CLdN, a provider of short sea freight shipping in northwest Europe, is offering a new pooling service to help companies comply with the FuelEU Maritime directive (FEUM), according to the company's release.
The FEUM aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the maritime sector by promoting the use of renewable and low-carbon fuels. However, the use of biofuels, while significantly reducing emissions, can increase fuel costs by 50-150% compared to conventional fossil fuels.
"Biofuels are significantly more expensive and present procurement challenges for companies that do not have the ability to bunker biofuels or are irregularly sailing in EU waters. The financial penalties for not meeting the requirements of FEUM are significant," explained Jasper Meireman, Head of Shipping Operations at CLdN. "For example, a capesize vessel sailing from South America to Rotterdam could incur penalties of some $50,000 if it fails to meet the required biofuel usage."
CLdN's pooling service allows companies to pool the performance of their vessels, using the over-performance of one ship to compensate for the under-performance of others, provided the overall pooled compliance is positive. This mechanism allows companies to share the burden of compliance and incentivizes investments in more advanced technologies.
"CLdN is one of the largest short sea shipping operators in the EU," said Meireman. "We own more than 30 vessels that sail up to 2.5 million nautical miles per year, mainly in EU waters. Our fleet is already best-in-class when it comes to CO2 emission efficiency, with a weighted average fleet emissions of 39g CO2/tonne-km in 2023 – 19% better than our next-best performing short sea competitor."