Steve Bee, Group Marketing and Strategic Projects Director, and Emilian Buksak, Decarbonisation Advisor of marine fuels testing company VPS, on Wednesday (8 April) highlighted MEPC 84 approved a new emission control area (ECA) covering the North-East Atlantic Ocean, with agreements reached on adopted amendments to MARPOL Annex VI. 

The new ECA, which will become the world’s largest emission control area, will be implemented on 1st September 2027

In a recent article, VPS outlined how VPS testing, data, CEM systems and advisory services can support vessels in both their operational and compliance challenges associated with this new ECA:

The recent International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO), Maritime Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC) meeting in London, had its main focus on setting binding greenhouse gas emission reduction targets for the global shipping sector. In keeping with the Committee’s continuing drive to decarbonise shipping and reduce the pollutant emissions from the global fleet, one major outcome from the MEPC-84 meeting was the approval of a new emission control area (ECA) covering the North East Atlantic Ocean, with agreements reached on adopted amendments to MARPOL Annex VI.

This new ECA, which will become the world’s largest emission control area, will be implemented on 1st September 2027, with the ECA requirements taking effect on 1st September 2028. It will cover the territorial seas and exclusive economic zones of Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Ireland, the United Kingdom, France, Spain and Portugal, extending up to 200 nautical miles from their baselines:

A key advantage of the new NE Atlantic ECA is that it will close the gap between the existing ECAs in the North and Baltic Sea, plus the Mediterranean, creating an almost continuous zone of reduced shipping emissions. It will also connect to the newly approved ECAs in the Canadian Arctic and Norwegian Sea, which are scheduled for implementation in 2026 and 2027 respectively. Together these ECAs will cover almost half of all Arctic coastal waters, improving air quality, by reducing SOx, NOx and Particulate Matter (PM), protecting  public health, and reducing the environmental impacts from shipping.

The sulphur limit for the marine fuels allowed to be burnt within this new ECA will reduce from the current 0.50% to 0.10%. This will force vessels to use either effective abatement technology (scrubbers), or alternatively burn marine distillates, ultra-low-sulphur fuels (ULSFOs), or biofuels with a sulphur content of less than 0.10%.

Without doubt this new ECA will cause a significant change to the current fuel mix, probably on an even greater scale than was witnessed with the introduction of the Mediterranean ECA back in May 2025.  The fuel mix in the Mediterranean Pre-ECA implementation was,  53% VLSFO, 28% HSFO, 16% MGO, 2% ULSFO and 1% Biofuels. But from the 1st May 2025, the fuel mix changed to, 30% VLSFO, 29% HSFO, 30% MGO, 8% ULSFO and 4% Biofuels.  

So, in terms of actual tonnage, the Mediterranean ECA witnessed a decrease in VLSFOs by 23%, whilst MGO usage increased by 107%. At the same time, ULSFO and biofuels supply increased 4-fold.

Regarding fuel quality within the Mediterranean post-ECA implementation, MGO off-specification rates increased to 4%. However, the most worrying off-specification rates were for ULSFOs which saw a 10-times increase from 2% to 20% from the start of the ECA, with the main off-specification parameters being pour point, sulphur, TSP, CCAI, water and viscosity.

Therefore, it is fair to assume we’ll witness a similar dramatic fuel mix change upon the implementation of the NE Atlantic ECA, with possibly similar fuel off-specification issues, highlighting the continuing need for proactive fuel testing to protect vessels, crew and the environment.

Whilst the focus on fuel quality is essential, the multi-pollutant nature of this new ECA, covering SOx, PM and NOx, also brings the role of continuous emissions monitoring increasingly to the fore. Therefore, a further consideration relating to the impact of this new ECA relates to vessel newbuilds and the stricter NOx Tier III requirements. For newbuilds subject to the stricter NOx Tier III requirements, compliance depends not only on engine certification at delivery, but on demonstrating that exhaust after-treatment systems, typically Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) or Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR), continue to perform as designed throughout the service life of the vessel.

For scrubber-equipped ships, real-time SO₂ measurement provides the operational evidence of equivalency that Port State Control inspections increasingly expect to see. Plus, for vessels operating under multiple overlapping regulatory regimes, including the new NE Atlantic ECA, EU MRV, EU ETS and FuelEU Maritime, continuous emissions monitoring via the VPS EMSYS CEM system delivers a single, verified source of emissions data that can be applied across all of them.

As noted by DNV in their MEPC 84 technical and regulatory update, the newly adopted IMO measurement guidelines can also be used for determining actual methane and nitrous oxide under the EU ETS and FuelEU Maritime, confirming the direct route from IMO-recognised measurement to EU compliance reporting.

