Brussels, Belgium. EmissionLink said the European Commission’s commitment to prevent shipping companies from being charged twice for the same emissions is a positive step, but added that the industry needs clear guidance on how the measure will work in practice. The company said overlapping regional and international rules are making compliance more complex for shipowners and operators.
Overlapping regulatory systems
EmissionLink said shipping is operating in an increasingly crowded regulatory environment, with EU ETS and FuelEU Maritime already in force while the International Maritime Organisation moves toward its global Net-Zero Framework.
The company said each system has a different scope, timeline, calculation method and commercial logic, making it difficult to avoid duplicate carbon costs without detailed guidance.
Multiple risks for shipowners
According to EmissionLink, a vessel trading into Europe may be exposed to EU ETS, FuelEU Maritime and future IMO carbon rules at the same time. It said the obligations will not always fall on the same party, emissions data may not be calculated in the same way, and costs may not be recoverable under existing charterparty terms.
The company said shipowners face risks beyond paying twice for the same emissions, including reporting twice, calculating twice and building parallel compliance processes, which increase cost, complexity and confusion.
Call for practical clarification
Philippos Ioulianou, Managing Director of EmissionLink, said the industry needs to understand how EU and IMO obligations will be reconciled, how equivalent payments will be recognised, and what evidence shipowners will need to show that the same tonne of emissions has not been penalised more than once.
He said this will determine whether carbon regulation is seen as a fair transition tool or as another cost burden.
Importance of emissions data
EmissionLink said accurate and auditable emissions data will become increasingly important, but added that data alone will not be sufficient. The company said owners and operators will also need expertise to interpret that data across different regulatory schemes and make commercial decisions.
The company said it has supported the delivery of accurate FuelEU emissions data for more than 600 vessels, giving it direct insight into the complexity of compliance across different vessel types and operating profiles.
Ioulianou said every vessel has a different operating profile, every voyage has a regulatory consequence, and every compliance decision can affect cost exposure, penalties, pooling options, charterparty recovery and future planning.