The Poseidon Challenge came into being in April 2005 during INTERTANKO's Athens Tanker Event with the gathering of a significant number of influential and authoritative figures from right across the tanker industry – and in fact from the broader shipping industry – who are committed to interact and work together not only to energise their sector, but also to work with other sectors, in order to raise industry standards even further. A group of tanker owners and other tanker industry representatives went to Sounion, near Athens , where the Temple of Poseidon , Greek God of the Seas, sits on a rocky headland thrusting out into the clear sea. This visit marked the birth of the Poseidon Challenge. The vision of this initiative is to encourage and inspire sectors, companies and people in the oil transportation sector to work individually, and more importantly together, not only to set new goals of excellence but also actually to achieve them. However the spirit of the Poseidon initiative is already challenging not only the tanker industry but the shipping industry as a whole. This drive for excellence inspired the Poseidon Challenge as well as a revised strategic plan for INTERTANKO which emerged in parallel. This new plan states, in short, that INTERTANKO members will lead the continuous improvement of the tanker industry's performance in striving to achieve the goals of zero fatalities, zero pollution, zero detentions. These aggressive goals were agreed to at INTERTANKO's Council meeting in November 2005. It took effort and courage to get agreement on this proactive approach. But as the tanker industry takes its future into its own hands, it welcomes the support received from the wider shipping industry for the concept of the ‘zero' goals.

The Poseidon Challenge

  • is part of a strategy to take tangible forward steps towards these goals, and to work together with the industry to achieve practical and effective action.
  • is a long-term part of the work programmes of INTERTANKO, of its members, of the whole tanker industry, and ultimately of the whole shipping industry.
  • is an invitation to all participants in the Chain of Responsibility to work together in a sustained commitment to continuous improvement.
  • is founded on the principle that these shared goals can best be achieved by proactive, voluntary, efforts to set our own high standards for performance rather than by waiting for governmental or environmental “policemen” to do it for us.
  • recognises that every link in the Chain of Responsibility is vital and must perform to the same high standard for these shared goals to be achieved.
Singapore meeting
 Fifteen links in the chain of responsibility sent top executives to the first Poseidon Challenge gathering in April 2006 in Singapore , with authority to support the Poseidon concept, aims and ideals and also to make tangible, realisable commitments to continuous improvement. Agents, Bunker Providers, Class, Dry Cargo, Education, Flag and Port, Insurance ( Hull ), Insurance (P&I), Salvors, Seafarers, Shipbrokers, Shipbuilders, Training Providers, Ship Managers, Ship Owners and Operators all pledged to be part of this bid to make our industry the industry that we all want it to be. Firm, realisable commitments were made, both by the invited speakers and by those participating from the floor.