The ABS (American Bureau of Shipping) Regulatory News report provides the necessary guidance to shipping companies for timely compliance with the EU ETS Directive requirements.
The revision of the EU ETS Directive entered into force on 5 June 2023. Implementation for the maritime industry will begin on:
- 1 January 2024, for cargo and passenger ships of 5000 GT and above; and
- 1 January 2027, for offshore ships of 5000 GT and above.
The extension of EU ETS Directive to maritime transport requires additional reporting requirements. This was facilitated by Regulation (EU) 2023/957, amending Regulation (EU) 2015/757 which was published in the European Journal on 10 May 2023. The ABS Regulatory News 10/2023 explains the amendments to the EU
MRV Regulation.
Monitoring
- By 1 October 2023, the European Commission (EC) shall adopt delegated acts for the inclusion of CH4 and N2O emissions and the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from offshore ships. Additional delegated acts shall be adopted for the monitoring and reporting of the aggregated emissions data at company level and the submission to the administering authority.
- By 31 December 2023 or the soonest possible before 1 April 2024, shipping companies should submit to ABS through the THETIS-MRV platform the updated monitoring plans (MPs) according to the EC delegated and implementing acts for each of their ships.
- By 1 April 2024, shipping companies shall for each of their ships submit to their responsible administering authority an MP that has been assessed by the verifier.
- By 6 June 2025, the responsible administering authority shall approve the MP based on the assessment of the verifier.
For applicable ships which have not previously been subject to the requirements of Regulation (EU) 2015/757 prior to 1 January 2024, the shipping company will be required to submit an MP to their administering authority within three months of the ship’s first call in a port of an EU member State. The administering authority shall approve it within four months.
Reporting
- From 1 January 2024, shipping companies shall monitor and report emissions for cargo and passenger ships of 5000 GT and above in accordance with the revised MP.
- From 1 January 2025, companies shall monitor and report emissions for the following additional vessel types:
- Offshore ships of 5000 GT and above
- Offshore ships and general cargo ships below 5000 GT but not below 400 GT.
- From 31 March 2025 and each year after, companies shall, for each ship under their responsibility, submit to their administering authority, flag states concerned and the European Commission, an emissions report for the entire monitoring period of the previous year which has been verified as
satisfactory by their verifier. For the monitoring period of 2023, the deadline for submission of the emissions report remains 30 April 2024. - From 31 March 2025 and each year after, shipping companies shall submit to their administering authority a verified emissions report at company level (aggregated emissions data under ETS).
As explained, shipping companies must continue reporting their greenhouse gas emissions through the existing THETISMRV platform. The administering authority may request companies to submit their verified emissions reports and the aggregated emissions data at company level prior to 31st of March, but not earlier than 28th of February of each year.
