News / EU ETS surcharge could be €37 for each container, says CMA CGM

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In a customer advisory today, CMA CGM detailed the implications of passing on the cost of EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) to its customers, including a €37 per teu surcharge for vessels calling between European ports.

The figures, which also include a €25 per teu surcharge on Asia-Europe trades and €48 on intra-Europe reefers, are estimations based on the current market value of €90 per tonne of CO2 equivalent (CO2e).

The eventual surcharge amounts will be released in mid-November.

CMA CGM also alluded to the transhipment problem – concerns in the shipping industry that ports like Suez and Tangier Med, outside European borders and ETS applicability, will take away transhipment traffic from the nearby ports of Piraeus and Algeciras, which are.

“Some aspects of EU ETS law are yet to be finalised, such as the list of ports considered as transhipment ports that will be published by the end of 2023, and may be reviewed every two years,” said the carrier.

And CMA CGM insisted in today’s statement that its track record of investing in LNG-powered vessels was part of a push for “bio-methane- and e-methane-ready” containerships from the beginning.

The group said adoption of (almost entirely fossil-derived) LNG across its fleet “had led to a reduction of CO2 emissions per container and nautical miles of 50% between 2008 and 2022”.

However, it included no data on methane emissions or its contribution to total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions during this period.

Emissions of methane, a gas with many times the heat-trapping potential of carbon dioxide, are covered both under ETS regulations and those of the IMO.

CMA CGM recently entered into a research and development partnership with Maersk to establish a “framework of mass production of green methane and green methanol”. Despite CMA CGM’s LNG advocacy, Maersk, which has hit out against the fuel, insisted that the move was not to be interpreted as a policy u-turn.

“Committed to reach net zero carbon by 2050, CMA CGM created the €1.5bn energy fund Pulse to accelerate its transition, and fully supports the IMO and EU measures for a more sustainable transport and logistics sector,” the French group said today.

The Loadstar’s Gavin van Marle has made a gallant effort to explain the intricacies of ETS in his analysis, which readers can find here.