Meeting Canadian Carbon intensity indicator Standards: Requirements for Canadian Ship Operators

18/04/2024

Effective January 1, 2024, Canadian Carbon Intensity Indicator (CCII) regulations will apply to Canadian ships that weigh 5,000 gross tonnages or more, and operate within Canadian waters, including the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River. It will also apply to ships that operate within these waters and travel to ports in the United States, provided that such trips account for 50% or less of the ship's annual trips.

The following types of ships are subject to the CCII regulations:

Bulk carriers and self-unloading bulk carriers
Tankers
Ro-ro passenger
General cargo and ro-ro cargo
Containerships

Exclusions:

The CCII does not apply to ships with Category A designation under the Polar Code, nor to government ships. Furthermore, domestic ships are not subject to the application of the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI) requirements.

Background:

Through studies, Transport Canada found that most of the Canadian fleet could not meet the greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction requirements of the IMO CII. This was due to the Canadian fleet's unique design and operational characteristics, such as deeper draughts, energy-intensive self-unloading operations in ports without shore-side equipment, lock transits, ice escort, shallow water, and speed restrictions. All have a negative impact on fuel consumption/energy efficiency compared to the international fleet.

Therefore, the Government of Canada has adopted GHG reduction targets, which will require action across all sectors as outlined in the 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan. It was determined that the best approach for the domestically traded fleet was to apply the recently adopted IMO measures while factoring in the unique technical and operational characteristics of the Canadian fleet by applying the CII with unique Canadian reference lines.

Instructions for Fuel Oil Consumption Data Reporting and CCII:

Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP) for applicable domestic vessels must be updated by the ship's manager, shipowner, or ship operators under Regulation 26 of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) Annex VI, with a revised due date of March 31, 2024.

Verifavia will verify that the SEEMP is updated in compliance with the provisions of Regulation 26 of MARPOL Annex VI, and will issue a Confirmation of Compliance to each domestic vessel per Regulation 5.4 of Annex VI.

The ship's manager shall submit a fuel oil consumption data report in the form specified in Appendix IX of MARPOL Annex VI to Verifavia no later than March 31 of each calendar year (i.e. the data for 2024 is to be submitted to Verifavia [RB1] by March 31, 2025), along with the calculated annual attained CCII.