FuelEU Maritime calculator
Check a ship's yearly GHG intensity against the FuelEU Maritime limit and work out the compliance balance and penalty. Enter the fuel used in the year on voyages to, from and between EU ports and at berth, as reported under EU MRV.
How FuelEU Maritime works
- Scope (Regulation (EU) 2023/1805 Art. 2): cargo and passenger ships above 5,000 GT. 100% of the energy used on voyages between EU ports and at berth in them; 50% on voyages between an EU port and a port outside the EU, and on voyages to or from an outermost region (such as the Canary Islands or Madeira).
- GHG intensity (Annex I): well-to-wake emissions per MJ of energy, averaged over the year: upstream (well-to-tank) plus on-board (tank-to-wake) CO₂, CH₄ and N₂O, with unburnt LNG (methane slip) counted as CH₄. GWP 25 for CH₄ and 298 for N₂O, from the Renewable Energy Directive. Until 2033 the energy from renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBO, e-fuels) counts twice.
- Limit (Art. 4): the reference value of 91.16 gCO₂e/MJ reduced in steps, from 2% in 2025 to 80% in 2050.
- Compliance balance (Annex IV) = (limit − intensity) × energy in scope. Positive is a surplus, negative a deficit.
- Penalty (Annex IV, Art. 23): a deficit is converted into the energy that is out of compliance and priced at €2,400 per tonne of VLSFO equivalent (41,000 MJ/t): penalty = |balance| ÷ (intensity × 41,000) × 2,400. After two or more deficit years in a row it is multiplied by 1 + (n − 1)/10. Penalties for a year are paid by 30 June of the following year.
GHG intensity limits
| Years | Reduction | Limit (gCO₂e/MJ) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025–2029 | 2% | 89.34 |
| 2030–2034 | 6% | 85.69 |
| 2035–2039 | 14.5% | 77.94 |
| 2040–2044 | 31% | 62.90 |
| 2045–2049 | 62% | 34.64 |
| 2050 onward | 80% | 18.23 |
Default well-to-wake intensity of fossil fuels
| Fuel | LCV (MJ/kg) | Well-to-tank | Well-to-wake (gCO₂e/MJ) |
|---|---|---|---|
| HFO (ISO 8217 RME–RMK) | 40.5 | 13.5 | 91.74 |
| LFO (ISO 8217 RMA–RMD) | 41.0 | 13.2 | 91.39 |
| MDO / MGO (ISO 8217 DMX–DMB) | 42.7 | 14.4 | 90.77 |
| LPG (butane) | 46.0 | 7.8 | 74.86 |
| LPG (propane) | 46.0 | 7.8 | 74.21 |
| Methanol (fossil) | 19.9 | 31.3 | 103.15 |
| LNG, LNG Otto, dual fuel medium speed | 49.1 | 18.5 | 89.20 |
| LNG, LNG Otto, dual fuel slow speed | 49.1 | 18.5 | 82.87 |
| LNG, LNG Diesel, dual fuel slow speed | 49.1 | 18.5 | 76.08 |
| LNG, Lean-burn spark-ignited (LBSI) | 49.1 | 18.5 | 86.94 |
From the default factors in Annex II of Regulation (EU) 2023/1805. LPG and methanol CH₄ / N₂O: the table says "to be measured"; its rule is to use the highest default of the fossil fuel class, which is what this calculator does. Fossil fuels must use these defaults; biofuels and e-fuels can use certified actual values.
FuelEU Maritime and the EU ETS
Both use the fuel reported under EU MRV, but they measure different things. The EU ETS prices tonnes of tank-to-wake emissions; FuelEU Maritime limits the well-to-wake intensity per MJ, so a ship can pay ETS allowances and still have a FuelEU surplus (for example on LNG) or the other way round.
What this calculator leaves out
Pooling between ships, banking a surplus and borrowing from next year (Art. 20–21); the wind-assisted propulsion reward; shore power and its penalty for container and passenger ships from 2030; the RFNBO subtarget from 2034; ice-class adjustments; temporary exemptions for small islands and public service routes; and fuel cells or direct emission measurement. Each reporting period stands alone here.