Lloyd’s Register Fuel Oil Bunkering Analysis and Advisory Service (FOBAS) on Wednesday (24 June) published a bulletin to provide ship operators with an updated reminder of marine fuel oil sulphur regulations under various regulatory frameworks:
MARPOL Annex VI
Ships operating inside or outside Emission Control Areas (ECA) for Sulphur Oxides (SOx) i.e., ECA-SOx, are
required to comply with specific sulphur limits in respect of the fuel oils as used unless the particular
combustion systems (engine, boiler, other) in use have in operation an approved exhaust gas cleaning system as per MARPOL Annex VI regulation 4. These fuel oil limits are as follows;
- Inside ECA-SOx: Max sulphur content of 0.10% m/m
- Outside ECA-SOx: Max sulphur content of 0.50% m/m
MARPOL Annex VI regulation 14.3 currently gives the following as ECA-SOx together with the respective geographic limits:
- Baltic Sea;
- North Sea;
- North American (which includes an area around the Hawaiian Islands);
- US Caribbean Sea;
- Mediterranean Sea;
- Canadian Arctic; and
- Norwegian Sea
Additionally, MEPC 84 adopted the North-East Atlantic as an ECA-SOx which will come into effect from 1 September 2028.
European initiatives
For EU, UK, and Turkish ports situated outside ECA-SOx, ships must switchover to a fuel with a maximum sulphur content of 0.10% m/m when at berth. Similarly, Norway and Iceland have also 0.10% m/m requirements for ships at berth and operating in Fjords (territorial / internal waters).
Other initiatives
Due to increasing concerns around the environmental impact from shipping on local air quality, there are a number of national and local regulations which require the use of low sulphur fuel oils, typically maximum sulphur content 0.10% m/m, or other measures by all or certain ships within defined areas. Examples of these are China, California (CARB), South Korea and Sydney. Furthermore, there can be other related restrictions, for example, on the discharges to sea from exhaust gas cleaning systems.
However, whereas with the MARPOL Annex VI ECA-SOx, there is a single point of reference as to which areas are covered, there is no such central registry for these regional, national or local initiatives taken outside MARPOL Annex VI. Consequently, in all the cases, it is important for ships to check with the relevant authorities beforehand in order to confirm the current status as regards SOx and related emission requirements in order to avoid any penalties – which can be substantial.
Photo credit: Louis Reed from Unsplash
Published: 25 June, 2026
