OceanScore launches FuelEU Pooling Marketplace with first compliance surplus offers

Hamburg-based technology platform OceanScore on Tuesday (24 June) announced that it has launched its FuelEU Pooling Marketplace with first compliance surplus offers now live.

OceanScore provides its customers the opportunity to choose between a wide range of potential compliance pools, choosing from offers that differ by price, volume, terms and 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 prices offered by the different partners on OceanScore’s marketplace. Price midpoint on OceanScore’s marketplace currently sits at EUR 217 (USD 252) per tonne of CO2e. Prices trend higher for small volumes of a few hundred tonnes and can be significantly lower – substantially below EUR 200 per tonne – for larger volumes offered.

The company said this variety of offers to choose from marked 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 or for managing the pool. OceanScore said it only charges an incremental administrative fee for onboarding partners onto the marketplace.

This 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”.

“We’re seeing the first real market movement and transactions, and it’s encouraging,” said Albrecht Grell, Managing Director at OceanScore. “Our customers now have the ability to compare offers and approach pooling as a commercial opportunity, not just a compliance task.”

Pooling vs. biofuels: A changing equation

Today, 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 EUR 200/tCO₂e on the marketplace are, in many cases, 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.

Photo credit: OceanScore
Published: 25 June, 2025