Information on Emission Control Areas (hereinafter referred to as ECA) specified in MARPOL ANNEX VI (hereinafter referred to as ANNEX VI) has already been provided in ClassNK Technical Information No.TEC-0654 issued on 13 April 2006 and No.TEC-0771 issued on 13 May 2009. In this connection, the North American area has been designated as a new ECA in accordance with the amendments to ANNEX VI adopted at the 60th session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 60) held in March 2010. The relevant information has been circulated by the IMO as Resolution MEPC.190(60).

This ClassNK Technical Information provides information relating to the above matter.

1. Sea area newly designated as ECA
The sea area within 200 nautical miles from the coasts of the United States and Canada is designated as ECA for NOx, SOx and Particulate Matter (PM) emissions. Please refer to IMO Resolution MEPC.190(60) for the detailed definition of the sea area. (The definition has been added to Appendix VII of ANNEX VI by the subject amendments.)

2. Application
The amendments will enter into force on 1 August 2011. However, the requirements regarding SOx and Particulate Matter (PM) emissions (Regulation 14 of ANNEX VI) in the North American area will commence on 1 August 2012, because an exemption clause for the first 12 months is specified in ANNEX VI. On the other hand, the requirements for NOx emissions in the North American area will commence after 1 January 2016*, because NOx Tier III requirements specified in Regulation 13 of ANNEX VI will be applied in the ECA at that time.

* NOx Tier III requirements are applied to diesel engines installed onboard ships constructed on or after 1 January 2016. However, the time period for application of the Tier III requirements may be adjusted after the IMO has reviewed on the status of the technological developments for implementation of the Tier III from 2012 to 2013.