Information to be provided by companies
1. Before the start of the verification of the emissions report and of the partial emissions report, companies shall provide the verifier with the following supporting information:
(a)
a list of voyages carried out by the ship in question during the reporting period or, as far as partial emissions reports are concerned, the period during which the ship was under the responsibility of the company, pursuant to Article 10 of Regulation (EU) 2015/757;
(b)
where data gaps occurred during the reporting period:
(i)
the number of voyages for which data gaps occurred, and the circumstances and reasons for such data gaps;
(ii)
the estimation method for surrogate data applied, as referred to in Part C, point 2, of Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2015/757 and, where applicable, in the monitoring plan;
(iii)
the amount of emissions calculated based on surrogate data;
(c)
a copy of the emissions report from the previous year where appropriate, if the verifier did not carry out the verification for that report;
(d)
a copy of the monitoring plan or plans applied, with the conclusions from the assessment carried out by an accredited verifier and, where applicable, evidence of the approval by the administering authority responsible together with the notification sent by the administering authority responsible to the company.
2. Once the verifier has identified the specific section(s) or document(s) deemed relevant for the purpose of its verification, companies shall also provide the following supporting information:
(a)
copies of the ship’s official logbook and of the oil record book (if separate);
(b)
copies of bunkering documents;
(c)
copies of any relevant certificate concerning fuels for the purposes of determining emission factors in accordance with Annex I or Part C, point 1.2, of Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2015/757;
(d)
copies of documents containing information on the number of passengers transported and the amount of cargo carried, distance travelled and time spent at sea for the ship’s voyages during the reporting period.
3. Additionally, and if applicable on the basis of the monitoring method applied, verifiers may ask the company to provide:
(a)
an overview of the IT landscape showing the data-flow for the relevant ship;
(b)
evidence of the maintenance and accuracy/uncertainty of measurement equipment/flow meters (e.g. calibration certificates);
(c)
an extract of fuel consumption activity data from flow meters;
(d)
copies of evidence of fuel tank meter readings;
(e)
an extract of activity data from direct emissions measurement systems;
(f)
any other information relevant to the verification of the emissions report or partial emissions report.
4. In the event of a change of company, the companies involved shall exercise due diligence to provide the verifier, upon its request, with the supporting documents or information referred to in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 relating to the voyages performed under their respective responsibilities.
5. Companies shall retain the information referred to in paragraphs 1 to 4 for the periods set under the 1973 International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (the MARPOL Convention) and the 1988 International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (the SOLAS Convention). Pending the issuance of the Document of compliance in accordance with Article 17 of Regulation (EU) 2015/757 or, for partial emissions reports, pending the issuance of the verification report, the verifier may request any of the information referred to in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3.
Strategic analysis
1. At the beginning of the verification, the verifier shall assess the likely nature, scale and complexity of the verification tasks by carrying out a strategic analysis of all activities relevant to the ship.
2. For the purposes of understanding the activities carried out by the company, the verifier shall collect and review the information needed to assess that the verification team is sufficiently competent to carry out the verification, to determine that the time allocation indicated in the contract has been set correctly and to ensure that it is able to conduct the necessary risk analysis. That information shall include at least:
(a)
the information referred to in Article 10(1) and (2);
(b)
the information obtained from the verification in previous years, if the verifier is carrying out the verification for the same company.
3. When reviewing the information referred to in paragraph 2, the verifier shall at least assess the following aspects:
(a)
the ships’ engines and fuel types used, as well as the number of voyages carried out by the ship in question during the reporting period;
(b)
the monitoring plan as assessed by the verifier and, where applicable, as approved by the administering authority responsible;
(c)
the data flow activities and the control system.
4. When carrying out the strategic analysis, the verifier shall check the following:
(a)
whether the monitoring plan presented to it is the most recent version and, where required in accordance with Article 6(8) and Article 7(5) of Regulation (EU) 2015/757, whether it has been approved by the administering authority responsible;
(b)
whether there have been any modifications to the monitoring plan during the reporting period as referred to in Article 7(2) of Regulation (EU) 2015/757, and, where applicable, whether they have been approved by the administering authority responsible.
Risk analysis to be carried out by verifiers
1. In addition to the elements referred to in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of Article 15 of Regulation (EU) 2015/757, the verifier shall identify and analyse all of the following:
(a)
the inherent risks;
(b)
the control risks;
(c)
the detection risks.
When identifying and analysing the elements referred to in the first subparagraph, the verifier shall consider the findings from the strategic analysis referred to in Article 11(1).
2. When performing the risk analysis, the verifier shall consider any areas of higher verification risk and at least the following: voyage data, fuel consumption, fuel types used, application of any derogation from Article 12(3) of Directive 2003/87/EC provided for in Articles 12(3a), 12(3b) and 12(3-e) to 12(3-b) of that Directive, greenhouse gas emissions, distance travelled, time spent at sea, cargo carried and aggregation of data in the emissions report or partial emissions report.
