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Maritime and Ports
As of 1 May 2025, the Mediterranean Sea has officially been designated an Emission Control Area (ECA) under MARPOL Annex VI.
This new status mandates a stricter sulphur limit of 0.1 per cent in marine fuel, compared to the 0.5 per cent allowed elsewhere, with the goal of significantly reducing air pollution from shipping.
Ships sailing through the Mediterranean must now comply with tougher measures aimed at curbing sulphur oxide (SOx) and particulate matter emissions. This development is expected to deliver substantial health and environmental benefits.
According to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), cutting SOx emissions helps lower the risk of “lung cancer, cardiovascular disease, strokes, and childhood asthma.”
The marine ecosystem also stands to gain, with reduced acidification benefiting crops, forests, and aquatic life.
The Mediterranean is one of the busiest maritime regions globally, handling around 20 per cent of seaborne trade. It also hosts 24 per cent of the world fleet and over 17 per cent of global cruise activity, making this ECA designation a significant move in terms of global shipping impact.
The Med SOx ECA becomes the fifth such area recognised under MARPOL Annex VI, joining the Baltic Sea, North Sea, North American coastlines, and the United States Caribbean.
In 2024, the IMO also designated the Canadian Arctic and the Norwegian Sea as ECAs. Most recently, in April 2025, MEPC 83 approved a proposal for the North-East Atlantic to become the next addition.
The regulation follows the global sulphur cap introduced on 1 January 2020, which reduced the permitted sulphur content in fuel oil to 0.5 per cent outside ECAs. That measure led to an estimated 70 per cent drop in total SOx emissions from shipping.
With its net-zero framework set for adoption in October 2025, the IMO has recently laid the groundwork for a global shift in shipping emissions regulation—marking a decisive move towards decarbonising the industry by 2050.