Shipping and biodiversity: here’s how marine insurance can help in Marine Insurance P&I Club News 20/01/2026 While biodiversity is often viewed through a terrestrial lens, the ocean’s role is equally vital. Oceans underpin economies and climate stability – it’s time to make ocean health a strategic priority, not a side issue. In that respect, 2025 brought significant breakthroughs. The Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement, often referred to as the High Seas Treaty, reached 60 ratifications, triggering its formal entry into force on 17 January 2026. This is a milestone for high-seas governance. Urgent action is required At the centre of global efforts to halt biodiversity loss is the headline target of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, often described as the biodiversity equivalent of the Paris Agreement: conserving 30% of the planet’s land, inland waters, and marine areas by 2030 – the “30×30 Target”. Progress is underway, yet the gap for the oceans remains striking. To date, only 9.6% of the ocean is designated as marine protected areas, and just 0.9% of that lies in the high seas despite the high seas covering 61% of the ocean, according to the World Economic Forum 30×30 Ocean Action Plan. Even more surprising is that over 90% of marine species are yet to be discovered. “Win-wins” for climate and biodiversity in shipping In parallel, the shipping industry’s decarbonisation drive is uncovering approaches that can deliver gains for both climate and nature. In 2025, the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee took a major step forward by advancing work on a legally binding biofouling instrument – aimed at improving hull efficiency to reduce emissions and curb the spread of invasive species. Shipping is responsible for 60–90% of exotic species introductions, making this a critical intervention. Beyond biofouling, a suite of measures is now within reach to address both decarbonisation and biodiversity: “just-in-time” operations, propeller retrofits, and optimised routing that factors in biodiversity considerations, such as migratory corridors for marine mammals. Coastal states have also been implementing their own measures. For example, the state of California promotes voluntary 10-knot speed reductions during whale migration season (May – Dec), while Canada enforces seasonal speed limits in designated zones, and Brazil issues guidance for ships in humpback whale areas. Meanwhile, the increasing use of contractual changes that seek to hold shipowners or charterers to certain environmental performance standards, such decarbonisation clauses in charterparties, can also play their role for biodiversity. Together, these efforts can deliver measurable benefits for human health, for nature, and for the climate, through lower emissions, reduced underwater radiated noise (URN) and fewer ship strikes. Market signals are also accelerating the shift towards biodiversity-conscious practices. Investor expectations and supply chain pressures are driving greater transparency on ocean nature and biodiversity, using globally recognised frameworks such as the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD). Implications and opportunities for marine insurers Many in the industry may be wondering how marine insurance can truly make a difference. The good news: there are practical steps we can take right now. Here are some of the most immediate and actionable areas for insurers to engage: Prepare for new r