About
General
The FuelEU Maritime Regulation involves (i) setting a maximum limit on the greenhouse gas intensity of energy used by ships arriving at, departing from, or sailing between ports within the EU, as well as (ii) specific obligations on the use of an on-shore power supply or zero-emission technology in ports within the EU.
It applies to all commercial ships exceeding 5,000 gross tonnes that serve the purpose of transporting passengers or cargo, irrespective of their flag. However, there are certain exceptions, including for example:
- Warships - meaning all ships operated by armed forces and used exclusively by governments for military purposes or engaged in crisis response or humanitarian relief operations.
- Naval auxiliaries – meaning all vessels engaged in supply operations to military ships, including fuels and cargo, or engaged in crisis response or humanitarian relief operations.
- Fish-catching or fish-processing ships – Although the regulation lacks a formal definition of these vessel types, based on advice obtained from relevant authorities Thommessen understands that vessels with a primary purpose of transporting fish as cargo is included (well boats), but vessels with a primary purpose of processing fish (e.g. fish slaughtering vessels) are excluded.
The greenhouse gas intensity requirement applies to 100% of voyages and port stays within the EU and the EEA, and 50% of voyages to and from the EU and the EEA. For the purpose of the FuelEU Maritime Regulation, the following stops are not considered a "port of call":
- refuelling;
- obtaining supplies;
- crew relief;
- dry-dock;
- making repairs to the ship and/or its equipment;
- taking shelter from adverse weather;
- distress call;
- search and rescue activities;
- STS transfers outside the port;
- if containerships stop in a neighbouring container transhipment port (currently includes East Port Said, Egypt and Tanger Med, Morocco).
Calculation of greenhouse gas intensity
The greenhouse gas intensity of the energy used is calculated pursuant to specific equations in the proposed regulation. Both the emissions from well-to-tank (WtT), i.e. the emission from the production, processing and delivery of the fuel, and the emissions from tank-to-"wheels" (TtW), i.e. the combustion on board, are accounted for, which results in a formula for calculating the emissions. This formula is set out in Annex I to the FuelEU Maritime Regulation.
The CO2 or equivalent greenhouse gas emission is calculated in grams per MJ. A reward may be included in the calculation if the vessel has installed a substitute source of energy, such as solar panels or wind turbines. There is also a bonus for the use of renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBOs). When calculating the GHG intensity of the energy used on board a ship, a multiplier of "2" can be used to reward the ship for the use of RFNBO from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2033. A 2% RFNBOs usage target may be set in 2034, unless the Commission reports that RFNBOs amount to more than 1% of the fuel mix in 2031.
A special calculation (set out in Annex V of the FuelEU Maritime Regulation) is used for ice navigation.
Limits
The maximum limits for the greenhouse gas intensity of the energy used on board will become more stringent over time. The limits are determined against a reference value, which is based on the fleet average emission in 2020 from data reported in the framework of the EU MRV Regulation. Every five years, the fleet must reduce its emission compared to the reference value by the following percentages:
- 2% by 2025
- 6% by 2030
- 14.5% by 2035
- 31% by 2040
- 62% by 2045
- 80% by 2050
The reference value has been set at 91.16 grams of CO2 equivalent per MJ. This means that in order to be compliant in 2025, the greenhouse gas intensity of the energy used on board must be less than 89.34 grams of CO2 equivalent.
Furthermore, the Regulation introduces new requirements on the use of on-shore power supply during port calls in the EU, which involves that passenger ships and container ships will be required to use an on-shore power supply from 1 January 2030. From 2035, the requirement would apply to all ports with on-shore power supplies. However, some exceptions apply, and vessels may also opt to use an alternative zero-emission technology.
Compliance
The responsible party had to submit a FuelEU Maritime monitoring plan for each ship in their fleet by 31 August 2024 (or within two months for ships falling within the scope of the Regulation for the first time after 31 August 2024). The monitoring plan must be submitted to the verifier (for example to DNV).
The plan must indicate the method chosen for monitoring and reporting the amount, type and emission factor of energy used on board by ships, and other relevant information. Additionally, the plan must contain certain information such as contact details and descriptions of certain procedures on board. The monitoring plan is standardised and shall be based on templates issued by the EU. The template is available in the FuelEU Maritime database and in EUR-Lex (see link below).
The monitoring plan required under FuelEU Maritime is separate from the monitoring plan required pursuant to EU MRV, although there is some overlap in the information provided.
The FuelEU Maritime monitoring plan must be updated annually, and without undue delay in certain circumstances, such as a change of company, new monitoring systems or new energy systems being installed on the vessels.
The party responsible for the compliance with the Regulation will be required to submit a yearly overview of e.g. voyages, port stays, energy consumption, amount of electricity received through on-shore power supply, and fuel use. The annual reporting is due by 31 January of each verification period, with the first report being due on 31 January 2026.
The verifier will then verify the compliance balance in the FuelEU database by 30 April of each year. By 30 June, the ship should have the FuelEU Document of Compliance onboard.
