From today, amendments to MARPOL Annex VI Regulation 14.3.5, as amended by IMO Resolution MEPC.361(79), will prohibit ships operating within the Mediterranean Sea ECA from using fuel oils with a sulphur content exceeding 0.10% m/m unless an approved equivalent arrangement is used such as Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems.
In respect of the application of regulation 14.4, the Mediterranean Sea Emission Control Area for Sulphur Oxides and Particulate Matter includes all waters bounded by the coasts of Europe, Africa and Asia, and is described by the following coordinates:
1 the western entrance to the Straits of Gibraltar, defined as a line joining the extremities of Cape Trafalgar, Spain (36°11′.00 N, 6°02′.00 W) and Cape Spartel, Morocco (35°48′.00 N, 5°55′.00 W);
2 the Strait of Canakkale, defined as a line joining Mehmetcik Burnu (40°03’N, 26°11’E) and Kumkale Burnu (40°01′.00 N, 26°12′.00 E); and
3 the northern entrance to the Suez Canal excluding the area enclosed by geodesic lines connecting points 1-4 with the following coordinates:
Point Latitude Longitude
1 31˚29′.00 N 32°16′.00 E
2 31˚29′.00 N 32°28′.48 E
3 31˚14′.00 N 32°32′.62 E
4 31˚14′.00 N 32°16′.00 E