V.Group (V.), the ship management and marine services company, and Aither, which provides carbon trading solutions for shipowners and other industries, are pleased to announce a strategic partnership focused on the seamless trading of carbon credits for the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) scheme and beyond, benefiting shipowners with vessels managed by V.

The EU Emissions Trading System requires organisations to account for their greenhouse gas emissions, helping to reduce emissions and generate revenues to finance the EU’s green transition. ETS currently covers emissions in the energy, aviation and manufacturing sectors and will cover emissions from maritime transport from January 2024.

As a leader of decarbonisation services in the global shipping industry, V. has been closely monitoring the development of the EU ETS and preparing its systems and service offerings to be ready for its implementation. Decarbonisation is a key part of the overall V. strategy and we partner with leading organisations, including the Maersk Mc-Kinney Moeller Centre for Zero Carbon Shipping, as well as provide a wide range of bespoke decarbonisation services to shipowners. These include the recently launched V.ERDE suite of products and complex operational, financial and environmental data for vessels managed by V. through its ShipSure platform. V.’s technical services arm SeaTec has executed hundreds of eco and compliance retrofits globally.

Through this partnership with Aither, V. customers will have access to a dedicated online portal to ascertain the cost of the carbon that has been used, be given the opportunity to purchase carbon credits and have them deposited with the EU Registry in order to maintain compliance with the incoming EU ETS scheme. The verified emissions data for vessels under technical management by V. will be provided to shipowners via the ShipSure platform.

With about 90% of world trade transported by sea, shipping accounts for nearly 3% of the world’s CO2 emissions. Together, Aither and V. aim to deliver full-service solutions with the technical, financial and carbon expertise required to make fleets carbon neutral while supporting the strategic business objectives of ship owners and investors.

René Kofod-Olsen, Chief Executive Officer of V.Group, said: “Decarbonisation is top of mind for all shipowners around the world, and the inclusion of the shipping industry in the EU ETS scheme from 2024 has made the requirements for capturing verified emissions data even more imminent. We are pleased to be partnering with Aither to ensure that shipowners working with V. continue to receive the most seamless experience for carbon trading.“

Jacopo Visetti, Co-Founder of Aither, said: “We are excited to be joining forces with V.Group which provides us with a second-to-none platform supporting decarbonisation in shipping. Through V.’s global reach and expansive digital infrastructure, we have been able to jointly build a solution for shipowners, which simplifies their journey through the incoming EU ETS legislation by providing an efficient platform in order to maintain compliance.”

In addition to the partnership with Aither announced today, V.Ships can provide shipowners with support in their compliance with ETS through the following:

• Systems capable of measuring and reporting emissions data after each vessel voyage, built directly into our ShipSure digital platform.
• Ships’ partnership with a classification society that is an EU-accredited verifier of emissions data.
• Systems to seamlessly transfer emissions data from the vessel to the classification society (for verification purposes) or directly to its shipowners’.
• Annual EU ETS impact evaluation.

For those V. customers who are using Aither to acquire their carbon credits, at no additional cost Aither is able to provide them with direct assistance and advice in all aspects of the EU ETS process, including setting up the accounts, advising solutions for any issues identified and providing training to personnel as required.