Technical and Feasibility Study

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    SOx emissions under 2016 baseline, 2020 MARPOL VI, and the 2020 proposed Med ECA scenarios

    REMPEC prepared the technical and feasibility study for the designation of Med SOx ECA, which concludes that the proposed Med SOx ECA will be effective at achieving SOx and PM emissions reductions for the given costs, imposing reasonable economic impacts to the international shipping industry. According to the study, the Med SOx ECA:

    • Would lower emissions by 78.7% for SOx and 23.7% for PM2.5, when comparing to the IMO sulphur cap (0.5%).
    • Is projected to avoid 1,000 premature deaths, more than 2,000 cases of childhood asthmas.
    • Would contribute to reduced acidification impact on aquatic systems, by decreasing wet sulphate and dry sulphate depositions by 1.16%. and 1.95% respectively, while the maximum percent decreases could reach 14.23% and 48.13% respectively in certain parts of the region.
    • Is expected to lead to reduced haze and improvements in visibility, which would be notably felt over the Straits of Gibraltar and northern Morocco and Algeria, and along the main shipping lane connecting the Straits of Gibraltar, Malta, and towards the Suez