Mediterranean Sea Emission Control Area for Sulphur Oxides and Particulate Matter (Med SOx ECA) approved by the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee – Jun 10, 2022
Following submission of the joint and coordinated Proposal to Designate the Mediterranean Sea, as a whole, as an Emission Control Area for Sulphur Oxides by all Mediterranean coastal States, along with all Member States of the European Union, and the European Commission, the International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) at its 78th session (6-10 June 2022) approved the designation of the Mediterranean Sea Emission Control Area for Sulphur Oxides and Particulate Matter (Med SOx ECA) under regulation 14 of Annex VI to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL).
Aware of the various adverse effects of ship emissions on human health and the environment, the Contracting Parties to the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean (Barcelona Convention) have been considering the possibility of designating the Mediterranean Sea, as a SOx ECA under MARPOL Annex VI since the early 2000’s.
The Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC) administered by the IMO in cooperation with the Mediterranean Action Plan of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP/MAP), led the technical work and established, back in 2016, a SOx ECA(s) Technical Committee of Experts composed of official representatives from all 21 Mediterranean coastal States and the European Union.
That work included a Technical and Feasibility Study as well as further knowledge gathered and further studies, notably additional economic impact evaluation and additional fuel supply and technology analyses, carried out by REMPEC and the Plan Bleu Regional Activity Centre (PB/RAC), in cooperation with the Mediterranean Pollution Assessment and Control Programme (MED POL), in accordance with the road map adopted by the Twenty-first Ordinary Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols (COP 21) (Naples, Italy, 2-5 December 2019).
Decision IG.25/14 on the Designation of the Mediterranean Sea, as a whole, as an Emission Control Area for Sulphur Oxides (Med SOx ECA) pursuant to MARPOL Annex VI adopted by the Twenty-second Ordinary Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols (COP 22) (Antalya, Türkiye, 7-10 December 2021), was the culmination of intense consultations among the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention that were facilitated by UNEP/MAP and cleared the way for the submission of the joint and coordinated proposal on the designation of the Med SOx ECA to MEPC 78.
The draft amendments to formally designate the Med SOx ECA will be put forward for adoption at the 79th session of the IMO’s MEPC (12-16 December 2022) and would see the limit on the sulphur content in fuel oil used on board ships operating within the Med SOx ECA set to 0.10% m/m, enter into effect in 2025.
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