Mediterranean ECA from 1 May 2025: 0.10% sulphur across the Med
Adopted at MEPC 79, the Mediterranean Sea became a SOx Emission Control Area with effect from 1 May 2025. Inside it, fuel sulphur is capped at 0.10% — five times stricter than the global limit.
Which waters are covered
The ECA covers the Mediterranean Sea as defined in MARPOL — including the Aegean and the waters off Turkey’s Mediterranean coast; it starts at the Çanakkale line. The Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea are outside it, while Izmir and Mersin calls sit inside the 0.10% zone. Separately, Turkish rules require fuel of at most 0.10% sulphur for ships at berth or at anchor in Turkish ports for more than 2 hours (the regulation on the sulphur content of certain fuels, RG 06.10.2009 No. 27368, Art. 7); transit through the Turkish Straits and the Sea of Marmara is exempt unless the ship waits more than 2 hours.
Compliant fuels
Practically: LSMGO or a 0.10% ULSFO grade, or exhaust gas cleaning (scrubbers) with heavy fuel where flag and port states accept it. The changeover point and log entries follow the same discipline as the existing northern ECAs.
What it does to voyage economics
Med legs that used to burn VLSFO now burn distillate-priced fuel — the VLSFO/LSMGO spread lands directly on the voyage result. Demand for 0.10% grades at Med hubs (Gibraltar, Malta, Piraeus) has repriced local availability, which is visible in port price patterns.
For a coaster trading Marmara–Med, the boundary crossing itself becomes a fuel-planning event: which tank, how much 0.10% ROB, where to lift it cheapest.
The data behind these rules, handled for you.
BunkerIstanbul prepares EU MRV, IMO DCS, EU ETS and FuelEU figures and an indicative CII from the noon reports and BDNs your crew already logs — alongside competing bunker quotes from suppliers approved by our team. Free for shipowners.
Frequently asked questions
Are Turkish ports inside the Med ECA?
Mediterranean-coast calls (e.g. Mersin, Antalya, and Izmir on the Aegean) are inside the 0.10% zone. Marmara ports and the Black Sea are outside the ECA, but Turkish rules require fuel of at most 0.10% sulphur for ships at berth or at anchor in Turkish ports for more than 2 hours (the regulation on the sulphur content of certain fuels, RG 06.10.2009 No. 27368, Art. 7); transit through the Turkish Straits and the Sea of Marmara is exempt unless the ship waits more than 2 hours.
Does the ECA change CO₂ or ETS costs?
Not directly — it is a sulphur rule. Its cost impact comes through the fuel bill: distillates price higher and carry a slightly different CO₂ factor in reporting.
Do scrubber-fitted ships have to switch fuel?
An approved scrubber achieving equivalent emissions remains an accepted compliance method under MARPOL, subject to flag acceptance and any local restrictions on open-loop washwater discharge.