A proposal to designate the North-East Atlantic Ocean as an Emission Control Area (ECA) for nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulphur oxides (SOx) and particulate matter (PM) was approved by MEPC 83 on 10 April.
The proposal, which was sponsored by the EU, Iceland and the UK, received strong support from International Maritime Organization (IMO) Member States, with several delegates highlighting its benefits for the environment, air quality and public health. The final text, which was further developed by a dedicated technical group this week, was approved by delegates with no opposition.
‘We’re absolutely thrilled,’ said Sian Prior, Lead Advisor to the Clean Arctic Alliance, who attended the meeting. ‘It was just amazing to see so little opposition,’ she told Bunkerspot in an interview at the IMO's London headquarters.
The proposal is now scheduled for formal adoption at an extraordinary session of the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) in October.
If adopted, the new ECA will stretch from Greenland to Portugal, also encompassing the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) and territorial seas of Iceland, the Faroes, Ireland, the UK, France and Spain and Portugal.
It will also create a bridge between the existing ECAs in the Canadian Arctic, Norwegian Sea, North Sea, and the Mediterranean, which require ships to use fuel with a sulphur content of no more than 0.10%.
‘It will fill that gap to make a continuum,’ Prior explained. ‘I'm hoping that what we'll see is that, because of the continuum, we'll have more and more ships moving to cleaner fuels, to distillate fuels, in particular.’
‘All of that will help with bringing down the emissions of not only SOx but also black carbon, which is so important for the Arctic,’ she added.
The approval of the proposal was described as ‘a significant step forward’ by Dr Edmund Hughes, who represents the International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA) at the IMO. ‘This once again demonstrates the IMO as the most appropriate body to regulate international shipping,’ he told ship.energy.
This is also an important development for players in the marine fuel supply chain, which will have to prepare to meet demand for compliant fuels from ships operated in the new ECA, he highlighted.
‘A clear signal from IMO is good, because it reduces the uncertainty for businesses, and they can think about planning ahead, building on their knowledge and experience gained from over 10 years of implementation of the 0.10% sulphur limit for fuel oil in ECAs,’ Hughes said.
If adopted by MEPC in October, the earliest possible entry into force of the North-East Atlantic ECA would be March 2027.
MEPC 83 will conclude today (11 April), with discussions to focus on a global fuel standard and pricing mechanism for shipping's GHG emissions, which were scheduled to be approved by the end of the week.
Photo: MEPC 83 (credit: IMO)