Shipping companies that have failed to comply with the applicable requirements by 1 May will be subjected to economic penalties, which will be issued by 1 June and fall due by 30 June. Every company will be allocated to an administrative authority in an EU Member State, which shall be based on the same criteria as the allocation outlined in the EU ETS Directive. If a shipping company fails to comply for two years in a row, it may be subject to an expulsion order, which involves that Member States (other than its flag state) shall refuse entry of the ship into any of their ports, or a flag detention (in the ship's flag state).
If a ship has a compliance deficit for two consecutive reporting periods or more, that amount will be multiplied by 1 + (n -1)/10, where n is the number of consecutive reporting periods for which the company is subject to a FuelEU penalty for that ship. This means that the more consecutive reporting periods the ship is non-compliant, the higher the multiplier will be.
Pooling and banking
The Regulation permits pooling of compliance, which means that shipping companies could pool the balances of several ships together in order to avoid a compliance deficit. The compliance surplus of one ship may therefore make up for the compliance deficit of another. The pooling of compliance for vessels owned or managed by different companies is permitted, provided that the ships in the pool are verified by the same verifier. The verifications must be made by independent and competent legal entities that are accredited by national accreditation bodies established pursuant to EU law. This could provide opportunities for e.g. shipowners with fleets or shipping pools, but would also require careful consideration and contractual drafting. The establishment of pools will have to registered in the FuelEU database.
Furthermore, if a vessel has a compliance surplus in a reporting period, that surplus can be ‘banked’ to the following reporting period. A banked surplus does not expire.
Conversely, where a ship has a compliance deficit in a given reporting period, it can ‘borrow’ an advance compliance surplus of the corresponding amount from the subsequent future reporting period to meet its obligations. The borrowed surplus plus a surcharge of 10% will be subtracted from the same ship's compliance balance of the subsequent reporting period.
Who does it impact?
The FuelEU Maritime Regulation applies to all vessels with a gross tonnage of more than 5,000, arriving at, departing from, or sailing between ports within the EU. The FuelEU Maritime Regulation also applies to vessels flying a non-EU flag. The requirement to use on-shore power supply will, however, only apply to passenger and cargo ships.
On notification by the relevant Member States certain exceptions may be made for some operators to the outermost regions of the EU and between small islands.
Status: In force
The FuelEU Maritime Regulation came fully into force on 1 January 2025.
In Norway, the Norwegian Maritime Authority originally stated that it was working to have the regulation in force in Norway by 1 January 2025, subject to its implementation into the EEA Agreement. However, due to delays in the process of incorporating the FuelEU Maritime Regulation into the EEA Agreement, the Norwegian Maritime Authority did not meet this deadline. This means that Norwegian ports (as well as Icelandic ports) are considered third-party ports for now. This entails that the energy consumed on voyages in Norway, or between Norway and non-EU countries fall outside of the FuelEU Maritime scope. For voyages between Norway and EU ports, only half of the energy consumed should be included in the FuelEU Maritime reporting.
The latest update from the Norwegian Maritime Authority is that FuelEU Maritime will not enter into force before it has been adopted by the Icelandic parliament, which means it will happen in 2026 at the earliest.
Relation to other initiatives and regulations
The FuelEU Maritime is one of several regulations proposed by the European Commission in order to meet the greenhouse gas reduction targets. It is part of the "Fit for 55" package of legislation and measures aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions within the EU.
In order to facilitate the duty of reporting the performance of each ship, as well as limiting administrative burden to companies, verifiers and other users, it is proposed that the Commission should establish an electronic database that builds upon the existing THETIS-MRV module, also taking into account the possibility to reuse information and data collected under the EU MRV Regulation.
The Directive on the Deployment of Alternative Fuels Infrastructure requires Member States to take the necessary measures to ensure that minimum shore-side electricity supply for container and passenger ships is provided in ports by 1 January 2030, which should enable shipping companies to comply with the requirement of using an on-shore power supply source.
The IMO has launched a draft proposal for its Net-Zero Framework, which includes regulations that are similar in applicability to the FuelEU Maritime, but on a global scale. The proposal failed to be adopted in October 2025, and it is currently uncertain whether it will be adopted in the future. The EU has stated that it will consider whether the two regulations may be aligned in order to simplify compliance for shipping companies if the Net-Zero Framework is adopted.
Participants
EU Member States
Thommessen's comments
The FuelEU Maritime Regulation aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by increasing the use of low- and zero-carbon fuels in shipping in the EU as well as in EU ports.
It impacts all vessels with a gross tonnage of more than 5,000 that trade within the EU, or between EU and non-EU states, irrespective of flag state. Non-compliance could potentially result in severe sanctions.
The responsible party is the ISM Company. Unlike the EU ETS, this is the default position. This means that shipowners that have delegated responsibility for compliance pursuant to the ISM Code to another entity will not have to formally delegate responsibility for compliance with FuelEU Maritime Regulation.
However, the regulation will require stakeholders of the industry to carefully consider their contractual relationships and plans for mitigation going forward, with some important points to consider including:
BIMCO has adopted a Clause for use in Time Charterparties for FuelEU Maritime. Although we expect this Clause will widely be the basis for negotiations on FuelEU Maritime in the industry, tailoring to fit the needs of particular charterparties may be required.
Shipping companies should be aware of the "pooling" and "banking" possibilities, as set out in more detail below.