3. When identifying and analysing the aspects referred to in paragraph 2, the verifier shall consider the existence, completeness, accuracy, consistency, transparency and relevance of the information reported.
4. Where appropriate, in the light of the information obtained in the course of the verification, the verifier shall revise the risk analysis and modify or repeat the verification activities to be performed.
Verification plan
The verifier shall draft a verification plan commensurate with the information obtained and the risks identified during the risk analysis. The verification plan shall include the following:
(a)
a verification programme describing the nature and scope of the verification activities and the time and manner in which they are to be carried out;
(b)
a test plan setting out the scope and methods of testing the control activities as well as the procedures for control activities;
(c)
a data sampling plan setting out the scope and methods of data sampling relating to data points underlying the aggregated greenhouse gas emissions, fuel consumption or other relevant information in the emissions report or partial emissions report.
Verification process concerning the emissions report and partial emissions report
1. The verifier shall implement the verification plan and, on the basis of the risk analysis, verify whether the monitoring and reporting systems, as described in the monitoring plan that has been assessed as satisfactory, exist in practice and are properly implemented.
To that end, the verifier shall consider carrying out the following types of processes:
(a)
enquiry with relevant staff;
(b)
document inspection;
(c)
observation and walkthrough procedures.
2. The verifier shall verify the following:
(a)
the data flow activities and the systems used in the data flow, including information technology systems;
(b)
whether the control activities are appropriately documented, implemented, maintained and effective to mitigate the inherent risks;
(c)
whether the procedures listed in the monitoring plan are effective to mitigate the inherent risks and control risks and whether the procedures are implemented, sufficiently documented and properly maintained.
For the purposes of point (a), the verifier shall track the data flow following the sequence and interaction of the data flow activities from primary source data to the compilation of the emissions report or partial emissions report.
For the purposes of points (b) and (c), the verifier may use sampling methods specific to a ship provided that, based on the risk analysis, sampling is justified.
Verification of reported data
1. The verifier shall verify the data reported in the emissions report or the partial emissions report through the following:
(a)
detailed testing, including by tracing the data back to the primary data source;
(b)
cross-checking the data with external data sources, including ship-tracking data;
(c)
performing reconciliations;
(d)
checking thresholds as regards appropriate data;
(e)
carrying out recalculations.
2. As part of the data verification referred to in paragraph 1, the verifier shall verify:
(a)
the completeness of emission sources as described in the monitoring plan;
(b)
the completeness of data, including those on voyages reported as falling under Regulation (EU) 2015/757;
(c)
the completeness and consistency of data related to emissions falling within the scope of Directive 2003/87/EC, including with regards to the application of:
(i)
the scope as set out in Article 3ga of Directive 2003/87/EC;
(ii)
the phase-in of surrender requirements as set out in Article 3gb of Directive 2003/87/EC;
(iii)
derogations from Article 12(3) of Directive 2003/87/EC provided for in Articles 12(3a), 12(3b) and 12(3-e) to 12(3-b) of that Directive;
(d)
the consistency between reported aggregated data and data from relevant documentation or primary sources;
(e)
the consistency between aggregated fuel consumption and data on fuel purchased or otherwise supplied to the ship in question, if applicable;
(f)
the reliability and accuracy of the data.
Verification of methods applied for missing data
1. Where methods laid down in the monitoring plan as assessed by the verifier and, where applicable, as approved by the administering authority responsible have been used to complete missing data pursuant to Part C of Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2015/757, the verifier shall verify whether the methods used were appropriate for the specific situation and whether they have been applied correctly.
2. Where the methods referred to in paragraph 1 were not assessed or approved beforehand, the verifier shall verify whether the approach used by the company to complete the missing data ensures that the emissions are not underestimated and that that approach does not lead to material misstatements.
Materiality level
1. For the purpose of verifying fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions data in the emissions report and the partial emissions report, the materiality level shall be 5 % of the respective total reported for each item in the reporting period.
2. For the purpose of verifying other relevant information in the emissions report and the partial emissions report on cargo carried, transport work, distance travelled and time spent at sea, the materiality level shall be 5 % of the respective total reported for each item in the reporting period.
Site visits
1. The verifier shall carry out site visits in order to gain sufficient understanding of the company and the ship’s monitoring and reporting system as described in the monitoring plan.
2. The verifier shall determine the location or locations of the site visit on the basis of the results of the risk analysis and after taking into consideration the place where the critical mass of relevant data is stored, including electronic or hard copies of documents of which the originals are kept on the ship, and the place where data-flow activities and control activities are carried out.
