ID 460819795
© Kannapat Inkhammoon
Shipping operators face a new compliance burden under the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS) – a £100 ($133) penalty for every missing allowance, adding financial pressure to a regime that will bring offshore vessels into scope from January.
The requirements were outlined in a webinar hosted by Normec, which detailed the monitoring, reporting and allowance-surrender obligations facing vessel operators under the scheme.
Operators of ships above 5,000 gross tonnes must monitor emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, submit verified annual emissions reports, and surrender allowances to cover their liabilities.
A key early hurdle is obtaining regulatory approval for an emissions-monitoring plan. Operators must apply within 42 days of their first maritime activity or port call in the UK, according to the webinar.
Without an approved plan, operators risk complications with the verification process, with site visits and risk assessments among the requirements that must be addressed ahead of key deadlines.
The first reporting period covers H2 26, before full calendar-year reporting begins in 2027. Annual emissions reports must be verified by 31 March 2027, while allowances covering the relevant reporting periods must be surrendered by 30 April 2028.
Normec noted that the penalty for failing to surrender sufficient allowances was £100 per allowance, in addition to the outstanding obligation to surrender them.
The scheme covers emissions generated while ships are at berth, as well as those produced during voyages, putting port activities firmly within operators’ reporting calculations.
Voyages between UK ports are covered in full, while different rules apply to international voyages, and services between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
For international voyages arriving at UK gateways, emissions from inbound port activities must be accounted for, even where the voyage itself is excluded from the scheme, according to the presentation.
Offshore vessels are expected to join the regime in 1 January without a phase-in period, adding another segment of the maritime industry into the compliance framework.
And the scheme’s scope could widen further, with a proposal to include 50% of emissions from international voyages, although no outcome had been announced following a consultation at the time of the presentation.
A registered shipowner is the default maritime operator responsible for compliance. An international safety management (ISM) company can assume that responsibility only if specified conditions are met, including a formal delegation.
Delegations must be recorded for each ship, cannot be backdated, and changes in responsibility must be communicated through the reporting platform within 14 days. Operators must also keep fleet records current, and update monitoring plans when ships enter or leave their fleets.
The webinar noted that, unlike the EU maritime emissions monitoring, reporting, and verification system, the UK scheme requires monitoring plans to be approved by the regulator rather than the verifier, creating an additional step for operators preparing for implementation.