Since 2019 large ships have been required to collect fuel consumption data and report aggregated annual data to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), via their Flag Administration. The data includes the total fuel consumed by the ship in the year per fuel type as well as other data such as the distance travelled. Since 2023 this data also forms the basis of a calculation which assigns a Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) rating to certain ship types.
The reported data is held within a database managed by the IMO, the Ship Fuel Oil Consumption Database. It is intended to inform decision-making on GHG reduction measures for the shipping sector. However, access to that database – including the CII rating of a ship – is presently restricted to a limited audience of Flag Administrations and Recognised Organisations acting on their behalf, as well as the IMO Secretariat. There is no open access for the general public and even for Flag Administrations only parts of the database are accessible.
Besides gathering an inventory of which stakeholders have access to this fuel consumption data, this study also considered advantages and disadvantages of increasing access to the data. The study finally considered some scenarios in which increased accessibility could occur, including via an ongoing review of the relevant regulations at the IMO level.
This report was commissioned by the Environmental Defence Fund (EDF). The report served as input to a submission of EDF to the 82nd meeting of the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 82/6/26).