A significant development in the European maritime sector at the beginning of 2025 is the implementation of the European regulation FuelEU Maritime, which came into force on January 1. The regulation aims to promote the increased use of alternative and sustainable low-emission fuels in maritime transport. It focuses on the need for more sustainable ship fuel management, imposing direct requirements on the quantity and type of fuel used.
The FuelEU regulation applies to ships with a gross tonnage greater than 5,000 that call at European ports, regardless of flag or nationality, and requires a gradual reduction in the carbon intensity of the fuels used for transportation, both during voyages and while moored at port. The reduction in emissions is gradual over time. The target is a 2% reduction by 2025, reaching an 80% reduction in emissions and fuel carbon intensity by 2050.
The FuelEU Maritime Regulation integrates with the maritime ETS system that took effect on January 1, 2024. This also applies to ships with a gross tonnage above 5,000 and covers 100% of emissions produced by ships for voyages within European port areas and 50% of emissions from extra-European voyages. Another key aspect of the regulation is the requirement that ships moored in European ports use shore-side electricity to reduce local air pollution, particularly in port areas, starting January 1, 2030.
Shipping fleets must submit the FuelEU Report, starting in 2026, to the verifying body by January 31 of each year, declaring emissions produced, fuels used, and energy consumption from the previous year. They must also submit an application to participate in flexibility mechanisms by April 30. The verifying body must approve the FuelEU Report by March 31 and publish it in the database, while the compliance document must be published by June 30. In this context, the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) has updated the THETIS-MRV monitoring platform to facilitate the monitoring of emissions from maritime fuels and ship operations. Additional tools, such as webinars and guidelines, have been designed to help maritime operators understand the new obligations.
The regulation is defined as technologically neutral, meaning it allows operators to choose the most suitable solutions for their needs to meet the set goals: using alternative fuels like biodiesel or liquefied natural gas, adopting energy efficiency solutions, or participating in pooling systems to help fleets reduce their emissions while minimizing economic impact. The FuelEU regulation includes some flexibility mechanisms, one of which is pooling. This allows ships of different sizes and emission performance to join together, enabling more efficient ships to achieve better results and smaller, less efficient ships to remain compliant. The ultimate goal is maintaining a virtuous balance while adhering to the regulation’s rules.
Article 21 of the FuelEU Regulation explains pooling. All ships within the regulation’s scope can participate. However, a ship’s compliance report cannot be included in more than one pool during the same reference period, and the selection of the verifying body must be approved by all the ships involved.
Each pool will have a single verifying body overseeing it. The selected verifier must finalize and register the pool composition and assign compliance targets to each ship by April 30. Pooling information must be entered into the FuelEU database. Despite the regulation’s positive environmental impacts, a probable increase in final costs and shipping expenses is expected in the short term, as fleets will need to use alternative fuels. The rise in costs could be reflected in higher prices for consumers and businesses; however, there is insufficient data to confirm possible price increases.