Sustainable fuels certification schemes (SFCS) under IMO rules
Sustainable fuels certification schemes under draft MARPOL Annex VI regulation 34: IMO recognition, five-year renewal, and certified lifecycle GHG intensities.
A sustainable fuels certification scheme (SFCS) is a scheme recognized by the IMO under draft regulation 34 of a new MARPOL Annex VI Chapter 5 to certify the lifecycle GHG intensity and sustainability of a marine fuel. A certified value replaces the default emission factor of MEPC.391(81) in a ship’s attained GFI . The draft requires the Secretary-General to publish the list of recognized schemes no later than 1 March 2027 and makes recognition renewable every five years.
The certified information is carried on the Fuel Lifecycle Label, which may accompany the bunker delivery note under regulation 34.3. The full article will cover recognition criteria, the schemes seeking recognition, chain-of-custody models under discussion at ISWG-GHG, and how certified values interact with the GFI reduction trajectory .