Regulations are somehow fascinating…

We at Herberg Systems are currently working our way through the ups and downs of the Fuel EU Maritime Regulation (2023/1805). Now regulations are not necessarily my passion. With the help of various rules and exceptions, the legislature is trying to somehow manage the balancing act between the desired goal (Green EU) and reality (shipping without emissions is not possible (yet), but without shipping there is no economy).

It’s summer and vacation time, so maybe we should have a more relaxed approach? If you looked at the whole thing as a novel or screenplay, something like this would come out:

The protagonist: The sea-going ship, which unfortunately cannot currently operate emission-free for technical reasons, causes around 5% of global emissions and transports 80% of all goods around the globe in a highly efficient manner.

The plot: A confusing number of parties involved who somehow need to agree on how to measure, reduce, verify, negotiate and punish shipping emissions.

The finale: A shipping industry with 0% Green House Gas emissions, which is certainly important and right, but unfortunately still a long way off.

The introduction is a bit long: The first 72 (!) paragraphs contain the reason why the authors decided to create the further 31 chapters. The whole thing is a little reminiscent of the first 100 pages of description of the Shire in the Lord of the Rings.

Then comes the plot, which quickly gets into the nitty-gritty, but then slows down a lot. In fact, the authors go into a lot of detail, which sometimes leaves the reader perplexed. Over time, you get used to the complex storylines but an attentive reading is prerequisite.

Things get exciting again when it comes to banking and borrowing of emission rights. With a little imagination, the plot of future business crime novels can be guessed at.

There is also an appendix with types of fuel, formulas and calculation methods. This is familiar territory for engineers, but it does give the plot a somewhat wooden feel.

We implement the EU Fuel Directive with Fleettracker and – new – VesselReport. More here: https://www.vessel.report

Overall, a holiday read worth reading, albeit confusingly complex. Enjoy!