SECAs becoming ECAs

The revision of MARPOL Annex VI and the NOx Technical Code (Annex VI) means there is now a sell-by date on the term Sulphur Emission Control Area (SECA) at the IMO. In the revised Annex VI text approved by the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) last week, SECA has been replaced with Emission Control Area (ECA).

Fuel sulphur content is still the only aspect with a specified limit in current SECAs and future ECAs but the revised Annex VI will allow for the designation of new ECAs specifying limits not just for sulphur oxides (SOx), but also for particulate matter (PM), nitrogen oxides (NOx), or all three types of emissions from ships.

According to an IMO briefing on the subject, new ECAs can be designated “subject to a proposal from a party or parties to the Annex which would be considered for adoption by the Organization, if supported by a demonstrated need to prevent, reduce and control one

or all three of those emissions from ships.”

The 1.50% sulphur limit in the only two IMO-designated SECAs (or ECAs) to date will drop to 1.00% on March 1, 2010 and to 0.10% on January 1, 2015 providing the revised Annex VI is formally adopted by the MEPC in October this year.

Industry sources expect the current SECAs in the Baltic and North Seas to be expanded to cover more of Europe in the future, and for the US and possibly Canada to seek ‘ECA’ status for their coastal regions. About two-thirds of the global shipping fleet’s movements are said to be in coastal areas, so a proliferation of ECAs would force ships to observe strict sulphur limits for a large part of their operations.

The revised Annex VI will reduce the global marine fuel sulphur cap to 3.50%, from the current 4.50%, with effect from January 1, 2012, with a long term goal of capping sulphur content at 0.50% starting in 2020, subject to a feasibility review to be completed no later than 2018. Should the 2018 review suggest 2020 is not a feasible cut-off date, the effective date would default to January 1, 2025.