The revision of MARPOL Annex VI and the NOx Technical Code has been formally adopted by the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

MEPC chairman Andreas Chrysostomou hailed the event as a "magnificent and monumental adoption" of the IMO regulation that addresses air pollution from ships.

"This deserves applause, we are adopting an historic agreement," Chrysostomou said after the draft dawn up during the 58th session of the MEPC received plenary endorsement at the end of Thursday, October 9.

The final draft was broadly in line with the consensus agreement reached at MEPC in April this year, bringing in global standards that will significantly reduce harmful emissions from ships.

Shipowners, ship operators, marine diesel engine manufacturers, marine fuel suppliers and several associated industries will be affected by the changes, which call for a gradual reduction in allowable ship emissions of sulphur oxides (SOx) and nitrogen oxides (NOx).

IMO Secertary-General Efthimios E. Mitropoulos said achieving consensus on the revised regulation proved the ability of the IMO to focus and produce relevant global regulatory instruments.  

Mitropoulos highlighted at the start of MEPC 58 that the process towards revising MARPOL Annex VI had been time-consuming, challenging and required "meticulous consultations and delicate compromises."

The success story of the MARPOL Annex VI revision boded well for the IMO's on-going efforts to address shipping's greenhouse gas emissions, he said.

The revised MARPOL Annex VI will enter into force on July 1, 2010.