Designation of the North American Emission Control Area for Marine Vessels

• Overview
• Stakeholder Workshop – Coastal Marine Transportation Study
• Great Lakes shipping
• Carnival corporation
• Related documents

Overview

On March 26, 2010, the IMO officially designated waters off North American coasts as an area in which stringent international emission standards will apply to ships. The first-phase fuel sulfur standard began in 2012, the second phase began in 2015, and stringent NO_x engine standards began in 2016.​ The following documents are related to the North American Emission Control Area for marine vessels.

• Designation of North American Emission Control Area to Reduce Emissions from Ships (PDF) (5 pp, 454 K, EPA-420-F-10-015, March 2010)
• Frequently Asked Questions about the Emission Control Area Application Process (PDF) (7 pp, 750 K, EPA-420-F-09-001, January 2009)

Great Lakes Shipping

EPA has also completed a study to examine the economic impacts on Great Lakes shipping of the requirement to use ECA-compliant fuel. This peer-reviewed study examines three potential impacts: transportation mode shift, source shift, and production shift. It also provides information about the benefits and costs associated with applying the requirements to the Great Lakes and a description of the Great Lakes shipping sector. Documents related to this economic study are available below. 

• Fact Sheet: Economic Impacts of the Category 3 Marine Rule on Great Lakes Shipping: Program Update (5 pp, 554 K, EPA-420-F-12-016, April 2012)
• Economic Impacts of the Category 3 Marine Rule on Great Lakes Shipping: Entire Document (PDF) (660 pp, 17 MB, EPA-420-R-12-005, April 2012)

Carnival Corporation

Carnival Corporation is the most recent of several shipping companies, including other cruise lines, to apply for flexibility under the International Maritime Organization requirements to support the development of exhaust gas cleaning technology. Over the next three years, Carnival Corporation intends to develop and deploy a new type of exhaust gas cleaning system for ships—one that provides the potential to exceed the fuel sulfur standard ECA requirements, as well as provide additional benefits in the reduction of particulate matter and black carbon, at a lower cost than using lower sulfur fuel. 

Related Documents

• Technical Support Document: Proposal to Designate an Emission Control Area for Nitrogen Oxides, Sulfur Oxides and Particulate Matter (PDF) (329 pp, 8.73 MB, EPA-420-R-09-007, April 2009)

• EPA/Coast Guard Letter to Carnival regarding a trial program for installing SOx scrubbers (pdf) (578.76 KB, August 2013)
• Annex 14: Amendments to the Annex of the Protocol of 1997 To Amend The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution From Ships (pdf) (46.45 KB, July 2011)
• ECA Amendments to MARPOL Annex VI (MEPC.202(62)): Corrected coordinates (pdf) (63.65 KB, September 2012)
• Information on North American Emission Control Area (ECA) Under MARPOL Annex VI (pdf) (288.16 KB, May 2010)
• Proposal to Designate an Emission Control Area for Nitrogen Oxides, Sulphur Oxides and Particulate Matter (pdf) (1.86 MB, April 2, 2009)
• Designation of an Emission Control Area for nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides and particulate matter Submitted by the United States (pdf) (109.48 KB, April 2009)
• Letter to IMO from EPA and U.S Coast Guard regarding equivalent methods to comply with the ECA fuel sulfur requirements (pdf) (500.01 KB, March 2012)