The International Maritime Organization’s Marine Environmental Protection Committee concluded its 84th session in London last week, spanning April 27 to May 1, 2026.
The session centred on the proposed IMO Net-Zero Framework, known as the NZF, which aims to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping by 2050.
The NZF is intended to be formalised as a new Chapter 5 of MARPOL Annex VI, forming the cornerstone of the IMO’s medium-term greenhouse gas reduction strategy.
Despite sustained political pressure, the NZF survived the session unchanged, with Member States agreeing to establish an intersessional Working Group to resolve outstanding concerns ahead of MEPC 85.
MEPC 85 is scheduled to take place from November 30 to December 3, 2026, with a second extraordinary session resuming immediately after on December 4.
Two intersessional meetings have also been scheduled, on September 1 to 4 and November 23 to 27, designed to track fuel origin and movement across supply chains to ensure emissions are properly traced and verified.
The United States filed a formal submission on March 16, 2026, calling on the IMO to end consideration of the NZF entirely, arguing it would promote expensive and unavailable fuels while undermining existing fleets and global trade.
Washington instead called for an energy-all approach that does not restrict any fuel type, including conventional crude, diesel, liquefied natural gas, nuclear, and biomass-based fuels or any other marine propulsion technology.
This latest intervention follows earlier U.S. action at IMO talks in 2025, when a U.S.-led group pushed to delay adoption of the NZF and the Trump administration threatened retaliatory measures against countries supporting the proposal.
A coalition of oil-producing nations, including Saudi Arabia, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria, Bahrain, and Somalia, also opposed the framework, stating it does not reflect the core concerns of many Member States.
The coalition stressed that timelines and trajectories must be realistic and pragmatic, taking into account the affordability, scalability, and global availability of fuels and technologies.
They further urged that the framework should avoid widening inequalities and ensure benefits are shared fairly among nations, warning against what they characterised as punitive measures.
On the opposing side, the Getting to Zero Coalition, comprising around 200 stakeholders from across the shipping and fuels value chain, aims to commercialise zero-emission vessels by 2030.
Beyond the NZF, MEPC 84 adopted a new Emission Control Area in the North-East Atlantic, introducing stricter limits on NOx, SOx, and particulate matter emissions, set to take effect in 2028.
The new ECA covers exclusive economic zones and territorial seas extending up to 200 nautical miles from the baselines of Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Ireland, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Portugal.
MEPC 84 also adopted the 2026 Strategy and Action Plan to Address Marine Plastic Litter from Ships, reaffirming the IMO’s goal of zero plastic waste discharges to sea from ships by 2030.
Separately, the committee agreed in principle to extend the underwater radiated noise experience-building phase by two years, to the end of 2028, pending further evidence gathering.
MEPC 84 also adopted a resolution condemning attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz region and recognising the related risks to seafarers and of marine pollution in the Persian Gulf.
The regulatory landscape for international shipping remains deeply uncertain, with the NZF’s path to formal adoption far from assured given the scale of opposition from major economies and oil-producing states.
Shipowners, operators, charterers, and other maritime stakeholders should closely monitor developments leading up to and at the IMO and be prepared to adapt to an evolving regulatory environment in the months ahead.