Hamburg, 28. January 2026 — Following an announcement by the International Association of Ports and Harbours (IAPH), OceanScore has been mandated as the administrator of the Environmental Ship Index (ESI) with effect from 1 January 2026.
The Environmental Ship Index (ESI) is a voluntary, industry-led environmental performance scheme that enables ports to incentivize ships demonstrating performance beyond applicable regulatory requirements. Participating ship owners and operators benefit from incentives such as port fee reductions based on independently assessed environmental criteria.
For ports, ESI provides a consistent and independent framework to recognise environmental performance, support incentive schemes, and demonstrate sustainability commitments beyond their direct Scope 1 and 2 emissions.
The scheme is supported by more than 70 ports and maritime administrations worldwide, with over 6,500 vessels currently registered, making ESI the most widely adopted environmental incentive framework in global shipping. The index was created by major ports in cooperation with the IAPH and has been fully integrated into the IAPH’s governance structure since 2020.
Under agreement with IAPH, OceanScore has been mandated as the globally exclusive administrator of the Environmental Ship Index (ESI). OceanScore will work in close coordination with IAPH, the ESI Board, and the ESI Technical Advisory Group to ensure continuity, transparency, and consistent application of the ESI framework.
“We are excited to work in partnership with our new administrator OceanScore to ensure ESI remains the global benchmark for incentivising the environmental performance of vessels,” remarked IAPH managing director Patrick Verhoeven. “Amid uncertainty about the maritime industry’s long-term strategy for decarbonisation, ESI remains a trusted, established and evolving solution to help ports reward those vessels reducing emissions at a level beyond the IMO baseline.”
Continuity for Incentive Providers and Incentive Receivers
The administrator change does not lead to any immediate changes for ESI participants. Building on ESI’s strong foundation and global recognition, OceanScore will work together with IAPH and ESI governing bodies to further develop the scheme into an even more attractive, user-friendly, and future-ready incentive framework. The focus will be on strengthening ESI’s role for ports and shipowners, ensuring alignment with evolving technical developments, regulatory requirements, and the decarbonization ambitions of the global maritime industry.
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About OceanScore
OceanScore supports maritime stakeholders in turning regulatory compliance into commercial success, serving shipping companies, ports, and financial institutions. Its market-leading Compliance Manager helps shipping companies to streamline regulatory workflows, improve cost visibility, and enable commercially sound decisions, while OceanScore’s PortView gives ports transparent, data-based insight into the emissions performance of calling vessels. Banks, insurers and asset managers are served through ShipReview, providing vessel-level ESG insights. With the Environmental Ship Index (ESI), OceanScore expands its support for maritime stakeholders by strengthening emissions transparency and incentive mechanisms across the maritime value chain.
Media Contact
Damla Hasenclever, Content Marketing Manager, OceanScore
Email: damla.hasenclever@oceanscore.com
About IAPH
Founded in 1955, the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) has developed into a global alliance of 201 port authorities as well as 175 port-related businesses. Comprised of over 94 different nationalities across the world’s continents, member ports handle over one third of the world’s sea-borne trade and well over 60% of the world container traffic. IAPH leads global port industry initiatives on decarbonisation and energy transition, risk and resilience management, and accelerating digitalisation in the maritime transport chain. The IAPH’s World Ports Sustainability Program has grown into the reference database of best practices of ports applying the UN Sustainable Development Goals and integrating them into their businesses – iaphworldports.org.