This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
MEDITERRANEAN SEA: EMISSION CONTROL AREA (ECA). SULPHUR OXIDES (SOx) AND PARTICULATES
Published: 9 January 2023
In December 2022 the 79th meeting of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 79) adopted amendments to designate the Mediterranean Sea, as a whole, as an Emission Control Area (ECA) for Sulphur Oxides (SOx) and particulate matter, under MARPOL Annex VI. In such an Emission Control Area, the limit for sulphur in fuel oil used on board ships is 0.10% mass by mass (m/m), while outside these areas the limit is 0.50% m/m.
The amendment is expected to enter into force on 1 May 2024, with the new sulphur limit taking effect from 1 May 2025. A summary of the MEPC 79 decisions is available on the IMO website.