare, but the signals charterers rely on are fragmented. Our report shows the path to fix this: agree on what ‘good’ looks like, make the data decision-grade, and reward leadership with real commercial advantages.”
For more information:
RightShip – https://rightship.com/
Thetius – https://thetius.com/
