Honest Comparison

VEMO FuelIQ vs ZeroNorth

Feature-by-feature comparison of two maritime compliance and voyage-optimisation platforms — VEMO FuelIQ (LNG-native, solo founder, Y-2026 startup) vs ZeroNorth (established, tanker-first, 200+ staff).

Disclosure: This is VEMO's page — we make VEMO. Below is our honest reading of where each tool wins, based on public product documentation as of 2026-09. If ZeroNorth publishes a comparison of their own, worth reading both.

The 30-second answer

Pick ZeroNorth if: Your fleet is majority tanker or bulk (they built for that first). You need a big-vendor procurement path (large enterprise buying committees find easier internal justification). You want commercial+operational optimisation across a 50+ vessel fleet with in-house data teams.

Pick VEMO FuelIQ if: Your fleet is majority LNG carriers. You value LNG-specific depth (9 engine models, 4 containment systems, BOG dispatch, engine-type methane slip) over broad multi-cargo generality. You want per-vessel pricing that starts at €199/mo, not enterprise-only. You want a founder you can email and a product cycle that ships weekly.

Feature-by-feature

DimensionVEMO FuelIQZeroNorth
Target vessel type (primary)LNG carriersTanker + bulk
Engine models supported9 (ME-GI, X-DF, LGIP, LGIA, DFDE, TFDE, steam, MEGI, Otto)3-4 generic categories
LNG containment types4 (Moss, NO96, Mark III, Mark III Flex) + age adjustmentGeneric BOR factor
BOG dispatch modellingPer voyage leg (natural + forced + reliq + GCU)High-level only
Engine-type methane slipPer engine (76-91 gCO₂e/MJ range)Single LNG factor
Pilot fuel accountingYes (dual-fuel MGO)Approximated
EU ETS coverageFull (phase-in + scope + live EUA)Full
FuelEU MaritimeFull + pooling arbitrageFull
IMO CII + rating trajectoryFull + year-end projectionFull
IMO EEXIFull (LNG-specific formula)Full
EU MRV / IMO DCS auto-genYesYes
Sea Cargo Charter alignmentYesYes
Weather routing (built-in)NOAA GFS + Open-MeteoProprietary + partners
Charter party math (NYPE/BIMCO)YesLimited
Pricing (entry tier)€199/mo (1 vessel)Enterprise sales only
Fleet-only pricing available€999/mo (15 vessels)Enterprise only
Free trial30 days, no credit cardSales-led evaluation
Onboarding time (1 vessel)~30 min self-serve2-6 weeks with vendor
API integrationREST + Vessel API keysFull API
Deployment speedWeekly product releasesQuarterly release cadence
Fleet management scale (comfortable ceiling)~50 vessels500+ vessels
Language supportEnglishEnglish + JP + others

Where each tool honestly wins

ZeroNorth is stronger for

Large mixed fleets (tanker + bulk + container) where LNG is a minority. Enterprise procurement (they have the vendor-management infrastructure large operators require). Multi-language operations. Fleet sizes above 50 where their scale advantages compound. Integration with existing large PMS/ERP stacks (SAP, IBM Maximo, Star Information Systems).

VEMO FuelIQ is stronger for

LNG-majority fleets where engine-type methane slip, containment BOR, and forced BOG dispatch are 15-20% of total compliance accuracy. Operators who value pricing transparency (published tiers vs enterprise-only). Small-to-mid LNG fleets (5-50 vessels) that get lost as "small accounts" in enterprise vendor prioritisation. Fast iteration — weekly releases vs quarterly.

Where both are roughly equivalent

Core EU ETS calculation. FuelEU intensity math. IMO CII + EEXI. MRV + DCS auto-generation. Weather routing (both use NOAA + partners). Sea Cargo Charter alignment. Neither is dramatically better for the "generic" regulation stack — the differentiation is in LNG-specific depth and pricing model.

Try VEMO free for 30 days

No credit card. Onboard 1 LNG carrier in under 30 minutes. See exactly how the engine-type methane slip + BOR curves + BOG dispatch modelling changes your numbers vs a generic tool.

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Frequently asked questions

Can we migrate from ZeroNorth to VEMO?
Yes. Standard voyage-data export from ZeroNorth (CSV or API) can be bulk-imported to VEMO. All historical MRV / DCS submissions preserved. Typical migration: half-day for a 15-vessel fleet.
Can we run both in parallel?
Yes, and some operators do during evaluation. Both platforms accept voyage data via API — you can feed noon reports to both simultaneously and compare compliance calculations for 30-60 days before deciding.
What about OceanScore, Marorka, Signol, DNV Fleet Manager?
Similar analysis: all built tanker/bulk first, adapted for LNG. For LNG-majority fleets, VEMO's engine-type depth is meaningfully more accurate. For mixed conventional fleets, the differences are smaller. We'll happily do a targeted comparison against any specific tool — email us.
Is VEMO enterprise-grade or startup-scale?
Purpose-built, 2026-founded, currently solo-founder + contract engineering. Real customers (~15 vessel operator deployments in evaluation). Not trying to compete with ZeroNorth on 500-vessel fleets — trying to be the best possible tool for 1-50 vessel LNG operators. If you need enterprise procurement path, ZeroNorth is likely the better fit. If you value depth + speed + transparency, VEMO.