UPM, Spliethoff’s Bore join Ahti Pool to ensure FuelEU compliance
Finnish material solutions company UPM and compatriot shipping company Bore, part of Dutch shipping company Spliethoff Group, have joined Ahti Pool to promote the decarbonization of shipping operations and comply with the FuelEU Maritime regulation.
Ahti Pool’s FuelEU Maritime-compliant pooling model offers a solution for shipping operators to use and trade ultra-low-carbon fuels like e-methanol or bio-LNG, and to pool compliance for the rest of their fleet. This means that Ahti Pool’s members can buy and sell credits for the use of sustainable fuels, thereby reducing CO2 emissions, cutting costs, and increasing operational flexibility.
The FuelEU Maritime regulation came into force on January 1, 2025, with the goal of increasing the share of renewable and low-carbon fuels in the fuel mix of international maritime transport within the EU. In essence, the regulation imposes higher costs on companies that continue to remain reliant on conventional fossil fuels, thereby incentivising a shift toward cleaner alternatives.
Under FuelEU Maritime, each marine fuel has a well-to-wake greenhouse gas intensity, expressed in grams of CO2 equivalent per megajoule (gCO2e/MJ). Fuels that achieve emissions below the threshold generate a surplus of compliance, while those exceeding it incur deficits of compliance and must pay penalties or purchase compliance credits from those in surplus. Because of its low lifecycle CO2 emissions, bio-LNG can generate substantial surplus for ship operators who use it.
Since 2019, the Spliethoff Group and UPM have maintained a long-term charter agreement, which includes the deployment of dual-fueled vessels by Bore for UPM. These vessels can run on both bio-LNG and conventional marine fuels.
A total of three LNG-powered vessels in time charter to UPM were delivered in 2022-2023.
As a member of Ahti Pool, Bore’s three ships will use bio-LNG and add their compliance to the pool.
“By welcoming UPM, we are not only expanding our network with highly recognised partners but also enabling UPM to achieve near net-zero carbon maritime transport on the routes where Bore’s ships operate at a competitive cost level,” Risto-Juhani Kariranta, CEO of Ahti Pool, commented.
“We are pleased to join Ahti Pool. Their innovative pooling model enables us to reduce the CO2 emissions of our supply chain and comply with FuelEU Maritime. We can now deliver our products with Bore’s ships across Europe with increased efficiency, almost zero carbon, and very competitive prices for our clients,” Jukka Hölsä, VP of Logistics at UPM, said.
“We estimate that we can reduce CO2e emissions by up to 16,000 tons annually through this cooperation.”
“Our work together with UPM and the entire Spliethoff Group is a great example of how companies can assist each other towards their environmental goals,” Janne Kauppila, CEO of Bore, highlighted.
Ahti’s shipowner pool includes Neste’s tanker fleet and Van Weelde Group’s Handysize and Ultramax fleet, as well as partners such as NAPA, Carbonex, and New Asia Shipbrokers.
In related news, NAPA, a Finnish provider of maritime software and data services, signed an agreement with Ahti Climate in January this year. The partnership will provide NAPA’s clients with integrated access to Ahti Pool.
