Norway’s ports to stay third-country under FuelEU until at least 2028

The FuelEU Maritime regulation will not be implemented in Norway any earlier than 1 January 2028, the country’s Ministry of Climate and Environment said.

IMAGE: Cargo ship at the harbor in Tromso, Norway. Getty Images

For Norway’s and Iceland’s ports to be considered EU ports, the FuelEU regulation needs to be incorporated into European Economic Area (EEA) agreement and implemented in Norwegian law. The EEA includes Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, in addition to EU states.

Until that process is complete, these ports will be considered third-country ports under the regulation.

"Until the Regulation enters into force under the EEA Agreement, only half of the energy used on voyages between a port of call in Norway or Iceland and a port of call in the EU will be counted for FuelEU compliance purposes,” Norwegian Maritime Authority’s (NMA) Legal Adviser Marte Hustveit Hauge said.

Energy consumed on voyages within Norway or between Norway and non-EU countries during this period will not be counted for FuelEU compliance purposes, Hauge added.

Last year, the NMA briefly raised the prospect of an early start on 1 January 2026, before reversing course days later, and deferring entry into force to "later in 2026" - a timeline that has now slipped further.  

By Nachiket Tekawade

Please get in touch with comments or additional info to news@engine.online