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FuelEU Maritime

What it is

FuelEU Maritime caps the GHG intensity (greenhouse-gas emissions per megajoule of energy used) of fuels burned on voyages touching EU/EEA ports. The target tightens every five years, pushing the fleet toward low- and zero-carbon fuels.

The metric is Well-to-Wake (WtW): it counts emissions from extracting and producing the fuel (Well-to-Tank) plus emissions from burning it on board (Tank-to-Wake), expressed in gCO₂eq per MJ.

Who it applies to

Ships 5,000 GT and above on voyages calling EU/EEA ports — Regulation (EU) 2023/1805. In force from 1 January 2025.

The reduction trajectory

Baseline: 91.16 gCO₂eq/MJ (2020 fleet average).

YearTarget intensity (gCO₂eq/MJ)Reduction vs. baseline
202589.34−2%
203085.69−6%
203577.94−14.5%
204062.90−31%
204534.64−62%
205018.23−80%

Targets are step-wise — the 2025 figure applies through 2029, then drops at 2030, and so on.

Supported fuels

The platform handles 19 fuel types with EU Annex II default emission factors built in:

Conventional

HFO, LFO, MDO, MGO

Alternative fossil

LNG, fossil Methanol, LPG (Propane / Butane), Ammonia (Grey), Hydrogen (Grey)

Biofuels

FAME, HVO, Bio-Methanol, Bio-LNG, Bio-Blend (with bunker-cert dating)

E-fuels & green

E-Methanol, E-LNG, Ammonia (Green), Hydrogen (Green)

For LNG, the platform applies methane slip based on engine type:

  • Otto medium-speed: 3.1% (default)
  • Otto slow-speed: 1.7%
  • Diesel: 0.2%
  • LBSI (lean-burn spark-ignition): 2.6%

Biofuel blends are dated — pre-8-Aug-2025 bunkers use a certified WtW of 9.2 gCO₂eq/MJ; post-cutoff bunkers use 10.8 gCO₂eq/MJ. The platform tracks consumption date so the right factor is applied.

Compliance and penalties

Compliance is computed at the fleet level (per operator):

Fleet GHG Intensity = Σ (Energy × WtW) / Σ Energy
Compliance Balance  = (Target − Actual) × Total Energy

A negative balance means a deficit. The penalty is:

Penalty (€) = |Balance| / Actual Intensity × (€2,400 / 41,000 MJ)

That formula expresses the penalty as the EUR cost of the energy gap valued at VLSFO equivalent — €2,400 per tonne of VLSFO (≈ 41,000 MJ).

You can also avoid penalty through:

  • Banking surplus from a year of over-compliance (up to 2 years forward)
  • Borrowing up to 2% from next year’s target
  • Pooling compliance with other ships under the same operator

What you see in the product

FuelEU dashboard

FuelEU dashboard — compliance status, daily intensity vs. target, and fuel mix.

  • Compliance banner — green or red, with the gap quantified in tonnes CO₂eq
  • Daily intensity chart — fleet GHG intensity over the year against the target line
  • Fuel breakdown table — consumption, energy (MJ), WtT, TtW, WtW, share %
  • Per-vessel ranking — which vessels are pulling the fleet above target
  • Reduction pathway — built-in reference table for 2025–2050

Output

A FuelEU Maritime Report with fleet GHG intensity, fuel mix, compliance balance, and penalty projection — formatted for verifier submission. See Reports hub.

Reference

Primary regulations

Industry guides

GHG / GWP

In this documentation