Emission control areas: the map from 2025 to 2028
The Mediterranean joined in 2025. The Canadian Arctic and the Norwegian Sea follow in 2027, the North-East Atlantic in 2028.
In brief
- Instrument
- MARPOL Annex VI, regulations 13 (NOₓ) and 14 (SOₓ), Appendix VII
- Sulphur inside an ECA
- 0.10 %, against 0.50 % outside
- In place before 2025
- Baltic Sea · North Sea · North American · United States Caribbean
- Mediterranean Sea
- SOₓ ECA; 0.10 % since 1 May 2025, resolution MEPC.361(79)
- Canadian Arctic and Norwegian Sea
- Adopted at MEPC 82, October 2024; in force 1 Mar 2026; 0.10 % from 1 Mar 2027
- North-East Atlantic
- Adopted 1 May 2026, resolution MEPC.407(84); in force 1 Sep 2027; 0.10 % from 1 Sep 2028
On the bridge
Entering an ECA means a fuel changeover completed before the boundary, with the date, time, position and the volume of low-sulphur fuel in each tank recorded. A route that crosses a boundary twice runs the procedure twice.
In the plan
Hours inside an ECA are hours on costlier fuel. On some passages a track that spends less time inside the boundary costs less, even if it is a little longer; on others it does not. The difference is worth knowing before departure.
The new areas, side by side
| Area | In force | 0.10 % sulphur from | NOₓ Tier III applies to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mediterranean Sea | — | 1 May 2025 | Not designated for NOₓ |
| Canadian Arctic | 1 Mar 2026 | 1 Mar 2027 | Ships constructed on or after 1 Jan 2025 |
| Norwegian Sea | 1 Mar 2026 | 1 Mar 2027 | By contract, keel and delivery dates, reaching ships delivered on or after 1 Mar 2030 |
| North-East Atlantic | 1 Sep 2027 | 1 Sep 2028 | Building contract on or after 1 Jan 2027 |
The North-East Atlantic ECA covers the waters of France, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom, Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Greenland, linking the existing areas into one continuous zone.
What to check
- Voyages from March 2027 that cross the Canadian Arctic or Norwegian Sea boundaries.
- Changeover procedures, and tank space for 0.10 % fuel, on those trades.
- Any system that marks the new areas: the 0.10 % limit applies from the dates above, not from entry into force.
Our reading at 8 Oct 2026, for planning. Not legal advice; the authority’s current text decides.
Sources
- MARPOL Annex VI
- Resolution MEPC.361(79)
- IMO, MEPC 82, October 2024
- Resolution MEPC.407(84)