3. On the basis of the outcome of a site visit to an onshore location, where it concludes that an on-board verification is needed to reduce the risk of material misstatements in the emissions report or partial emissions report, the verifier may decide to visit the ship.
4. The verifier shall also determine the activities to be performed and the time needed for the site visit.
5. The company shall provide the verifier with access to its sites, including to its relevant onshore locations and relevant ship.
6. The verifier may carry out a virtual site visit provided that, on the basis of the outcome of the risk analysis, one of the following conditions is fulfilled:
(a)
the verifier has sufficient understanding of the ship’s monitoring and reporting systems, including their existence, implementation and effective operation by the company;
(b)
the nature and level of complexity of the ship’s monitoring and reporting system are such that a physical site visit is not required;
(c)
the verifier is able to obtain and assess remotely all requisite information, including correct application of the methodology described in the monitoring plan and verification of the data reported in the emissions report or partial emissions report;
(d)
where serious, extraordinary and unforeseeable circumstances, outside the control of the company, prevent the verifier from carrying out a physical site visit and where those circumstances cannot, after using all reasonable efforts, be overcome.
The verifier shall take measures to reduce the verification risk to an acceptable level to obtain reasonable assurance that the emissions report or partial emissions report is in conformity with Regulation (EU) 2015/757.
Without prejudice to the first subparagraph, point (d), the verifier shall not carry out a virtual site visit if no physical site visit has been carried out in the three reporting periods immediately preceding the current reporting period. The three-year period shall refer to three consecutive reporting periods that start after 1 January 2024, including reporting periods where virtual site visits were carried out pursuant to the first subparagraph, point (d).
The decision to carry out a virtual site visit shall be made after determining that the conditions for carrying out a virtual site visit are met. The verifier shall inform without undue delay the company of the decision to carry out a virtual site visit and that the conditions for carrying out a virtual site visit are met.
7. The verifier may decide to waive a site visit as referred to in paragraphs 1 and 6 provided that the conditions laid down in paragraph 6, points (a), (b) and (c), are cumulatively fulfilled.
The verifier shall take measures to reduce the verification risk to an acceptable level to obtain reasonable assurance that the emissions report or partial emissions report is in conformity with Regulation (EU) 2015/757.
The decision to waive a site visit shall be made after determining that the conditions for waiving site visits are met. The verifier shall inform the company without undue delay of the decision to waive a site visit and that the conditions for waiving site visits are met.
8. A site visit as referred to in paragraphs 1 and 6 shall not be waived in any of the following situations:
(a)
when the emissions report or partial emissions report of a ship is verified for the first time by the verifier;
(b)
if a verifier has not carried out a site visit in two reporting periods immediately preceding the current reporting period.
9. For ships falling within the scope of Directive 2003/87/EC, the company shall inform without undue delay its administering authority responsible of the verifier’s decision to waive the site visit.
The administering authority responsible may object to the verifier’s decision to waive the site visit, taking into consideration all of the following elements:
(a)
the information provided by the verifier on the outcome of the risk analysis;
(b)
information that all requisite information can be remotely obtained and assessed;
(c)
evidence that all conditions for waiving the site visit in accordance with paragraphs 7 and 8 are met.
In case of objection, the administering authority responsible shall notify the company of the objection and the reasons for such objection within a reasonable time, but no later than two months from the date it was informed of the verifier’s decision to waive the site visit.
10. If the verifier carries out a virtual site visit pursuant to paragraph 6 or waives a site visit pursuant to paragraph 7, it shall provide justification for doing so in the internal verification documentation.
Addressing misstatements and non-conformities in the emissions report and partial emissions report
1. Where the verifier identifies misstatements or non-conformities in the course of the verification of the emissions report or partial emissions report, it shall inform the company thereof without undue delay and request relevant corrections within a reasonable deadline.
The company shall correct any communicated misstatements or non-conformities.
2. The verifier shall document in the internal verification documentation, marking them as resolved, all misstatements or non-conformities that have been corrected in the course of the verification.
3. Where the company does not correct the misstatements or non-conformities referred to in paragraph 1, the verifier shall, before issuing the verification report, ask the company to explain the main causes of the misstatements or non-conformities.
4. The verifier shall assess whether the uncorrected misstatements, individually or together with other misstatements, have an impact on the total reported emissions or other relevant information and whether that impact leads to material misstatements.
The verifier shall assess whether the uncorrected non-conformity, individually or when combined with other non-conformities, has an impact on the reported data and whether that leads to material misstatement.
5. The verifier shall consider misstatements or non-conformities which, individually or together with other misstatements, are below the materiality level set in Article 17 as material misstatements where that is justified by their scale and nature or by the particular circumstances of their occurrence.
