01 Feb 2023 | 13:58 UTC

Platts to launch carbon-accounted container assessments on 10 European routes on March 1

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

The new assessments will 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 EU's Emissions Trading System (ETS).

Platts first proposed launching these assessments in a subscriber note published Jan. 11: https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/our-methodology/subscriber-notes/011123-platts-proposes-to-launch-carbon-accounted-container-freight-assessments-on-10-routes

The assessments will add to the suite of daily carbon accounted tanker freight assessments Platts has been publishing since H2 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 new carbon-accounted container freight assessments will be published in dollars/FEU.

The new assessments are:

  • Assessment Name Daily Code Monthly Average Code
  • PCEC1 North Asia to North Continent CEF1000 CEF1003
  • PCEC2 North Continent to North Asia CEF0200 CEF0203
  • PCEC15 North Continent to East Coast South America CEF1500 CEF1503
  • PCEC16 East Coast South America-North Continent CEF1600 CEF1603
  • PCEC17 Indian Subcontinent to North Continent CEF1700 CEF1703
  • PCEC18 North Continent to Indian Subcontinent CEF1800 CEF1803
  • PCEC35 North Continent to West Africa CEF3500 CEF3503
  • PCEC36 West Africa to North Continent CEF3600 CEF3603
  • PCEC9 North Continent to East Coast North America CEF0900 CEF0903
  • PCEC10 East Coast North America to North Continent CEF1000 CEF1003

The EU's legislative bodies reached a preliminary agreement at the end of 2022 agreeing on including shipping in its Emission Trading System (EU ETS).

Subject to final adaption, ships above 5000 GT will have to acquire and surrender emission allowances for their CO2 emissions from 2024.

According to the latest proposal, 100% of emissions on voyages and port calls made within the EU/EEA and 50% of emissions on voyages into or out of the EU/EEA will be subject to EU ETS.

The vessel speed and bunker fuel consumption used in the calculations of the new 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.

These 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 will publish the values defined in the relevant European legislation and will reflect any updates accordingly.

The new assessments will be published in Platts Dry Freight Wire; on Platts Shipping Alert (SHP) page 0520 and Platts Bunker Add-on (PBG), 3960; as well as in the Platts price database under the codes above.

Please send any further comments or questions to shipping@spglobal.com and pricegroup@spglobal.com.

For written comments, please provide a clear indication if comments are not intended for publication by Platts for public viewing.

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