Marine Fuel CO₂ Emission Calculator

Calculate direct combustion CO₂ from fuel mass, daily consumption, or SFOC and engine power.

Preset factors follow listed IMO fuel categories; use documented values for VLSFO, hybrid and unlisted fuels.

Total Fuel (single or mixed fuels)

Enter either fuel mass or fuel volume, not both. Density is required only when volume is used.

Preset CF values follow the listed IMO fuel categories. Use Other for VLSFO, hybrid or unlisted fuels when a documented factor is required.

Enter a custom zero direct-CO₂ factor only where you have a defensible documented basis; zero direct CO₂ does not mean zero lifecycle greenhouse-gas emissions.

Total or Mixed Fuel Result

Total Fuel Mass: t

Total CO₂: t CO₂

Mass-Weighted CF: t CO₂/t fuel

Daily Fuel Consumption

Enter whole days plus any additional hours. Additional hours must be less than 24.

Daily Consumption Result

Total Duration: h

Total Fuel: t

Total CO₂: t CO₂

Applied CF: t CO₂/t fuel

SFOC & Engine Power

SFOC must correspond to the entered engine power and operating condition.

SFOC and Power Result

Calculated Energy: kWh

Calculated Fuel: t

Total CO₂: t CO₂

Applied CF: t CO₂/t fuel

Marine Fuel CO₂ Emissions from Fuel Consumption

Direct carbon-dioxide emissions from fuel combustion can be estimated by multiplying the mass of each fuel consumed by its applicable mass-to-CO₂ conversion factor. This calculator performs that calculation from a known fuel quantity, a daily consumption rate, or fuel derived from SFOC, engine power and operating time.

The result is expressed as tonnes of CO₂. When several fuels are entered, each component is calculated separately before the emissions are summed.

Calculation Boundary: The result is a direct fuel-mass-to-CO₂ calculation. It is not a complete CO₂-equivalent or lifecycle assessment. It does not include methane slip, nitrous oxide, fuel production, transport, bunkering, electricity generation or other well-to-tank effects.

Principal CO₂ formula

Formula
CO₂i = mfuel,i × CF,i
CO₂total = Σ(mfuel,i × CF,i)

The factor CF represents tonnes of CO₂ per tonne of fuel. It is dimensionless as a mass ratio, although it is commonly displayed as t CO₂/t fuel to make the input and output units clear.

Calculation methods

Total or mixed fuel

Use the Total Fuel method when the consumed quantity is already known. Fuel may be entered directly as mass or converted from volume using an entered density.

Formula
mfuel = Vfuel × ρ
CO₂total = Σ(mi × CF,i)
CF,weighted = CO₂total / Σmi

The weighted factor is based on fuel mass. It is not the simple arithmetic average of the selected conversion factors.

Enter either mass or volume for each component. When volume is used, density should come from the bunker delivery documentation, laboratory result, custody-transfer data or another suitable source for the same fuel quantity and reference condition.

Daily consumption

Use the Daily Consumption method when fuel use is known as tonnes per day over a defined period.

Formula
Th = 24d + h
mfuel = qdaily × Th / 24
CO₂ = mfuel × CF

The calculator treats the entered daily rate as constant over the complete duration. It does not account for separate sea, port, manoeuvring or cargo-operation consumption rates unless these periods are calculated separately.

SFOC and engine power

Use the SFOC method when fuel consumption is not known directly but engine power, operating time and specific fuel oil consumption are available for the same operating condition.

Formula
E = P × t
mfuel = SFOC × E / 1,000,000
CO₂ = mfuel × CF

The factor 1,000,000 converts grams to tonnes. The entered SFOC should represent the actual or selected engine load. A shop-test SFOC at one load should not automatically be applied to a different operating condition.

Symbols and units

Symbols used in the marine fuel CO₂ calculation
Symbol Meaning Unit
mfuelFuel mass consumedt
VfuelFuel volume
ρFuel density used for volume conversiont/m³
CFFuel-mass to CO₂-mass conversion factort CO₂/t fuel
qdailyDaily fuel-consumption ratet/day
dWhole daysday
hAdditional hoursh
PEngine power used in the SFOC calculationkW
tEngine operating timeh
ECalculated engine energykWh
SFOCSpecific fuel oil consumptiong/kWh
CO₂Calculated direct carbon-dioxide masst CO₂

IMO fuel-mass conversion factors

The presets below follow the fuel categories and conversion factors listed in the IMO SEEMP data-collection guidance. They convert fuel mass to direct CO₂ mass.

