Shipping and port carbon accounting: CII, EU ETS, FuelEU and Scope 3 per container

Every knot has a carbon price now.

Your 2026 EU ETS bill is the first at 100%. Methane counts too.

Who are you?
Work out your shipBook a 20-minute call
VOYAGE ABSTRACTVoy 26-14W · Nhava Sheva to Rotterdam · 6,300 nm
Ref.
VA/26-14W/0912
Speed and days
16.0 kn, 16.4 days
Fuel
HFO 840.0 t, MGO 41.0 t
CO2e incl. CH4, N2O
2,790.5 t
CII this leg
8.72 vs 8.89, C
CO2
2,747.3 t
EU ETS, 50%
1,395 t, €117,788
FuelEU deficit
42.1 t, €26,862
Per voyage

Example. Illustrative ship, terminal and shipment.

The short answer

How do you calculate a ship’s CO2, CII rating and EU ETS cost?

Multiply fuel tonnes by IMO factors: 3.114 t CO2 per tonne of HFO, 3.206 for MGO, 2.750 for LNG. Divide CO2 by deadweight × miles sailed for the attained CII; 2026 requires 11% below the 2019 line. EU ETS covers 100% of intra-EU and 50% of extra-EU voyage emissions.

Last verified 3 October 2026. Sources at the end.

On paper, the LNG ship rates A.
In the EU ETS ledger it still pays 93% of the oil ship’s bill.

FuelEU sets methane slip at 3.1% of fuel for medium-speed Otto engines and 0.2% for slow-speed diesel engines. CII counts only CO₂, so the slip is invisible there. EU ETS counts methane from 2026.

What lands after the voyage.

Ship owners and operators

The charterer wants the ETS surcharge broken down by voyage. Our noon reports live in a spreadsheet.

Port and terminal operators

The annual green port report is due 30 April. Every terminal tenant sends a different spreadsheet.

Exporters and cargo owners

The buyer’s Scope 3 form asks for kg CO2e per container. We sent the freight invoice.

Typical requests from charterers, port authorities and buyers. Illustrative.

Turn the speed dial.

Drag the speed. Fuel, CO2, the EU bill and the CII band all move together.

Why now

Who’s asking, and by when.

100%

Full EU bill

2026 is the first year owners surrender allowances for all covered emissions, methane and N2O included, due 30 September 2027.

21.5%

CII by 2030

Required carbon intensity tightens from 11% below 2019 in 2026 to 21.5% in 2030.

4 Dec 2026

IMO decision due

The IMO’s session on its Net-Zero Framework is due to resume on 4 December, subject to confirmation, after adoption was adjourned in October 2025.

30%

Per tonne by 2030

Harit Sagar asks major ports to cut CO2 per tonne of cargo 30% by 2030 and run on over 60% renewable power.

Free maritime carbon calculator

Your ship, your terminal, your boxes.

Operators: CO2, CII, EU ETS and FuelEU a year. Ports: Scope 1 and 2 per tonne of cargo. Exporters: CO2e per container.

0

How this is worked out
  • Fuel factors: HFO 3.114, MGO 3.206, LNG 2.750 t CO2 a tonne. EU ETS adds methane and N2O at IPCC AR5, with FuelEU slip defaults.
  • CII: container reference line 1,984 × DWT to the power −0.489 (bulk 4,745, −0.622). Required 11% below in 2026, 21.5% in 2030.
  • EU ETS: 100% of intra-EU voyages and EU berths, 50% of voyages into or out of the EU. EUA €84.42 (2 October 2026), editable.
  • FuelEU: well-to-wake target 89.34 gCO2e/MJ for 2025 to 2029 (2% below 91.16). Penalty €2,400 per tonne of VLSFO-equivalent deficit, before pooling.
  • Ports: diesel 2.66 kg a litre, grid 0.675 t CO2 per MWh (CEA v22). 3.5 kWh per litre displaced is illustrative.
  • Containers: UK government 2026 factors, 19.77 g CO2e per tonne-km average, 15.53 g for 8,000 TEU and above.

Answer the charterer with a number.

A charterer asks the operator for voyage data. Same question, two answers.

Voyage_26-14W_Carbon.xlsxSheet: EU ETS and FuelEU
Request 2 For voyage 26-14W, give fuel used by type, CO2 and CO2e (state methane and N2O), the EU ETS allowances and how the surcharge per TEU was set, the FuelEU compliance balance, the attained and required CII, and the factors used. Our auditors will check this against our Scope 3 category 4.

Wording modelled on charterer data requests.

  • Defend the surcharge. Show the charterer how each euro was set.
  • Keep the rating. See the CII slide coming three years out.
Straight answer: we prepare and reconcile the data. Flag states, recognised organisations and accredited verifiers verify DCS, CII and EU MRV reports.
How it works

From noon reports to every report.

Carbon-OS reads noon reports, bunker notes, port meters and freight invoices. One method for every ship, terminal and box.

  1. Connect

    Noon reports, bunker delivery notes, port meters, equipment fuel logs, freight invoices.

  2. Map

    Ship, voyage and EU coverage. Terminal and tenants. Shipment and Incoterm.

  3. Calculate

    CO2, CO2e, CII, EU ETS, FuelEU, port Scope 1 and 2, CO2e per box.

