Mediterranean ECA starts

Today sees the Mediterranean Sea officially become an emission control area (ECA) for sulphur oxides (SOx).

All vessels operating in the region must now comply with stricter environmental standards whereby they either use maximum 0.10% sulphur content in fuel, or use approved exhaust gas cleaning systems also known as scrubbers.

In contrast to North and Baltic Sea ECAs as well as to the most recently agreed North-Atlantic ECA, the Mediterranean ECA does not include nitrogen oxides. 

At last month’s Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC) meeting held at the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the world’s biggest ECA was agreed upon. 

The new Northeast Atlantic ECA, due by 2027, stretches along coastlines from Portugal to Greenland, joining existing nearby ECAs in the North Sea, Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean. 

“Almost all European waters will be emission control areas soon. This harmonised regulation not only benefits people and nature but also facilitates a level playing field for the maritime industry in Europe,” said Sönke Diesener, a shipping expert at Naturschutzbund Deutschland, a German NGO.