MARPOL amendments enter into force

The amendments which entered into force on 1 January 2014 include a revised MARPOL Annex III Regulations for the prevention of pollution by harmful substances carried by sea in packaged for.

This includes changes to the Annex to coincide with the next update of the mandatory International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code, specifying that goods should be shipped in accordance with relevant positions.

The United States Caribbean Sea Emission Control Area (ECA) also came into effect, under MARPOL Annex VI, bringing in stricter controls on emissions of sulphur oxide (SOx), nitrogen oxide (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) for ships trading in certain waters next to the coasts of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands.

This ECA was designated under MARPOL amendments adopted in July 2011. There are now four designated ECAs in effect globally: the United States Caribbean Sea ECA and the North American ECA, and the sulphur oxide ECAs in the Baltic Sea area and the North Sea area.