Marine Environment Protection Committee 84th Session (MEPC 84) Summary Report

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The eighty fourth session of IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 84) was held in person from the 27th of April to the 1st of May 2026, with hybrid facilities allowing remote participation.

Following the adjournment of the MEPC-ES2 session, and in the context of the escalation of political tensions in the wake of the Persian Gulf crisis, MEPC 84 sought to reintegrate discussions on decarbonizing maritime transport into a normative development process and a consensus-building dynamic: “IMO is back on track,” declared solemnly the Secretary-General.

The progress made on developing guidelines for calculating the GHG Fuel Intensity (GFI) and fuel certification schemes during the previous ISWG 20 and 21 sessions could foreshadow the building blocks of a comprehensive decarbonization framework (see item 7). Indeed, the Committee could note significant progress on:
•  the guidelines for the calculation of the attained GHG fuel intensity (GFI)
•  draft amendments to the 2022 Guidelines for Administration verification of ship fuel oil consumption data and operational carbon intensity (resolution MEPC.348(78)) to include GFI verification elements 
•  draft guidance for determining the energy derived from wind propulsion systems (WPS)
•  guidelines on requirements and procedures for recognition of certification schemes and reporting of certification activities to the Organization and guidelines on certification and circulation of information in the Fuel Lifecycle Label (FLL Political divergences prevented from finalizing works on the IMO Fund (principles of income distribution) and the international GFI registry (determination of fees), pending fundamental decision by the MEPC regarding the adoption of the IMO Net-Zero-Framework. 

Several submissions had been addressed under item 7 (reduction of GHG emissions from ships) to adjust the NZF or to substantially amend its economic element, or to limit its scope. They were not discussed but the Committee deferred them to following ISWG22 and ISWG-GHG 23 which will address concerns and issues with all the draft amendments to MARPOL Annex VI on the IMO Net-Zero Framework in line with the 2023 IMO GHG Strategy". The Two ISWG-GHG will take place ahead of MEPC85*.

*provisionally scheduled to be held from Tuesday 1 September to Friday 4 September 2026 and Monday 23 November to Friday 27 November 2026, respectively, subject to endorsement by Council 137.

MEPC 84 adopted the following:
•  amendments to MARPOL Annex VI concerning the Clarification of entries in data reporting required by regulations 27 and 28;
•  designation of the North-East Atlantic as an Emission Control Area for Nitrogen Oxides, Sulphur Oxides and Particulate Matter;
•   accessibility to the IMO Ship Fuel Oil Consumption Database and review clause of the short-term GHG reduction measure;
•  amendments to MARPOL Annex VI concerning the use of multiple engine operational profiles for a marine diesel engines, including clarifying engine test cycles;
•  MEPC resolution on amendments to the 2022 Guidelines on the Method of Calculation of the Attained Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) for new ships;
•  2026 Guidelines on survey and certification of the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI);
•  2022 Guidelines on operational carbon intensity indicators and the calculation methods (CII Guidelines, G1);
•  amendments to the 2024 Guidelines for the development of a Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (2024 SEEMP Guidelines);
•  2026 guidelines for test-bed and onboard measurements of methane (CH4) and/or nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from marine diesel engines;
•  guidelines for engine load monitoring (ELM) and calculation of emission values (ELM Guidelines);
•  guidelines for continuous emission monitoring systems (CEMS) used to quantify methane (CH4) and/or nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from marine diesel engines;
•  2026 Guidelines for ballast water management and development of Ballast Water Management Plans (G4).

MEPC 84 approved:
•  the draft final terms of reference for the Fifth IMO GHG Study;
•  amendments to the BWM Convention and the unified interpretation to regulation D-3 of the BWM Convention (to be included in a revised Circular BWM.2/Circ.66);
•  amendments to the NTC 2008 concerning certification of engines that operate on non-carbon-containing fuel or mixtures of carbon-containing and non-carbon-containing fuels;
•  Revised interim guidance on the use of biofuels under regulations 26, 27 and 28 of MARPOL Annex VI, with an application date of 1 January 2027;
•  Work plan for the development of a regulatory framework for the use of OCCS;
•  Technical guidance on co-optimizing energy efficiency and underwater radiated noise at the design and retrofit stage.

The complete list of resolutions and circulars (including the outcome of previous PPR 13) are available in the tables of the Appendix.