Skuld has reminded Members that as of January 1st 2018 EU Regulation 2015/757, better known as the Monitoring, Reporting and Verifying Regulation (MRV Regulation) has been in effect.
The principle behind the MRV Regulation is to monitor, report and verify Co2 emissions from maritime transport and is part of wider EU initiatives to better understand and reduce greenhouse emissions from shipping.
MRV Regulation applies to all vessels greater than 5,000 gt that are conducting commercial voyages into or out of, or between EU and EFTA (Norway and Iceland) Ports of Call.
There are some exceptions as to vessel types, including warships, auxiliaries, fishing and fish processing (generally non-commercial voyages). Skuld emphasized that MRV applied irrespective of flag, noting that it was “an interesting feature that this piece of EU legislation is in a sense international in nature”.
MRV aims to allow the EU to better understand Co2 emissions and fuel consumption in the shipping industry.
Each vessel must have a monitoring plan to monitor Co2 emissions and fuel consumption as well as other relevant information to assist the EU. This other information includes, distance travelled, time spent at sea, and the type and amount of cargo carried. Measurements of fuel consumption shall be done by the use of bunker delivery notes, periodic bunker stocktaking, flow meters and measuring actual Co2 emissions.
There are requirements to report not only on a ‘per voyage’ basis but also on an annual basis. The annual report consists of the aggregated totals of emissions and other required measurements for all voyages which fall within the scope of the regulation.
Verification is required by third party accredited verifiers. Typically, classification societies have been given the accreditation, with their role being to ensure that both the monitoring plan and emissions report are in accordance with the requirements of MRV.
Once the reports are verified they will then be submitted to the EU THETIS MRV platform. The EU then plans to publish the data it has collected through the monitoring and reporting by June 2019 and annually thereafter.
Although MRV Regulation is compulsory, it will be down to Member states to implement within their own domestic legislation how compliance is enforced.
Skuld noted that “like buses, two schemes have come along more or less at the same time”. The IMO also introduced a similar scheme to that of the EU when it adopted a “Data Collection Scheme” in October 2016, which will commence in 2019.
Skuld noted that “given that the vessel applicability is the same as under the EU scheme, the IMO version will additionally capture those vessels which would not fall under the EU version, i.e. those vessels / voyages that do not touch the EU /EFTA”. The insurer said that “whilst exact details are being finalized, it looks like both schemes will be similar and we assume run alongside each other, at least for an initial period”.
Skuld said that MRV Regulation would have an important impact upon future initiatives to make shipping greener and better for the environment, adding that “collecting data in this way should hopefully ensure that future ‘green’ initiatives are proportionate and appropriate, based upon proper analysis and in a transparent manner”.
https://www.skuld.com/topics/environment/air-pollution/europe/eu-mrv-regulation/