The new Schulte Group member company, Ocean Opt, has been established as a one-stop solution for emissions management for ship managers, owners and charterers. The company offers independent consultancy, data management and platform-based services tailored for fleet performance optimisation, emission trading systems and regulatory compliance including the upcoming FuelEU Maritime regulation.

Ocean Opt underscores the Schulte Group’s commitment to sustainability and innovation. The new entity has been launched as the pressure on the maritime industry increases to demonstrate measurable progress toward climate neutrality. Following the introduction of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) rating scheme and Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI) in 2023, effective this year, the shipping industry has been included to the European Union’s emissions trading system (EU ETS), which will have a major financial impact on shipping from 2025. While the industry is still busy adjusting to EU ETS, the next challenge is already on the horizon with FuelEU Maritime. In preparation for this new EU regulation, the monitoring plans for ships calling the EU must be submitted to authorised verifiers by end of August.

“Efforts to decarbonise the shipping industry keep intensifying. Within the Schulte Group, we have over 300 vessels under contract for performance optimisation. In addition, we already had 200 vessels under EU ETS subscription before the 2024 implementation of the EU ETS directive and we see more and more requests coming in from the market. This is why Ocean Opt has been established. Our aim is to offer our services to a broader client base, including for example ship owners who do their ship management inhouse,” says Ian Beveridge, CEO of the Schulte Group.

“Decarbonising the shipping industry is here to stay and rightly so. Building on our team’s expertise, Ocean Opt’s focus lies on empowering our clients to navigate the complexities of emissions tracking, reduction and compliance with ease,” says Anil Jacob, Managing Director of Ocean Opt.

“All our services are supported by our bespoke performance analysis and emissions management platform that is based on our fleet performance and emissions monitoring software developed by our cooperation partner MariApps Marine Solutions. The more precise the data, the more realistic and cost-efficient are our recommendations for the concrete actions needed to optimise performance, reduce emissions, reach compliance and, most importantly, stay competitive,” he concludes.