Norway and Iceland see temporary exemptions from FuelEU
Ports will be regarded as ‘third country ports’ until further notice
European Economic Area fails to get its act together in time
NORWAY and Iceland have been given indefinite temporary exemptions from FuelEU regulations that kicked in on January 1, after delays in rolling out the measures at the European Economic Area level.
Landlocked Liechtenstein, the other member of the EEA that is not in the EU, is not affected by the dispensation.
In practice, the dispensation means that Norwegian and Icelandic ports will be regarded as third-country ports for the time being.
Accordingly, only half of the energy consumed between a port of call in Norway or Iceland and a port call in the EU will fall within the scope of FuelEU.
Energy consumed on voyages within Norway or between Norway and non-EU countries during this period will remain exempt.
FuelEU provides for a sliding scale for bringing down well-to-wake emissions for vessels of 5,000 gt or above, starting at just 2% from a 2020 baseline but ramping up to 6% by 2030 and 80% by 2050.
As originally envisaged, this would have applied when berthing anywhere in the EEA and for voyages between EEA ports, and to half of the consumption for voyages connecting EEA and non-EEA ports.
Penalties for exceeding stipulated emissions are formulae-based, making it impossible to give examples. But they could potentially run to millions of dollars.
A statement from the Norwegian Maritime Authority attributed the hold up to “delays in the process of incorporating the FuelEU Maritime Regulation into the EEA Agreement”.
As this had not been achieved by January 1, Norwegian domestic stipulations implemented were also not introduced on that date, as had hitherto been intended.
“The Norwegian legislation is ready to be adopted but can only take effect following a decision by the EEA joint committee,” said Alf Tore Sørheim, Norway’s interim director general of shipping and navigation.
According to a notice on the website of P&I club NorthStandard, there is currently no set date for FuelEU's application to the full range of EEA countries.
The FuelEU regulations also offer exemptions for passengerships (excluding cruiseships) traveling between ports on islands with fewer than 200,000 inhabitants; ships traveling to EU territories outside Europe; and passenger ships performing public service contracts for states without land borders.
These exemptions will be valid until the end of 2029, but some areas may choose to start implementing the measures before that date.
