Mediterranean Sea to become an Emission Control Area for Sulphur Oxides from 1st May 2025

Following amendments to MARPOL Annex VI Regulation 14 adopted by the IMO, with effect as from 1st May 2025, the Mediterranean Sea will become a SOx (Sulphur oxides) ECA (Emission Control Area) for sulphur oxides and particulates, requiring ships operating in it, to comply with reduced emissions limitations and prohibiting ships operating within the Mediterranean Sea ECA from using fuels with a sulphur content exceeding 0.10% mass by mass (m/m) (that is a fifth of the legal limit outside this area with 0.50% m/m allowed outside Med SOx ECA) unless an approved equivalent arrangement is issued such as Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems (EGCS) ensuring an equivalent SOx emission level.

Currently, the other SOx ECAs under MARPOL are the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, the North American and the United States Caribbean SEA ECAs, with the Mediterranean Sea being the fifth designated Emission Control Area for Sulphur Oxides and Particulate Matter worldwide.

In order to comply, prior to entering the Mediterranean Sea, it is important to ensure that sufficient fuel with the appropriate sulphur content is available and that proper fuel changeover procedures are in place and applied.

The designation of the Mediterranean as an ECA, marks a historic landmark for the Mediterranean, home to some of the busiest maritime routes in the regional endeavour for greener shipping and is believed to significantly reduce ambient levels of air pollution in the Mediterranean Sea and to ensure cleaner air in the Mediterranean coastal states, providing benefits to both human health and the environment. This initiative is part of the broader “Regulations Impacting Maritime Transport in 2025” framework, aimed at reducing maritime emissions and paving the way toward achieving the environmental goals for 2030. These measures signify a major step forward in protecting air quality, public health and the marine ecosystem in the Mediterranean region. 

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