Norway and Canada have submitted proposals to designate the Norwegian Sea and parts of the Canadian Arctic as ECAs and work is also underway on a new ECA in the North-Atlantic Ocean. A proposal for a North-East Atlantic Ocean ECA may be ready for MEPC 81. The related ECAs are the following:
-The proposed Canadian Arctic ECA includes Arctic waters under Canadian sovereignty, from the 137th meridian west in the Beaufort Sea to the existing North American ECA boundary in the east.
-The proposed Norwegian Sea ECA covers the Norwegian Exclusive Economic Zone north of 62 degrees latitude and includes Norwegian fjords and coastal waters.
-The North-East Atlantic Ocean ECA has not been described in detail.
The three prospective ECAs would prohibit ships from using fuel with a sulphur content greater than 0.10% m/m, or achieve equivalent emission reductions using approved technology, and would require all ships constructed after a certain date to comply with NOx Tier III limits as specified in Reg.13 of MARPOL Annex VI. Three new ECAs could be adopted by spring 2025 and take effect in 2027.
Ship operators & Masters should comply with MARPOL requirements related to bunkering procurement, on-board operating procedures and proper fuel changeover procedures (prior entering an ECA). Additional, Masters and crew should be alerted prior ship entering ECAs areas and should be familiarised with the sulphur emission limits in force to the specific trading area.
Source: cleanarctic.org
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