FuelEU Maritime: the compliance year, month by month

In brief

Instrument

Regulation (EU) 2023/1805

Ships in scope

Above 5,000 GT, on voyages to, from and between EU or EEA ports

What is limited

Greenhouse-gas intensity of the energy used on board, well to wake, in gCO₂e/MJ

Limits

89.34 (2025–2029) · 85.69 (2030) · 77.94 (2035) · 62.90 (2040) · 34.64 (2045) · 18.23 (2050), from a reference of 91.16

Penalty

€2,400 per tonne of VLSFO-equivalent energy short of the limit, rising by 10 % for each consecutive year in deficit

Flexibility

Banking, borrowing and pooling between ships

The calendar

1. 31 JanThe FuelEU report for the previous year goes to the verifier and to the EU database.
2. 31 MarThe verifier completes its assessment; the result is recorded in the FuelEU database.
3. 30 AprBanking, borrowing or pooling is notified, and each ship’s compliance balance is recorded.
4. 30 JunPenalties are paid, and ships without a deficit hold a FuelEU document of compliance.

Surplus, deficit and pools

A ship below the limit earns a surplus; a ship above it carries a deficit. A surplus can be banked for later years or pooled with other ships, and a limited advance can be borrowed from the next year. A pool is judged as one: if its ships together are below the limit, none of them pays.

Energy, not distance

FuelEU looks at the energy used, across the fuel’s life, rather than at the distance sailed. All of the energy used between EU or EEA ports and at berth counts, and half of it on voyages into or out of the EU or EEA.

What to check

• Each ship’s energy use and intensity for 2026, voyage by voyage.
• Pooling partners agreed well before 30 Apr 2027.
• Fuel choices for 2030, when the limit steps down to 85.69.

Our reading at 8 Oct 2026, for planning. Not legal advice; the authority’s current text decides.

Sources

• Regulation (EU) 2023/1805