  4. Publish

    Voyage abstracts, charterer packs, Harit Sagar sheets, BRSR Core tables.

Method and boundary

Ship CO2 and CII
Fuel × IMO factors. CII per MEPC.353 and 354(78), reduction factors per MEPC.338(76) and 400(83).
EU ETS
CO2, CH4 and N2O tank-to-wake. 100% intra-EU and berth, 50% extra-EU.
FuelEU Maritime
Well-to-wake with Annex II defaults or supplier values. Pooling and banking tracked.
Containers
ISO 14083 and the GLEC Framework. Carrier vessel data first. Road legs on our logistics page.
Ports
GHG Protocol operational control. Equipment diesel and grid at CEA v22. Tenants and vessels as Scope 3.
IMO Net-Zero
Fuel intensity computed in parallel, labelled pending adoption.
Factors
More than a million emission factors, including IMO, EU and UK government.
What you get

Three outputs, one set of numbers.

Every voyage

Voyage abstracts

CO2, CO2e, EU ETS allowances, FuelEU balance and CII, from noon reports. Ready for the charterer.

Every month

Port KPI sheets

Scope 1 and 2, CO2 per tonne of cargo and renewable share for Harit Sagar and BRSR Core.

Every shipment

CO2e per container

For exporters and their buyers, by Incoterm, with carrier data where it exists.

Glossary

Shipping carbon words, made plain.

CII
A ship’s yearly grams of CO2 per deadweight tonne per nautical mile, rated A to E.
EEXI
A one-time design efficiency index for existing ships, in force since January 2023.
IMO DCS
IMO’s yearly fuel and distance reporting for ships of 5,000 GT and above.
EUA
One EU allowance: the right to emit one tonne of CO2e.
FuelEU Maritime
The EU limit on the greenhouse gas intensity of energy used on board.
Well-to-wake
Emissions from producing the fuel plus burning it on board.
Methane slip
Unburnt methane escaping from gas engines.
TEU
One twenty-foot container. A forty-foot box is two TEU.
Where are you today?

Where does your fleet stand? Three questions.

See where we'd start with you.

Who asks you for carbon numbers most?

Where does your fuel data live?

What’s your first deadline?

Questions shipping teams ask.

How is a ship’s EU ETS cost calculated?

Intra-EU voyages and EU berths count 100%; voyages into or out of the EU count 50%. Methane and N2O count from 2026. Multiply covered tonnes by the EUA price.

When is the 2026 surrender due?

By 30 September 2027, for 100% of 2026 emissions. Earlier years phased in at 40% and 70%.

What CII reduction applies in 2026?

11% below the 2019 reference line, then 13.625% in 2027 and 21.5% in 2030.

What happens if a ship rates D or E?

D for three years in a row, or E once, needs a corrective action plan in the SEEMP to reach C or better.

How is the FuelEU penalty set?

€2,400 per tonne of VLSFO-equivalent energy (41,000 MJ) in deficit. The 2025 to 2029 target is 2% below 91.16 gCO2e/MJ.

Does LNG solve CII and FuelEU?

It cuts CO2, so CII improves. FuelEU and EU ETS also count methane slip: 3.1% for medium-speed Otto engines, 0.2% for slow-speed diesel.

Is the IMO Net-Zero Framework adopted?

Not yet. Adoption was adjourned in October 2025. The session is due to resume on 4 December 2026, subject to confirmation.

Does Climes verify DCS or MRV reports?

No. Climes prepares and reconciles the data. Flag states, recognised organisations and accredited verifiers verify.

Is ocean freight my Scope 3 category 4 or 9?

If you pay for it, category 4. If your buyer pays, it’s your category 9 and their category 4.

What default factor fits a container shipment?

UK government 2026 factors give 19.77 g CO2e per tonne-km for an average container ship, well-to-wake. Carrier vessel data is better.

What must Indian major ports achieve?

Harit Sagar asks for 30% less CO2 per tonne of cargo by 2030, over 60% renewable power and over 50% electrified equipment.

Which Indian ports are green hydrogen hubs?

Deendayal (Kandla), Paradip and V.O. Chidambaranar (Tuticorin), recognised in October 2025.

Bring one voyage’s noon reports. We’ll build the abstract.

Twenty minutes. Your ship, your route, your speed. You leave with CO2, CII and the EU bill.

Book the 20-minute callor write to carbon-os@climes.io

Sources

  1. European Commission, EU ETS maritime FAQ: phase-in, methane, 50% rule
  2. European Commission, FuelEU Maritime: targets
  3. Regulation (EU) 2023/1805, Annex II: fuel defaults and slip
  4. IMO, MEPC 84 briefing: Net-Zero Framework timeline
  5. IMO MEPC.353(78): CII reference lines
  6. IMO MEPC.354(78): CII rating bands
  7. Lloyd’s Register, MEPC.400(83): reduction factors to 2030
  8. IMO, EEXI and CII FAQ: D and E rule
  9. UK government GHG conversion factors 2026: container ships, marine fuels
  10. Trading Economics, EU carbon: €84.42, 2 October 2026
  11. Harit Sagar Green Port Guidelines: 2030 targets
  12. Indian Infrastructure, green hydrogen hubs: Kandla, Paradip, Tuticorin

Facts on this page last verified 3 October 2026. Interactive figures are illustrative unless a source is named.

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