Conclusion of the verification of the emissions report and partial emissions report
To complete the verification of the emissions report and of the partial emissions report, the verifier shall:
(a)
confirm that all verification activities have been carried out;
(b)
perform final analytical procedures on the aggregated data to ensure that they are free of material misstatements;
(c)
verify whether the information in the report satisfies the requirements of Regulation (EU) 2015/757 and, where applicable, of Directive 2003/87/EC;
(d)
before issuing the verification report, prepare the internal verification documentation and the draft report and submit them to the independent reviewer in accordance with Article 23;
(e)
authorise a person to authenticate the report on the basis of the conclusions reached by the independent reviewer and the evidence of the internal verification documentation, and notify the company thereof.
Recommendations for improvement
1. The verifier shall communicate to the company recommendations for improvement in relation to uncorrected misstatements and non-conformities not leading to material misstatements.
2. The verifier may communicate other recommendations for improvement that it finds relevant, in the light of the outcome of the verification activities.
3. When communicating recommendations to the company, the verifier shall remain impartial vis-à-vis the company, the ship and the monitoring and reporting system. It shall not jeopardise its impartiality by giving advice or developing parts of the monitoring and reporting process pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2015/757.
4. During verification following a year in which recommendations for improvement were made in a verification report, the verifier shall verify whether the company has implemented those recommendations for improvement and the manner in which this has been done. If the company has not implemented those recommendations, the verifier shall assess whether this increases or may increase the risk of misstatements.
Verification report of emissions report or partial emissions report
1. On the basis of the information collected, the verifier shall issue a verification report on each emissions report or partial emissions report subject to verification and transmit that verification report to the company.
2. Upon receipt of the verification report pursuant to paragraph 1, the company shall submit the verification report together with the emissions report or partial emissions report to the administering authority responsible, if applicable. The report shall be submitted using automated systems and data exchange formats.
3. The verification report shall include a statement verifying the emissions report or partial emissions report as satisfactory or unsatisfactory.
4. For the purposes of paragraph 3, the emissions report or partial emissions report shall be considered to have been verified as satisfactory only if it is free of material misstatements. The emissions report or partial emissions reports shall not be verified as satisfactory in case it contains material misstatements that were not corrected before the verification report was issued.
5. The verification report shall contain the following elements:
(a)
the name of the company with its IMO unique company and registered owner identification number, and identification of the ship;
(b)
a title making it clear that it is a verification report;
(c)
the identity of the verifier, including the name and business email address of a contact person;
(d)
the objectives and scope of the verification;
(e)
a reference to the emissions report and the reporting period subject to verification or to the partial emissions report and the period during which the ship was under the company’s responsibility subject to verification;
(f)
where applicable, the ship’s total aggregated emissions of greenhouse gases covered by Directive 2003/87/EC in relation to maritime transport activities and to be reported under that Directive;
(g)
a reference to one or more monitoring plans that have been assessed as satisfactory and, where applicable, an indication of whether the relevant monitoring plan has been approved by the administering authority responsible before the issuance of the verification report;
(h)
a reference to the verification standards used;
(i)
a summary of the verifier’s procedures, including information on and dates of site visits, information on the reasons for conducting virtual site visits or the reasons for waiving them;
(j)
a summary of changes to the monitoring plan and activity data in the reporting period as referred to in Article 7(2) of Regulation (EU) 2015/757, where applicable;
(k)
a verification statement;
(l)
a description of uncorrected misstatements and non-conformities, including their nature and scale, whether or not they have a material impact and the elements of the emissions report or partial emissions report to which they relate, if any;
(m)
a description of any non-conformity as defined in Article 2, point (5)(b)(ii), which have become apparent during the verification;
(n)
the number of voyages with data gaps, if any, and the corresponding amount of emissions;
(o)
where applicable, recommendations for improvement;
(p)
the names of the shipping MRV lead auditor, the independent reviewer and, where applicable, the shipping MRV auditor and the technical expert that were involved in the verification of the emissions report or of the partial emissions report;
(q)
the date of the verification report and signature of an authorised person on behalf of the verifier, including the name of that person.
6. The verifier shall describe the misstatements and non-conformities in sufficient detail in the verification report, including the following aspects:
(a)
the size and nature of the misstatement or non-conformity;
(b)
why the misstatement has material effect, or not;
(c)
to which element of the company’s report the misstatement refers, or to what element of the monitoring plan, or to which legal requirements, the non-conformity refers.
Independent review of the emissions report and partial emissions report
1. The independent reviewer shall review the internal verification documentation and the draft verification report to verify that the verification process has been conducted in accordance with this Regulation and that due professional care and judgment have been exercised.
2. The scope of the independent review shall encompass the complete verification process laid down in Articles 10 to 22.
3. After the report has been authenticated in accordance with Article 20, point (e), the verifier shall include the results of the independent review in the internal verification documentation and shall notify the Commission and the ship’s flag state of whether the conditions for issuing the document of compliance are fulfilled.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
