What is a FuelEU compliance balance?
FuelEU Maritime compares a ship's yearly average greenhouse gas intensity with the applicable limit and uses the ship's energy use to derive a compliance balance. The result is recorded at ship level and can be positive or negative.
- Positive balance: the ship has compliance surplus for the reporting period.
- Negative balance: the ship has compliance deficit for the reporting period.
Is compliance balance the same as GHG intensity?
No. GHG intensity is the emissions-intensity metric, normally expressed in gCO₂eq/MJ. Compliance balance translates the difference between actual intensity and the applicable target into a ship-specific compliance position using the energy consumed.
That distinction matters because two vessels with similar GHG intensity can still have different compliance balances if their energy use differs.
TidalIQ can roll vessel positions into a fleet-level view to help prioritise action, while the underlying verified ship-specific balances remain the regulatory starting point.
What can a company do with surplus or deficit?
FuelEU provides flexibility mechanisms including banking, borrowing and pooling. Banking can carry verified surplus forward. Borrowing, subject to regulatory conditions, can bring an advance surplus from the following reporting period. Pooling can combine verified balances from two or more ships under Article 21.
A negative balance does not by itself describe the final commercial outcome. Operators still need to decide whether to address the position operationally, use a permitted flexibility mechanism or, where relevant, face a FuelEU penalty.
Why the balance matters commercially
Once a position is verified, the amount of surplus or deficit becomes a practical input into pooling decisions. Commercial teams need to know which vessels are involved, the amount that can be pooled, available genuine supply, the terms agreed and the evidence supporting the transaction.
How TidalIQ uses the balance
TidalIQ keeps the fleet view connected to vessel-level positions, then carries the selected requirement into market comparison, messages, agreements and documents. That reduces the risk of the commercial workflow drifting away from the compliance data that created it.
Use the FuelEU Maritime calculator to model an indicative position or read how FuelEU pooling works.
Official references
Related guides
This guide is general information, not legal or verification advice. Use verified data and current regulatory guidance for compliance decisions.