Maritime Environmental Law Update (November 2025 Edition)

O’Melveny’s Environmental team continues to follow significant developments in international and US maritime law and related matters. The following updates our March 2024 alert, which can be found here.

International Developments

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Pricing for Ships

Despite delays, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) continues to explore the implementation of a greenhouse gas pricing mechanism to incentivize the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the shipping industry. 

In April 2025, the IMO released a draft of a revised MARPOL Annex VI, which would implement a “Net‑Zero Framework” that encourages emissions reductions over time by requiring ships to pay fees depending on their fuels’ carbon intensities. The Trump Administration vocalized its opposition to the Framework’s adoption in October 2025, declaring it would not support international policy that raises costs on consumers, energy providers, or shipping companies. The Administration also discouraged other countries from supporting the Framework with warnings of investigations, visa restrictions, sanctions, and additional port fees.

The IMO soon after delayed its vote on adopting the Framework until October 2026. In the interim, the IMO continues to refine details about the Framework’s timing and pricing mechanisms. 

European Union Deforestation Regulation

In October 2025, the European Commission proposed certain targeted simplifications to the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), including eliminating due diligence reporting requirements for entities downstream in the supply chain, such that the operator who first places a product on the market in the European Union would be responsible for reporting under the EUDR. Under the proposal, the initial reporting deadline for micro and small enterprises would also be delayed until December 30, 2026, but the upcoming December 30, 2025 deadline would remain unchanged for medium and large companies. 

U.S. Developments

New Deep Sea Mineral Leasing

In November 2025, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced two significant steps toward a plan for offshore extraction of critical minerals around American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (the CNMI). First, BOEM identified an area around American Samoa to be studied in an environmental assessment and potentially leased for the mining of critical minerals. Second, BOEM opened a 30-day comment period, beginning on November 12, 2025, requesting input from governments, communities, and industry stakeholders regarding mineral resource potential around the CNMI prior to the commencement of any potential environmental study or lease. Google was among stakeholders opposed to deep sea mining around American Samoa, and the company voiced concerns about the mining’s impacts on deep sea cable infrastructure. 

Trans-Atlantic Memorandum of Understanding to Expand Nuclear Energy

In September 2025, the US and UK adopted a memorandum of understanding concerning the two countries’ collaboration on the development of various technologies, including the use of nuclear energy in civil maritime applications. The countries also seek to establish a maritime shipping corridor between their territories.

SHIPS for America Act

In April 2025, US lawmakers reintroduced the SHIPS for America Act, a bill aimed at countering China’s influence over international trade by revitalizing American shipbuilding, shipping infrastructure, and maritime jobs. The bill envisions attempting to incentivize direct investment in US maritime infrastructure by, for example, increasing duties on foreign ship repairs and establishing a fund that would provide the US$100 million per year through 2035 for small shipyards and the US$250 million per year through 2035 for shipbuilders and large shipyards. The bill would also establish a national maritime strategy and a maritime security advisor. 

Enforcement Actions

In August 2025, shipping company V.Ships Norway pled guilty to a 2022 violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships in which  crewmembers from one of the company’s ships dumped oil-contaminated waste into the Gulf of America and then knowingly falsified the ship’s oil record book. The company agreed to pay a US$2 million fine. 

Sustainability Reporting and Climate Disclosure Rules

European Union

On November 13, 2025, the European Parliament endorsed measures to simplify and narrow the scope of sustainability reporting under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the EU Taxonomy, and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). If ultimately adopted following negotiations with member states scheduled to begin on November 18, 2025, the Parliament’s latest proposal could impact EU companies operating in the maritime industry:

• CSRD. The Parliament’s proposal would maintain the delay of CSRD reporting until 2028. This delay was first introduced by the European Commission as part of its Omnibus I simplification package earlier this year. The Parliament’s proposal would also narrow the scope of the CSRD relating to EU companies that have more than 1,750 employees and a net turnover within the EU of more than €450 million.
• EU Taxonomy. The Parliament’s proposal would similarly narrow the EU Taxonomy’s reporting requirements to apply only to EU companies with more than 1,750 employees and a net turnover within the EU of more than €450 million.
• CSDDD. The Parliament’s proposal would narrow the scope of the CSDDD to EU companies with more than 5,000 employees and a net turnover of more than €1.5 billion. It would also delay the CSDDD’s first phase of implementation for the largest companies until July 2028 and require the publication of due diligence rules by July 2026. Companies would need to employ a risked-based approach when assessing due diligence issues and would be required to request information from direct business partners only when companies identify actual, as opposed to potential, risks. Due diligence assessments would generally occur once every four years. Lastly, the EU member states could still enact their own national laws imposing civil liability on companies for violations of the CSDDD.

California

California’s SB 253 (the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act) and SB 261 (the Climate-Related Financial Risk Act) continue to evolve. In October 2025, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) published a notice indicating that it is delaying its publication of draft regulations implementing these laws. As rationale for this delay, CARB cited the large volume of public comments and ongoing input, questioning which entities will be subject to the laws’ reporting and disclosure requirements. CARB expects to publish the draft regulations in the first quarter of 2026. Meanwhile, a challenge to both SB 253 and SB 261 continues in federal district court in California, which recently denied the challengers’ motion for a preliminary injunction while the litigation continues.

This memorandum is a summary for general information and discussion only and may be considered an advertisement for certain purposes. It is not a full analysis of the matters presented, may not be relied upon as legal advice, and does not purport to represent the views of our clients or the Firm. Eric Rothenberg, an O'Melveny of counsel licensed to practice law in New York and Missouri; Chris Bowman, an O’Melveny counsel licensed to practice law in California; and William D. Kosinski, an O’Melveny associate licensed to practice law in California, contributed to the content of this newsletter. The views expressed in this newsletter are the views of the authors except as otherwise noted.

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