FuelEU 2025: How Much Will Shipping Costs Increase ā And Can Pooling Really Save Shippers?
From January 1, 2025, the FuelEU Maritime regulation officially takes effect, requiring ships to reduce their āwell-to-wakeā greenhouse gas intensity by 2% compared to the 2020 baseline, with targets rising progressively until 2050. As a result, āgreenā costsāincluding scarce alternative fuels, compliance fees, verification expenses, and carbon-related surchargesāare now clearly reflected in the invoices issued by carriers and shippers. FuelEU does not mandate the use of any specific fuel. Instead, it allows operators to choose the optimal combination of solutionsāsuch as blended biofuels, LNG/bio-LNG, wind-assisted propulsion, or operational optimizationāas long as the required emission intensity is achieved. In practice, on major European trade lanes, many carriers have already begun introducing separate āGreen Compliance Surchargesā rather than incorporating all environmental costs into traditional bunker surcharges.
