EU-MRV FAQs
EU-MRV Guidelines
EU-MRV is a regulation put forth by the European Union to increase accountability for emissions in the Maritime Indusry. Large ships above 5000 GT have to report their overall emissions for the year. EU has a portal called THETIS to which all this data should be uploaded. Once uploaded, this data is verified by an accredited verifier. A Document of Compliance (DOC) is issued upon successful verification
EU-MRV applies to all ships above 5000 GT for their GHG emissions released during their voyages from or to EU ports. It is applicable for the following ship types :
- Bulk Carriers
- Gas Carriers
- Tankers
- Container Ships
- General Cargo Ships
- Refrigerated Cargo Carriers
- Combination Carriers
- LNG Carriers
- Vehicle Carriers
- Ro-Ro Cargo Vessels
- Ro-Ro Passenger Vessels
- Cruise Ships
The ETS is a market-based approach to curb pollution across many industries. Every energy-intensive industry. One EU Allowance (EUA) is the right to emit one tonne of CO2 equivalent. For each year, companies must. The following ship types are excluded :
– Warship
– Naval Auxiliary Ship
– Fish-catching or processing Ship
– Ship not propelled by mechanical ways
– Govt. ship used for non-commercial
Maritime transport-related emissions are around a 1000 million tonnes of CO2 per year. Because of the ever-increasing trade between nations, shipping fleets are going increase by 50%-250% in the coming 15 years. With the current rate of emission, this will violate the Paris Agreement which agrees to keep global temperature rise to below 2 degrees C, compared to pre-industrial levels.
In 2013, the EU Commission set out a plan to progressively integrate in their policy a scope for reducing maritime emissions. They came up with 3 steps :
– MRV of CO2 emissions from large ships calling EU ports
– GHG reduction targets for maritime transport sector
– Further mesasures, including market-based measures, in medium to long term.
There are strict penalties in case of non-compliance. They are defined by each Member State. Ship that have failed to comply with MRV for 2 consecutive times face the possibility of expulsion.
Monitoring Plans
Companies submit monitoring plans to the verifier through the THETIS portal.
These MPs can be prepared in any language as agreed between the company & the verifier. They just have to ensure that there is an English translation available for the same.
Verifier must assess if the MP conforms with the requirements laid down in the MRV. If not found conforming, the verifier shall ask the company to revise the MP.
Companies must draft MPs in the THETIS-MRV system, based on a template defined in Annex 1 in EU Website. Apart from the mandatory fields, there are some voluntary fields as well, such as ice class or other procedures that are relevant to monitoring of fuel consumed & CO2 emitted.
Companies are required to check at least once a year whether a ship’s MP reflects the nature & functioning of the ship and whether the methods can be improved
Port Emissions
GHG emissions that released at berth in an EEA port of call are covered & must be reported annually as a separate item in the emissions report.
GHG Emissions that were released within EEA ports when ship is not at berth but instead moving within a port of call between 2 voyages, must be accounted for when reporting GHG emissions which occured within ports. In such a case, cargo carried & distance travelled do not have to be monitored & reported.
Emissions within a port of call = Emissions at Berth + Emissions from Movements in Port. These emissions from movements in port are the ones taking place within port limits but only when they aren’t included in a voyage.
Emissions related to entry or exit from ports are in the Voyage’s scope, as they occur before or after the port of call.
Voyages & Ports of Call
For a voyage to be covered by the EU-MRV, at least one of the 2 ports of call of the voyage must be located in an EU area.
Thus, voyages into, within & out of the EU shall be recorded.
A port of call is a start or an endpoint of a voyage, where a ship stops to load / unload cargo, or embark / disembark passengers. A stop for refueling, gathering suppliers, relieving crew members, dry-docking, or providing ship repairs. It isn’t a port call when a ship needs to take shelter because of adverse weather, or help in search & rescue operations or distress calls.
In EU-MRV context, a voyage is considers as a journey between 2 consecutive ports of call when at least one of the ports of call is at an EU port.
The EU-MRV regulation is relevant within the EEA (European Economica Area), which according to various treaties includes all EU Members States, Iceland, Norway & the EEA outermost regions such as Canary Islands, Azores, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Madeira, Martinique, Gibraltar, Mayotte, Reunion, and the island of Saint Martin.
There is no mumimum treshold of cargo loaded or unloaded for such a stop to qualify as a port of call.
CII is a measure of the amount of CO2 emitted per unit cargo (tonne) over a particular distance (knots)
It tells us how efficient the Vessel is. According to IMO’s latest circular, Ships are graded according to their CII Rating
MRV Obligations
The EU-MRV obligations like submitting a monitoring plan are to be considered per ship. The entity that assumes obligations needs to set up a MOHA Account (Maritime Operator Holding Account).
The obligations arise for large ships within 60 days of a port of call to an EU Port. The entity, also called the Ship Operator or the Maritime Operator can either be the ship-owner, ship-manager, or any person that can assume the reponsibility for the operation of the ship. The parties involved in the operation can decide who assumes MRV obligations.
For each ship applicable for EU-MRV, after 1st January 2024, the following obligations
– Revise the monitoring plan of each ship to be in conformity with MRV. This plan must be verified by a verifier before 1st April 2024, or within 3 months after each ship’s first port of call in an EU Port
– By 1st April 2024, or within 3 months after each ship’s first port of call in an EU Port, companies must (as per ETS) submit the verified monitoring plan to their adminstering authority
– From 1st January 2024, companies must monitor & report CH4 (methan) & N20 (nitrous oxide) emissions in addition to CO2 emissions.
– From 2025, after 28th February but before 31st March each year, the company must submit ship-wise & company-wide verified emissions report for the entire reporting period of the previous year to the administering authority, flag states (if they are EU Member States) & the European Commission (see EU-ETS FAQ)
If a change of company occurs, previous company shall produce a verified report covering the same elements as the annual emissions report but limited to the period corresponding to the activities carried out under the company’s responsibility such as ‘partial emissions report’ (PER) during the reporting period
This PER shall be submitted to the new company, Flag State, responsible admin-istering authority & the EU Commission, through THETIS-MRV before the vessel is released from the company’s fleet.
How Ecosail helps with your EU-MRV?
Ecosail follows a proactive approach to EU-MRV. Our module for Eco-Compliance has a meticulous vessel reporting feature which not only helps in easy fulfilling of MRV obligations, but also gives you an idea about how to save fuel and calculate your voyage emissions ahead of time.
Apart from the above questions, we at Ecosail are happy to help our fellow maritime companies with any further information that they wish to seek!
Check our Voyage Calculator now!
Our voyage calculator will help you to estimate the amount of CO2 you will emit during a particular voyage and the EU-MRV implications it carries. It will also give you the EUA of a particular voyage.
Get a FREE Voyage Report by using our online voyage calculator!