SECA

SECA, the Sulphur Emission Control Area, is the earlier term for what MARPOL Annex VI now designates a SOx Emission Control Area, a sea area with the 0.10% m/m fuel sulphur limit under Regulation 14.4. The revised Annex VI replaced SECA with the broader ECA concept, since an area can control SOx, NOx, or particulate matter. The first SECAs were the Baltic and North Sea, where the 0.10% limit took effect on 1 January 2015. The term still appears in older charter clauses and operating practice, but the regulatory designation is SOx ECA under the current Annex VI.