As announced in ClassNK Technical Information No. TEC-1329 (issued on 29 July 2024) and No.TEC-1308 (issued on 3 October 2023), the FuelEU Maritime Regulation, an EU regulation aimed at promoting the decarbonization of fuels used on ships, has entered into force and starts on 1 January 2025.

In accordance with this regulation, ISM companies having ships above 5,000 gross tonnage calling at ports within the jurisdiction of EEA Member States for transporting passengers or cargo for commercial purposes, regardless of their Flag State, are required to monitor the amount of energy (fuel type and consumption) used by ships during voyages and at berth.

The EEA (European Economic Area) Member States consist of the 27 EU member states plus Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein, forming a total of 30 states.

However, the Norwegian Maritime Authority (NMA) has announced that the incorporation of the FuelEU Maritime Regulation into the EEA Agreement is delayed, and it is highly likely that the implementation of the FuelEU regulations in Norway will not be completed by 1 January 2025.

The Norwegian Maritime Authority website:
https://www.sdir.no/en/news/FuelEu_delayed_in_Norway/

DG MOVE (European Commission Directorate-General for Transport) website:
https://transport.ec.europa.eu/transport-modes/maritime/decarbonising-maritime-transport-fueleu-maritime_en

Due to this delay, Norwegian and Icelandic ports will be regarded as "non-EU/EEA ports" under the FuelEU Regulation from 1 January 2025, until the incorporation into the EEA Agreement is completed. As of the issuance date of this Technical Information, the completion date of that work is not known.

In the meantime, the NMA still recommends preparing FuelEU monitoring plans before the legislation is implemented in Norway.

(To be continued)