Environmental • 2 mins read
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The UK Merchant Shipping MRV (Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification) scheme is a regulatory framework that mandates the monitoring and reporting of carbon dioxide emissions from maritime transport that enters and departs from UK Ports. Accredited verifiers play a crucial role in the delivery of this programme by ensuring the accuracy and validity of the emissions data reported by ship operators.
The UK legislation establishing the new UK MRV regime (SI 2018/1388) is now in place and all verifiers must be accredited by UKAS for the provision of UK MRV verification activity.
Following the UK’s exit from the European Union, the UK Government committed to maintaining the existing legislation that was already in place and has therefore established its own MRV requirements, which are similar to the existing EU requirements.
On 17 September 2021 the UK Government released its guidance on the application of the UK scheme for monitoring, reporting and verifying (MRV) carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions as Marine Information Note 669, which was superseded by MIN 669 (M+F) Amendment 1- Reporting emissions data into the UK MRV regime in May 2023, which expires December 2024. The implementation deadline of the new UK MRV requirements was set for 31st December 2023.
Approval of the assessment requirements for UK Merchant Shipping MRV were finalised in mid-2023, and verifiers could be accredited to either ISO 14065:2013 or the new ISO/IEC 17029:2019 and ISO 14065:2020, depending on the implementation of their existing systems and their local accreditation status.
Due to the transition deadline and pressure on resources, a blended and risk-based assessment approach was applied, using a range of assessment techniques, which resulted in 11 organisations achieving UKAS accreditation for UK MRV as of the end of 2023.
Accreditation Specialist, Adam Ward, commented on this project:
“This was a particularly challenging deadline, with UKAS almost doubling its pool of accredited verifiers within a 6-month period. Our ability to meet the deadline for UK MRV is a testament to the hard work and resilience of our employees and to our flexibility in terms of applying a risk-based approach to our assessment activity while ensuring the high standards and technical rigour expected from UKAS are maintained.”