Coach Solutions Releases Shipping's First EU ETS Carbon Allowance Calculator
Estimate the cost of carbon allowances for any voyage directly inside the platform
Coach Solutions unveiled a calculator enabling vessel operators to determine sailing costs under the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). The tool integrates into their voyage optimization platform, allowing users to estimate additional expenses for purchasing carbon allowances while adjusting parameters for voyage length and speed.
The calculator employs a dynamic pricing model that reflects the cost of EU emissions allowances, adjusting as industry participation and credit availability fluctuate over time.
Starting January 2024, the EU ETS applies to maritime operations. Operators benefit from a three-year phase-in that runs on the previous year's verified emissions: allowances covering 40% of 2024 emissions, 70% of 2025 emissions, and 100% of emissions from 2026 onward. Market activity has already commenced, with many owners purchasing allowances preemptively, anticipating higher future prices.
Update, August 2026: what falls due on 30 September
Two years on, the phase-in has moved and the two clocks are still the thing operators get wrong. The surrender due by 30 September 2026 covers 70% of emissions reported for 2025, and those are CO2 only. Methane and nitrous oxide enter EU ETS scope from the 2026 emissions year, so they appear on the surrender made in September 2027, not this one. Getting that the wrong way round either overstates the allowances needed this month or leaves next year's position unbudgeted.
Two further changes are already dated. From the 2026 emissions year the phase-in reaches 100%, so the September 2027 surrender is the first at full rate on a wider basket of gases, and offshore ships of 5,000 gross tonnage and above enter the system from 2027. For an operator sizing exposure now, the 2026 accrual matters more than the 2026 invoice.
The allowance bill is only real once your own figures are in it. Size the EU ETS cost and the FuelEU balance for a voyage or a year, on your own fuel mix.
Estimate your EU ETS and FuelEU cost→“We talked with our clients and sought their views on the ETS and their forward planning and found that despite the noise around this subject there was no tool that could help them understand what it means for them.”
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