A recent analysis from Germany indicates that the container sector will bear the brunt of penalties from the upcoming FuelEU Maritime regulation. This sector is expected to account for nearly a third of all payouts. The FuelEU Maritime regulation, which comes into force at the start of next year, is focusing the minds of shipping companies as they face potential penalties for non-compliance with greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity reduction targets.
Vessels failing to meet the initial 2% reduction target relative to a 2020 baseline will be hit with a penalty of €2,400 per tonne of VLSFO-equivalent. The GHG intensity requirement applies to 100% of energy used on voyages and port calls within the EU/EEA and 50% of voyages into and out of the bloc.
OceanScore has identified the segments set to be hit hardest. The company forecasts that the shipping industry as a whole will incur total FuelEU penalties of €1.345 billion in 2025. This estimate is based on an analysis of the 13,000 vessels over 5000 GT trading within and into the EU/EEA that are subject to the regulation.
According to OceanScore, the container segment will be forced to pay the most, accounting for 29% of gross penalties. This is followed by ropaxes at 14%, with tankers and bulkers each at 13%.
“It is critical for shipping companies to determine a baseline for expected FuelEU costs to secure proper planning and budgeting processes to compare different mitigation options, as well as to decide what to do with outstanding compliance balances,” said OceanScore managing director Albrecht Grell. “This will require, to a higher degree than the EU ETS, a corporate strategy to determine how to reduce the compliance balance/deficit, how to commercialise a surplus, and deal with deficits that remain.”