FOBAS: Update on Mediterranean Sulphur Oxides Emission Control Area (ECA-SOx)

Lloyd’s Register Fuel Oil Bunkering Analysis and Advisory Service (FOBAS) on Tuesday (7 May) released a bulletin reminding ship operators that on 1 May, MARPOL Annex VI has been updated with addition of regulation 14.3.5 referring to Mediterranean Emission Control Areas:

This bulletin serves as a reminder to ship operators that on 1st of May 2024, MARPOL Annex VI has been updated with addition of regulation 14.3.5 referring to Mediterranean Emission Control Areas, officially came into force on aforementioned date. This confirms that ships operating in Mediterranean Sea need to comply with regulation 14.4 of MARPOL Annex VI i.e., the sulphur content of the fuel used onboard ships operating in emission control area shall not exceed 0.10% m/m (unless ship is using a sulphur oxides abatement technology such as exhaust gas scrubbers).

Currently, ships are exempt from this requirement until 1st May 2025 as per regulation 14.7 of MARPOL Annex VI which states that during the first 12 months of any amendment to the specified emission control area, ships operating in that area are exempt from the requirements of paragraph 4, 5 and 6 of regulation 14.

This may mean a significant change for many ships and could also affect the types of fuel available at certain ports so it will be essential to carefully plan for this change in advance of 1st May 2025.

Appendix VII of MARPOL Annex VI has also been updated with paragraph 4 which outlines the area and exact coordinates of the new Mediterranean emission control area as per following;

In respect of the application of regulation 14.4, the Mediterranean Sea Emission Control Area for Sulphur Oxides and Particulate Matter includes all waters bounded by the coasts of Europe, Africa and Asia, and is described by the following coordinates:

1. the western entrance to the Straits of Gibraltar, defined as a line joining the extremities of Cap Trafalgar, Spain (36°11′.00 N, 6°02′.00 W) and Cape Spartel, Morocco (35°48′.00 N, 5°55′.00 W);
2. the Strait of Canakkale, defined as a line joining Mehmetcik Burnu (40°03’N, 26°11’E) and Kumkale Burnu (40°01′.00 N, 26°12′.00 E); and
3. the northern entrance to the Suez Canal excluding the area enclosed by geodesic lines connecting points 1-4 with the following coordinates:

Photo credit: Louis Reed from Unsplash
Published: 8 May 2024