At an operational level, the new ECA will introduce considerable complexity in the way fuel consumption is attributed across voyage segments, with VLSFOs burnt outside the zone and compliant fuels inside, all of which carry implications for consumption reporting, charterparty allocation and EU MRV alignment. VPS Maress can provide the underlying fuel and energy data into one auditable platform, helping crews manage the operational complexity that the new ECA introduces, including voyage segmentation, fuel changeover and emissions accounting, plus providing the consolidated data foundation that feeds existing EU MRV and IMO DCS reporting obligations. 

VPS PortStats via the VPS Verisphere eco-system, (VeriSphere | VPS), further supports bunker procurement planning with port-by-port intelligence on compliant fuel availability and price spreads. Such intelligence and insights, will prove particularly valuable in the months immediately following 1st September 2028, when the supply pressure on 0.10% sulphur fuels is likely to peak.

Regarding the more strategic decisions ahead, including Tier III engine selection for newbuilds, retrofit feasibility for existing tonnage, and charterparty clauses allocating the ECA fuel cost premium between owners and charterers, VPS Advisory Services can provide the integrated commercial and technical perspective needed to navigate this transition with confidence.

Therefore, its clear the impact of this new ECA, will not only affect the choice of fuel to be burnt onboard and its subsequent quality testing, but it will also require a review of, voyage planning, bunker procurement, scrubber strategy, engine certification, compliance documentation and charterparty exposure.

Related: DNV on IMO MEPC 84: Revisiting Net‑Zero Framework

Photo credit: VPS
Published: 14 May, 2026

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) on Friday (20 February) issued Shipping Circular No. 2 of 2026 to inform on the amendments to the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea (Air) Regulations 2022, which will enter into force on 1 March 2026: 

This circular informs the shipping community on the amendments to the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea (Air) Regulations 2022, which will enter into force on 1 March 2026.

The International Maritime Organization adopted amendments to Annex VI of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL Convention), through Resolution MEPC.392(82) which will enter into force on 1 March 2026.

Resolution MEPC.392(82) designates the Canadian Arctic and the Norwegian Sea as Emission Control Areas for Nitrogen Oxides, Sulphur Oxides and Particulate Matter, and introduces limits for the emission of the said substances for ships operating in the designated ECAs.

The amendments to the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea (Air) Regulations 2022 will give effect to the Resolution MEPC.392(82).

Copies of the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea (Air) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 (Government Gazette No. S 73/2026) can be purchased at:

Toppan Next Pte Ltd
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Tel: 6826 9691
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Email: [email protected]
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The Prevention of Pollution of the Sea (Air) Regulations 2022 can be accessed on Singapore Statutes Online.

Any queries relating to this circular should be emailed to [email protected] 

Photo credit: Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore
Published: 23 February, 2026

By the end of October 2025, six months had passed since the implementation of the Mediterranean Emission Control Area (ECA). Steve Bee, Group Marketing and Strategic Projects Director of marine fuels testing company VPS, reviewed what has changed in terms of the marine fuel mix and fuel quality, across the region between 1 November 2024 to 31 October 2025: 

Pre-Mediterranean ECA

The six months leading up to the implementation of the Mediterranean ECA (1st November to 30th April 2025), VPS tested marine fuels representing 1,610,852mt, bunkered in the Top 10 Mediterranean ports. This consisted of: 53% VLSFO, 28% HSFO, 16% MGO, 2% ULSFO and 1% Biofuels.

These Top 10 Mediterranean ports during the six months leading up to the ECA coming into force, provided approximately 90% of the total fuel tested by VPS from the whole region. The breakdown by port and fuel type in mt was as follows:

Over the six month period Pre-ECA, (Nov-24 to Apr-25), 5.5% by volume, of all fuels bunkered across the Top 10 Mediterranean ports, were off-specification. However, by fuel type, over that time period, the following off-specification rates were observed:

VLSFO (6%), HSFO (6%), MGO (3%), ULSFO (2%) and Biofuels (0%).

In terms of the off-specification parameters by fuel type pre-ECA, these were mainly the following:

• VLSFO – Viscosity, Cat-fines
• HSFO – Viscosity, Density, Water
• MGO – Flash Point
• ULFSO – Pour Point

Post-Mediterranean ECA

From the implementation of the Mediterranean ECA on 1st May until 31st October 2025, VPS tested marine fuels representing 1,888,799 mt from the Top Ten Mediterranean ports. This consisted of: 30% VLSFO, 29% HSFO, 30% MGO, 8% ULSFO and 4% Biofuels.

Looking at the Top 10 Mediterranean ports since the start of the ECA and up to 31st October, these ports have supplied approximately 90% of the total fuel tested by VPS, which is a similar percentage to the six month period pre-ECA.

The breakdown by port and fuel type in mt is as follows:

Note: The full VPS article can be viewed here. 

Photo credit: VPS
Published: 9 December, 2025