OceanScore has now commercially launched its FuelEU Pooling Marketplace; with first compliance surplus offers now live, providing customers with the opportunity to choose between a range of potential compliance pools.
Customers may opt for their best option depending on price, volume, terms or other counterparty specific aspects. OceanScore does not operate the pools – the company’s focus is on matching multiple different compliance surplus and deficit holders within its extensive customer base.
This range of choices comes with attractive prices offered by different partners on OceanScore’s marketplace. Price midpoint on OceanScore’s marketplace currently sits at €217/tCO2e. Prices trend higher for small volumes of a few hundred tons and can be significantly lower – substantially below €200/t – for larger volumes offered.
According to OceanScore, this variety of offers to choose from marks a first in the market and a significant milestone in the development of a transparent and commercial approach to FuelEU Maritime compliance.
The mechanics of OceanScore’s FuelEU Pooling Marketplace assure that no other costs apply, neither for conducting the transaction itself nor for managing the pool. OceanScore only charges an incremental administrative fee for onboarding partners onto the marketplace.
The early activity confirms that a working FuelEU pooling market is taking shape, delivering on the mechanism’s promise of flexibility and cost efficiency for ship operators and managers.
FuelEU Maritime allows DOC holders to pool vessel compliance balances. The process is straightforward: balances for 2025 are verified by March 31, 2026 and pooling declarations are submitted by April 30 in Thetis, the EU’s MRV system.
When pooling across with third parties, a simple commercial agreement is needed, defining the surplus volume, price, and terms. Importantly, these agreements can be made at any time, independent of regulatory timelines. Vessel selection and formal notification can follow later, making the system flexible and operationally manageable. OceanScore’s marketplace facilitates these commercial processes in a simple, transparent and reliable way.
Albrecht Grell, MD OceanScore, said: “We’re seeing the first real market movement and transactions, and it’s encouraging, Our customers now have the ability to compare offers and approach pooling as a commercial opportunity, not just a compliance task.”
The OceanScore FuelEU Pooling Marketplace is designed for open, efficient use:
- Surplus providers post available volumes with price and terms
- Buyers browse offers and initiate direct contact
- OceanScore does not charge transaction fees
- Standard contract templates are available, developed by international law firm Clyde & Co
- No exclusivity
The FuelEU Pooling Marketplace’s liquidity and demand for compliance surpluses are driven by OceanScore’s Compliance Manager, used by shipping companies to manage both EU ETS and FuelEU Maritime processes, currently for more than 2,000 vessels. It is open to new, FuelEU Pooling Marketplace only customers. With a growing number of listed offers and participating managers, the platform is seen as a central hub for efficient and transparent FuelEU compliance.
OceanScore believes that at present pooling is proving to be the most cost-effective option for many operators, especially those not already operating on LNG or LPG. Offers of around €200/tCO₂e on the marketplace are, in many cases, considered more economical than switching to biofuels when adjusted for calorific value and ETS savings. This may change though as the many factors driving the eventual cost of compliance continue to shift.
As strategies need to continuously be adjusted to these factors, OceanScore’s approach is to keep compliance commercially viable and adaptable. The FuelEU Pooling Marketplace provides a mechanism for operators to make decisions based on price, timing, and transparency, not complexity or exclusivity.
Grell added: “This is only the beginning. We will make more surplus offers available, and with them, more options for managers and owners. The market is starting to move and OceanScore is making sure pooling stays simple and efficient.”
Image: OceanScore’s FuelEU Pooling Marketplace
