Mediterranean moves closer to become 0.10% sulphur area
Mediterranean and EU countries have lodged a formal request to International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to designate the sea as an Emission Control Area for Sulphur Oxides (Med SOx ECA).
PHOTO: Aerial view of the Port of Barcelona. Getty Images
Once given green signal from the IMO, the ECA is expected to come into force from 1 January 2025.
This move comes after the littoral countries agreed to designate the Mediterranean Sea as an ECA at a Barcelona Convention meeting in December.
The waters proposed in the Mediterranean ECA have backing from 22 countries including major port nations like France, Greece, Spain, Turkey etc.
Applying 0.10% sulphur caps on emissions from vessels engaged in international shipping in the Mediterranean Sea area will achieve substantial results at a reasonable cost, the countries said in their proposal.
If the proposal gets approved, the Mediterranean will be the world's fifth designated ECA zone. It will join the Baltic Sea and North Sea as ECAs in the European region. The two other ECAs are in North American and US Caribbean Sea.
The proposal was submitted to IMO earlier this month for consideration at the upcoming 78th Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) meeting in June, "with a view to adoption" at the following 79th MEPC.
