New Bureau Veritas report details impact of EU rules on shipowners

Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore, a global leader in testing, inspection and certification, has released a policy report that details the impact that the integration of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED III) will have on the maritime industry as member states continue in their efforts to transpose its provisions into national legislation.   

Following significant revisions to the RED in 2023, as part of the EU’s “Fit for 55” package, member states are required to integrate RED III objectives into national law in order to achieve the binding renewable energy targets outlined in the directive.  

These targets require the entire transport sector, including the maritime industry, to evidence a 29 percent renewable energy share by 2030, or a greenhouse-gas (GHG) intensity reduction of 14.5 percent by 2030.   

The directive sets an obligation for EU countries to ensure that the combined share of advanced biofuels, biogas and renewable fuels of nonbiological origin (RFNBOs or called eFuels), represents at least 5.5 percent in 2030, of which RFNBOs must make up 1 percent.  

Additionally, EU countries with maritime ports must ensure that the share of RFNBOs supplied to their national maritime-transport sectors is at least 1.2 percent by 2030. 

As RED III represents an EU directive, it is the responsibility of member states to transpose its provisions into national law, allowing, for example, the exclusion of specific transport sectors—such as shipping—from their projected targets.  

As a result, RED III’s impact on the maritime sector is likely to vary considerably throughout the EU, creating a patchwork of differing compliance obligations for bunker suppliers, impacting the continued availability and cost of marine fuels. 

In addition, RED III’s prescriptive support of certain sustainable fuels can create uneven signals with established regulatory frameworks, such as Fuel EU maritime in some member states.  

With RED III transposition, some sustainable fuels may be eligible for use in maritime operations in one European jurisdiction but not in another. 

Bureau Veritas supports stakeholders in understanding and complying with the EU Renewable Energy Directive through expert regulatory analysis. 

“Shipping is facing a myriad of challenges within an increasingly volatile and uncertain global landscape,” said Julien Boulland, the sustainability strategy leader at Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore. “The ongoing transposition of RED III in member states has the potential to generate a clear demand signal for sustainable fuel producers and suppliers, leading to increased availability and improved diversity for shipowners. However, the uneven transposition of the RED by member states leads to a diverse regulatory patchwork, price uncertainty and room for bunker optimization for shipowners. As a result, it is vital that the industry works in collaboration to achieve a harmonized regulatory landscape that rewards investment while supporting the industry’s decarbonization efforts.” 

 The report can be accessed here.