Hello QueSeanians!!
The extraordinary session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC/ES.2) is set to take place from 14 to 17 October 2025. The agenda for MEPC/ES.2 will focus on the consideration and adoption of amendments to mandatory instruments, as well as strategies for the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships. The session will include discussions on submissions related to the development of a work plan for implementing the IMO Net-Zero Framework only.
In April 2025, the Marine Environment Protection Committee 83rd session (MEPC 83) finalized a draft legal text for these measures, referred to as the “IMO Net-Zero Framework”. This consists of amendments to Annex VI of the MARPOL Convention, approved by MEPC 83 for circulation to Member States, with a view to adoption by an extraordinary session of MEPC (MEPC/ES.2) in October 2025. Following adoption, the measures are expected to enter into force 16 months later, under the “tacit acceptance” procedure.
The IMO “tacit acceptance” procedure:
- Originally tacit acceptance procedure was introduced to amend technical requirements with regards to shipping safety and the protection of environment. The procedure is also used to amend the limits of liability in certain conventions and is nowadays widely used to adopt new, or amend existing, technical standards.
- In general, the draft amendment developed by the sub-committee is considered by the Committee and approved by the Committee. The approval stage is not a requirement under MARPOL but is a well-established practice at IMO. The Committee decides at which session the amendments should be adopted.
- The circulation of the proposed amendment is at least six months before its consideration for adoption by the MEPC. The MEPC reviews the draft again and if further drafting issues are identified, the draft will be sent to a drafting group for further improvement.
- To be deemed acceptance the whole Committee adopts the amendment and decides on the dates of the deemed acceptance and of the entry into force of the amendment. For the entry into force, in the case of an amendment to the Annexes to MARPOL, the amendment is considered accepted at the end of a period which shall not be less than 10 months after the date of adoption, unless within that period more than one third of the Parties object to the amendment. This period is usually 12 months for MARPOL.
- Regarding the enforcement, the amendment will enter into force six months after the date of deemed acceptance, except for Parties that have specifically objected to it, or require express (explicit) acceptance of the amendment. Enforcement falls under the remit of Governments and national authorities of States that are Parties to MARPOL - IMO has no operational mandate but supports implementation through technical assistance.
The suggested mid-term measures will affect the global fleet and Member States, with a significant focus on Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
Next steps:
- Extraordinary session of MEPC (Autumn 2025) - Adoption of mid-measures
- MEPC 84 (Spring 2026) - Approval of detailed implementation guidelines
- 2027: The expected entry into force date is 16 months after October 2025, which falls in 2027 (first calendar year for IMO Net-Zero Framework is 2028).
- MEPC 86 (Summer 2027) - Initiate the review of the 2023 IMO GHG Strategy
- MEPC 87 (Spring 2028)
- MEPC 88 (Autumn 2028) - Finalization of the review of the 2023 IMO GHG Strategy with a view to adoption of the 2028 IMO Strategy on reduction of GHG emissions from ships.
References:
Circular Letter No.5005 - Draft Revised Marpol Annex Vi (Secretariat).pdf (1.4 MB)
MEPC.1-Circ.885-Rev.1.pdf (252.9 KB)