UK EMISSIONS TRADING SCHEME (ETS) FOR SHIPPING Published: 29 May 2026 The United Kingdom (UK) has extended its UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS) to cover domestic shipping activities from 1 July 2026. Whilst similar to the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), it is a standalone requirement and has differing aspects from the EU ETS. This means that qualifying ships will have to comply with both schemes as necessary. APPLICATION This scheme will apply to cargo or passenger ships of 5,000 gt or greater when: Conducting a voyage between two UK ports Working within UK ports, such as cargo operations and hotelling All emissions of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH 4 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) shall be recorded during the above activities* and the effected companies will require to purchase and surrender equivalent UK Allowances (UKAs). *50% of emissions for voyages between ports in Northern Ireland and Great Britain. WHO IS RESPONSIBLE By default, this will be the registered owner of the applicable ship, but this can delegated to the ISM company by written agreement. MONITORING PLAN AND TIMELINE Companies will be required to produce an Emission Monitoring Plan (EMP) and apply for approval to the relevant UK regulator within 42 days of its first qualifying activity after 1 July 2026. As the scheme is starting part way through a year, the initial reporting and surrendering deadlines will not exactly follow the normal pattern. From 1 July 2026 Collect all required data in accordance with EMP 1 January 2027 Calculate and submit required data to accredited verifier for period 1 July 2026 to 1 January 2027 By 31 March 2027 (and each following year) Verified data to be reported in the “Manage your UK ETS reporting service” (METS) platform 1 January 2028 (and each following year) Calculate and submit required data to accredited verifier for annual period By 30 April 2028 UKAs must be surrendered to cover all emissions for first period (1 July