Together, the two companies will offer a one-stop-shop solution for EU ETS for the maritime sector – from reporting to compliance, stakeholder alignment and trading. The onboarding of new customers starts now, the solution will be available from the fourth quarter of 2023.

zero44, a digital solutions provider focused on carbon regulation, and MariApps Marine Solutions, one of the leading providers of digital solution suites for the maritime industry, today announced a partnership to support their customers with the EU Emission Trading System (EU ETS). Together, the two companies will offer a one-stop-shop solution for EU ETS for the maritime sector – starting from MariApps’ established performance optimization, data collection and reporting overviews all the way through to compliance processes, stakeholder alignment, Union Registry management, and trading access provided by zero44.

MariApps’ customers benefit from a complete software suite that supports all major processes in the maritime industry, namely ship ownership, ship management, marine travel, commercial, fleet performance, procurement, finance, port agency, onboard catering, safety, environmental compliance, and electronic log and record books that support the success of maritime business operations.

zero44’s customers receive a state-of-the-art software application focused entirely on all aspects of Greenhouse Gas Emission (GHG) regulations, including a full set of features for managing the EU ETS.

To tackle the issue of climate change and reduce carbon emissions, the European Union introduced the EU ETS, which will include the maritime industry starting next year. To comply with the ETS, shipping companies must surrender EU carbon allowances (EUAs) for every ton of CO2 emitted on voyages from and to EU ports: 40% of emissions are to be compensated in 2024, 70% in 2025, and 100% from 2026 onwards.

Market prices for EUAs are highly volatile and have fluctuated between EUR 60 and 100 per ton of CO2 over the last 12 months. Depending on the share of EU emissions, an average sized vessel will face additional operating costs of up to one million euros.

Successful compliance with the system and management of the associated cost risk will require ship owners, ship managers, DoC holders, charterers, operators, and cargo owners to agree on each party’s role and responsibility (who will buy EUAs, who will bear the cost, who will carry the compliance risk), adapt their mutual contracts accordingly (shipman agreements, charter agreements) and exchange data on a regular basis.

The zero44 software will help all involved parties to keep track of the flow of allowances and money and provide direct access to EUA trading as well as the Union Registry. For MariApps’ customers, the zero44 solution will integrate with smartOps – MariApps’ existing vessel performance data tool.

“We are very excited about this partnership,” said Sankar Ragavan, CEO at MariApps Marine Solutions. “At MariApps, we aim to offer the best value to all our customers by providing the most efficiently integrated digital solutions. zero44, as a European partner with deep expertise in the specifics of the EU ETS, is a powerful extension to smartOps – our vessel performance solution suite.”

Sankar Ragavan, CEO at MariApps Marine Solutions, added: “MariApps offers great services to their customers based on years of experience in improving processes in maritime with their digital solutions. It’s an important move for us to become their partner for EU ETS and to bring additional value to their customers.”