As reported in previous editions of the Review of
Maritime Transport, with effect from 1 January
2012, MARPOL annex VI established reduced SOx
thresholds for marine bunker fuels, with the global
sulphur cap reduced from 4.5 per cent (45,000 parts
per million (ppm)) to 3.5 per cent (35,000 ppm),
outside an ECA. The global sulphur cap is expected
to be reduced further to 0.5 per cent (5,000 ppm) from
2020.