Greece and Spain top list of EU ETS administering authorities

About half of shipping companies will have Greece or Spain as their administering authorities for EU ETS compliance.

PHOTO: An EU flag in front of the Berlaymont building, the headquarters of the European Commission. Getty Images

Shipping companies have to register with EU member states to surrender EU Allowances (EUAs) to cover their carbon dioxide emissions for a reporting period. To do this, they have to apply for special accounts with the member state they have been allocated to.

These member states have been allocated based on either a shipping company's member state of registration in the EU Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (EU MRV) database, or based on the member state it has had the most port calls in over the past four years, Norwegian law firm Thommessen has written in an update.

The port call data used by the EU is from SeaSafeNet and runs up to 20 November last year.

Greece tops the list with 707 shipping companies allocated to it, making up 32% of the total 2,246. Spain follows with 450 companies (20%), Germany with 283 (13%), the Netherlands with 170 (8%) and Italy with 141 (6%).

Greece has a large shipping industry that makes up a significant portion of its GDP. According to a US International Trade Administration report from last year, Greek shipowners control more than a fifth of the global fleet.

All of the shipping companies listed by the EU must open a Maritime Operator Holding Account (MOHA) in the EU member state they have been allocated to. This must be done within 40 working days from 31 January 2024.

Shipping companies not listed by the EU must set up a MOHA within 65 working days of their first EU port call. They can choose the EU member state they have made the most port calls to over the past four years.

The full list of allocated shipping companies is available here.

By Nithin Chandran

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