IMO fuel categories and mass-to-CO₂ conversion factors
Fuel category CF (t CO₂/t fuel)
Diesel / Gas Oil3.206
Light Fuel Oil3.151
Heavy Fuel Oil3.114
LPG — Propane3.000
LPG — Butane3.030
Ethane2.927
Liquefied Natural Gas2.750
Methanol1.375
Ethanol1.913
VLSFO and Unlisted Fuels: VLSFO is not one single universal conversion-factor category. Its documented fuel category, product information and required reporting method should be checked. For hybrid or unlisted fuels, use a factor supported by supplier or other required documentary evidence.

The conversion factors are not fuel-density values. Density is needed only when converting an entered volume to mass and can vary with fuel composition, batch and reference temperature.

Worked example: mixed fuels

Worked Example

A reporting period includes:

  • 100.000 t HFO with CF = 3.114
  • 20.000 t Diesel/Gas Oil with CF = 3.206

HFO component

CO₂HFO = 100.000 × 3.114 = 311.400 t CO₂

Diesel/Gas Oil component

CO₂DGO = 20.000 × 3.206 = 64.120 t CO₂

Total and weighted factor

Total fuel = 100.000 + 20.000 = 120.000 t

Total CO₂ = 311.400 + 64.120 = 375.520 t CO₂

CF,weighted = 375.520 / 120.000 = 3.12933 t CO₂/t fuel

Worked example: SFOC and cross-check

Worked Example

An engine operates with:

  • SFOC: 180 g/kWh
  • Power: 5,000 kW
  • Time: 24 h
  • Fuel category: HFO
  • CF: 3.114

E = 5,000 × 24 = 120,000 kWh

Fuel = 180 × 120,000 / 1,000,000 = 21.6000 t

CO₂ = 21.6000 × 3.114 = 67.2624 t CO₂

Entering 21.6000 t HFO in the Total Fuel method should return the same 67.2624 t CO₂. This provides a direct cross-check between the two tabs.

Volume-to-mass conversion

Regulatory and operational CO₂ calculations use fuel mass. When only volume is known, mass is obtained from density:

Formula
Fuel mass (t) = Fuel volume (m³) × Density (t/m³)

For example, 100 m³ of fuel at 0.450 t/m³ corresponds to 45.000 t. With an LNG conversion factor of 2.750:

CO₂ = 45.000 × 2.750 = 123.750 t CO₂

This arithmetic does not confirm that 0.450 t/m³ is suitable for a particular delivery. Use the density applicable to the actual measurement and documentation.

What the result includes

The calculator includes:

  • fuel mass entered directly in tonnes
  • fuel mass converted from volume and density
  • multiple fuel components
  • mass-weighted conversion factors
  • fuel calculated from a daily rate and duration
  • fuel calculated from SFOC, power and operating time
  • manually entered documented conversion factors

What the result does not include

  • methane slip from gas or dual-fuel engines
  • nitrous-oxide emissions
  • CO₂-equivalent conversion
  • fuel production and processing
  • fuel transport and bunkering
  • electricity-production emissions
  • biogenic-carbon accounting rules
  • FuelEU Maritime lifecycle intensity
  • CII or EEOI denominators
  • cargo, distance or transport work
  • verification of bunker or flow-meter data

LNG can have a lower direct CO₂ conversion factor than oil fuels while still producing additional climate effects through unburned methane. Those effects are outside this calculator.

A direct CO₂ factor of zero for a carbon-free fuel does not mean that production, transport or use of that fuel has zero lifecycle emissions.

Use with IMO DCS and EU MRV data

Fuel mass multiplied by an applicable conversion factor is part of marine CO₂ reporting arithmetic. This calculator can be used to independently check that multiplication and mixed-fuel summation.

It does not collect or verify all data required for an IMO DCS or EU MRV submission. It does not determine reporting boundaries, voyage inclusion, fuel-measurement procedures, data gaps, verifier evidence or company-specific monitoring-plan requirements.

Common input errors

  • Entering both fuel mass and volume for the same component
  • Using kilograms where the input requires tonnes
  • Using kg/m³ where the input requires t/m³
  • Entering a density that applies to a different temperature or batch
  • Using a VLSFO factor without confirming its documented category
  • Using a simple average instead of a mass-weighted factor
  • Entering additional hours greater than or equal to 24
  • Using SFOC from an unrelated engine load
  • Entering engine power and SFOC for different operating periods
  • Treating direct CO₂ as lifecycle CO₂e
  • Assuming a zero direct factor means zero total climate impact
Result Check: Confirm that fuel quantities, densities, conversion factors and reporting periods all refer to the same data boundary. For formal reporting, compare the calculation with bunker delivery notes, flow-meter records, tank measurements, supplier documentation and the applicable monitoring plan.

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References

This calculator is intended for preliminary engineering, educational and independent arithmetic checks. It does not replace verified fuel data, an approved monitoring plan, supplier documentation, regulatory guidance or an accredited verification process.