Recital 32

(32) The emissions from a ship depend, inter alia, on the vessel energy efficiency measures taken by the shipowner, and on the fuel, the cargo carried and the route and the speed of the ship, which can be under the control of a different entity from the shipowner. The responsibilities for purchasing fuel or taking operational decisions that affect the greenhouse gas emissions of the ship can be assumed by an entity other than the shipping company under a contractual arrangement. At the time the contract is negotiated, the latter aspects, in particular, would not be known and thus the ultimate emissions from the ship covered by Directive 2003/87/EC would be uncertain. However, unless the carbon costs were passed on to the entity operating the ship, the incentives to implement operational measures for fuel efficiency would be limited. In line with the ‘polluter pays’ principle and to encourage the adoption of efficiency measures and the uptake of cleaner fuels, the shipping company should therefore be entitled, under national law, to claim reimbursement for the costs arising from the surrender of allowances from the entity that is directly responsible for the decisions affecting the greenhouse gas emissions of the ship. While such a mechanism of reimbursement could be subject to a contractual arrangement, Member States should, to reduce administrative costs, not be obliged to ensure or check the existence of such contracts, but should instead provide for, in national law, a statutory entitlement for the shipping company to be reimbursed and the corresponding access to justice to enforce that entitlement. For the same reasons, that entitlement, including any possible conflict relating to the reimbursement between the shipping company and the entity operating the ship, should not affect the obligations of the shipping company vis-à-vis the administering authority in respect of a shipping company or the enforcement measures that might be necessary against such a company to ensure there is full compliance by that company with Directive 2003/87/EC. At the same time, as the purpose served by the provision concerning the entitlement to reimbursement is closely connected with the Union, in particular in relation to the compliance with obligations under this Directive by a shipping company vis-à-vis a given Member State, it is important that that entitlement be observed throughout the Union, in all contractual relations that allow an entity other than the shipowner to determine the cargo carried or the route and the speed of the ship, in a manner that safeguards undistorted competition in the internal market, which can include provisions preventing parties to such contractual agreements from circumventing the entitlement to reimbursement by including a choice of law clause.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-10-14 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.