According to the major shipping lines, they will pass on the extra costs of compliance with the forthcoming European Union Emissions Trading System (ETS). Alliance partners Maersk Line and MSC have said they would pass on the full cost to customers, estimating this at €90 per ton of CO2.
An MSC spokesperson said: “We would envisage adding the cost on our Far East to North Europe trade of €69 per TEU for dry containers and €208 ($213.55) per FEU for reefer containers. North Europe to Asia, the cost would be €37 per dry TEU and €110 per reefer FEU.”
The World Shipping Council (WSC) and European associations have urged the EC to ensure its ETS measures lifecycle emissions from alternative fuels, rather than just those from the exhaust, which it claims will distort the market.
Jim Corbett, WSC European environment director, said the liner shipping association was fully behind the EU ETS, but industry and regulators have concerns over how the measure, due to be introduced on 1 January 2024, will work.
The concern is that if the EU ETS charges shipping lines for emissions from the funnel, without taking into account the lifecycle emissions of a fuel, this will cause market distortion, Corbett said. There are proposals to prevent that distortion and the introduction of the ETS for the maritime sector has been delayed until 2024 to give industry and the EU time to arrive at a solution.
Source: theloadstar.com