Maritime Book & Claim system: Supporting industry’s green transition 

The two publications include a ‘Maritime Book & Claim: System Overview,’ which briefly outlines how the system works, and a ‘Maritime Book & Claim: Design Decisions and Justifications,’ which describes the system in more detail and justifies the system design decisions taken. The Maritime Book & Claim system was co-developed to directly address challenges like high alternative fuel costs by allowing alternative fuel to be used where available, while allocating the costs and emission benefits to stakeholders with green ambitions.

The components consist of the building blocks that establish how a system would work, the market that the system would create, and how external authorities perceive the system.

This system will allow shipowners and operators to access a broader market of cargo owners willing to pay a green premium, monetize their green services, and recover investments in decarbonization technologies.

… said Pernille Dahlgaard, Chief Officer of Business, Regulatory and Analytics at the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping

It was developed based on feedback from a range of companies across the maritime value chain to ensure the design fits the needs of maritime users in a project funded by the Danish Maritime Fund. The Maritime Book & Claim system has the potential to fast-track the decarbonization of the shipping industry by connecting companies with green ambitions and allowing them to share costs and decarbonize shipping together.

Types of emissions

The focus of the shipping industry is the emissions associated with the fuel used to render the transport services. The IMO categorizes such emissions as:

• Well-to-tank (WTT): Upstream emissions from primary production to carriage of the fuel in a ship’s tank.
• Tank-to-wake (TTW): Downstream emissions from the ship’s fuel tank to the exhaust.
• Well-to-wake (WTW): The combination of the GHG emission for the WTT and the TTW emissions.

A Maritime Book & Claim system translates vague demand signals to bankable revenue streams for ship owners, fuel producers and ports, and helps jump-start low-carbon fuel production and use in the sector.

…said Thomas Koch Blank, Managing Director at RMI

The mostly commonly used framework, the GHG-P, categorizes the emissions into three groups based on their relevance to the company:

• Scope 1: Direct GHG emissions from sources owned or controlled by the company. Includes direct emissions from assets owned or controlled by the reporting company, including the combustion of solid or liquid fuels purchased to produce energy, heat, or steam. Reporting on these emissions is mandatory under GHG-P.
• Scope 2: Indirect GHG emissions from producing electricity a company purchases and uses. Reporting on these emissions is mandatory under GHG-P.
• Scope 3: Other indirect GHG emissions arising from company activities but from sources not owned orcontrolled by the company. This scope includes 15 categories, of which three are most relevant for the maritime industry -category 3 (emissions related to the production of fuels and energy purchased and consumed by the reporting company that are not included in scope 1 or 2), category 4 (emissions related to upstream transportation and distribution), and category 9 (emissions related to downstream transportation and distribution). Reporting on these emissions is voluntary under GHG-P.

A) System overview

First, key voyage information is collected and uploaded to the Book & Claim system. This data is verified by the Book & Claim platform and booked as energy intensity tokens. Each token represents one MJ of energy and its corresponding GHG emission. Users can swap these tokens with other users, claim them for internal reporting purposes, and pass them down their physical supply chain.

A robust governance structure will ensure data quality and prevent incorrect double counting, and fully articulated market rules will ensure that exchanges are transparent and fair. The use of primary data an maritime focus further enhances the credibility of the Maritime Book & Claim system.

B) Maritime Book & Claim: Design Decisions and Justifications

Chain of custody procedures

Information is needed to create a chain of custody between greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and transport activity. This includes

• how information is gathered (i.e., how to measure emissions and transport service),
• the frequency at which these measurements are used in the system,
•  the system unit used.

Market rules

• There are rules around who can participate in the system, the actions taken with tokens, and the time allowed for these actions.

IT infrastructure

• Key features needed for the system’s IT infrastructure.

Governance

• The principles and procedures for verifying and validating data and transactions, and the overall governance structure

The final key consideration for designing a Book & Claim system is system acceptance. Book & Claim does not exist in a vacuum, and authorities across the maritime industry will take a view on whether this system is valid and can be used for official purposes.

These authorities include organizations like the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the European Union (EU), and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG-P).

When designing a Book & Claim system, any gaps and compatibility issues with current and expected frameworks must be understood. While this Book & Claim is a voluntary system in its current state, compatibility with regulatory frameworks could further enhance its credibility and accelerate its uptake by the maritime industry

 It is crucial that we engage the full maritime value chain, including shipowners, operators, and customers, in a collective effort towards sustainable shipping.

… said Lars Olsen Hasselager, Head of Climate in Danish Shipping,

Maersk Oil Trading recognizes the potential of the Book & Claim system, and we remain dedicated to exploring innovative solutions in our ongoing commitment to support decarbonization within the maritime sector

… added Mikkel Kannegaard, Head of Maersk Oil Trading at Maersk Oil Trading

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