UK carbon market extends to shipping from today

The UK has extended its emissions trading scheme to domestic shipping from today, bringing cargo and passenger vessels of 5,000 gt and above into the country's carbon market.

The UK ETS now applies to voyages between UK ports and to in-port activities at UK ports of call, including cargo operations, hotelling and movements within port. Operators must monitor emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide and surrender UK allowances equivalent to their verified emissions. The scheme is separate from the EU ETS, meaning qualifying ships may need to comply with both regimes depending on their trading patterns.

Responsibility sits by default with the registered owner, although it can be delegated to the ISM company through a legally binding written agreement covering vessel operation, ISM Code compliance and UK ETS obligations. If no valid delegation is in place, the registered owner remains responsible.

Operators must set up a maritime operator account in the UK's Manage your Emissions Trading Scheme reporting service and apply for an emissions monitoring plan within 42 days of their first qualifying UK ETS maritime activity. Annual emissions reports must be independently verified and submitted by March 31 following the scheme year. The first maritime scheme year runs from July 1 to December 31, 2026, before moving to a calendar-year basis from 2027, and allowances for the 2026 and 2027 scheme years must be surrendered by April 30, 2028. Offshore ships are excluded until the end of 2026, with compliance becoming mandatory from January 1, 2027.

The move adds another layer to shipping's growing carbon compliance burden, forcing operators trading around the UK to align monitoring, verification and allowance procurement with existing EU and IMO requirements.

Photo: DmitTrix / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0).