Regional Webinar on Effective Enforcement of MARPOL Annex VI with specific reference to MED SOx ECA requirements – Oct 08, 2025

    Regional Webinar on Effective Enforcement of MARPOL Annex VI with specific reference to MED SOx ECA requirements

    The 79th Session of the International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 79) (London, UK, 12-16 December 2022) adopted amendments to Annex VI to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) concerning the Mediterranean Sea Emission Control Area for Sulphur Oxides and Particulate Matter (Med SOx ECA), with a date of entry into effective application on 1 May 2025. The Fifteenth Meeting of the Focal Points of the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC) (Malta, 13-15 June 2023) called upon the Secretariat (REMPEC) to provide support for the consistent implementation of the 0.10% sulphur limit under MARPOL Annex VI in the Med SOx ECA during the biennium 2024-2025.

    In this context, REMPEC, organised a Regional Webinar on Effective Enforcement of MARPOL ANNEX VI, with specific reference to the MED SOx ECA requirements, on 24 September 2025, which was financed by the Mediterranean Trust Fund (MTF). 

    The Webinar gathered over 51 participants from 13 out of 22 Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention. The target audience for the Webinar were Government officials responsible for ratification, implementation and enforcement of MARPOL Annex VI. Some participants represented authorities/organisations responsible for the regulation of shipping, and other participants represented authorities/organisations in charge of issues related to the marine environment. 

    Beyond raising awareness on the effective implementation and enforcement of MARPOL Annex VI and related Guidelines in the Mediterranean region, including on the Guidance Document on The Consistent Implementation of the 0.10% Sulphur Limit under MARPOL Annex VI in the Mediterranean Sea Emission Control Area for Sulphur Oxides and Particulate Matter (MED SOx ECA), adopted by the Sixteenth Meeting of Focal Points of REMPEC. This was done through a series of presentations from REMPEC Consultants, the Webinar held questions and exercises on enforcement in relation to MARPOL Annex VI and the Med SOx ECA and identified actions needed for a consistent implementation of the Med SOx ECA.  

     The Webinar also shared best practices, including lessons learned from other Emission Control Areas (ECAs) that were established by IMO (i.e. the Baltic Sea area; the North Sea area), through presentations from REMPEC Consultants. 

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