Platts proposes to launch carbon-accounted container freight assessments on 10 routes

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, proposes to launch daily carbon-accounted container freight assessments on 10 key routes, effective March 1, to provide further transparency in the developing market.

The assessments would reflect the additional cost required to offset 100% of the CO2 emissions created through the combustion and exhaust of a ship's marine fuel through the European Union's Emissions Trading System.

The assessments would add to the suite of daily carbon accounted tanker freight assessments Platts has been publishing since the second half of 2022.

Platts has also been publishing freight carbon intensity values and freight carbon intensity premiums since October 2021, which measure the impact of greenhouse gas emissions to transport various crude grades from production storage terminals to typical refinery locations around the world.

The proposed new carbon-accounted container freight assessments would be published in US dollars/FEU.

The proposed assessments are:

PBC1 Carbon-Accounted North Asia to North Continent

PBC2 Carbon-Accounted North Continent to North Asia

PBC15 Carbon-Accounted North Continent to East Coast South America

PBC16 Carbon-Accounted East Coast South America-North Continent

PBC17 Carbon-Accounted Indian Subcontinent to North Continent

PBC18 Carbon-Accounted North Continent to Indian Subcontinent

PBC35 Carbon-Accounted North Continent to West Africa

PBC36 Carbon Accounted West Africa to North Continent

PBC9 Carbon-Accounted North Continent to East Coast North America

PBC10 Carbon Accounted East Coast North America to North Continent

Last July, the European Commission proposed adding shipping to the EU ETS gradually from 2023 to 2026, when shipowners would need to buy permits covering all their emissions inside the EU and 50% of their emissions from international voyages beginning and ending in the EU.

The Environmental Committee of the European Parliament voted in May 2022 to delay the inclusion of the shipping sector into the EU ETS from 2023 to 2024 but require that 100% of emissions from intra-EU voyages be covered from the outset, dropping previous plans for a phase-in period between 2023-2026.

The latest EU proposals will look to cover 50% of emissions for voyages into and out of the European Economic Area until 2027, and 100% of emissions of these voyages thereafter.

The vessel speed and bunker fuel consumption used in the calculations of the proposed carbon-accounted freight assessments were arrived at by extensive market survey and reflect market practice.

The calculations will use the daily EU Emission Allowance Nearest-December price (EADLP00) as published by Platts.

The tank-to-wake carbon emissions based on the fuel consumption will be calculated using the carbon conversion factors published in Annex 1 of Regulation (EU) 2015/757 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the monitoring, reporting and verification of carbon dioxide emissions from maritime transport.

The carbon conversion factors, which have been published by Platts since Aug. 1, 2022, are:

Assessment Name Value Daily Code

Carbon Conversion Factor 0.5% VLSFO 3.151 t-CO2/t-fuel ASFOA00

Carbon Conversion Factor 0.1% MGO 3.206 t-CO2/t-fuel AMGOA00

Platts publishes the values defined in the relevant European legislation and will reflect any updates accordingly.

Please send all feedback, comments, or questions by Jan. 27 to shipping@spglobal.com and pricegroup@spglobal.com.

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Platts will consider all comments received and will make comments not marked as confidential available to the public upon request.