IMO activated the declaration of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Areas as special areas in accordance with MARPOL Annex I and V of during MEPC80 meetings held in IMO Headquarters from 3-7 July 2023.

The Regional Organization for the Conservation of the Environment in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden (PERSGA) submitted document MEPC 80/11 Sponsored by Egypt and other Red Sea countries to MEPC.

The document provided the Committee with updated information related to the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden (RSGA) special areas under MARPOL Annexes I and V, in particular that all the countries in the area, except for Eritrea and Yemen, had ratified the Convention and provided for adequate reception facilities and arrangements, including wastes and residues treatment facilities.

The Red Sea is a global storehouse of biodiversity in the world, and the benefits of declaring it a special area will contribute significantly to banning the dumping of solid, oily and other wastes from the ships into the sea. The declaration will enhance reducing pollution and preserving the marine environment of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

IMO has set the 1st of January 2025 to activate the declaration of the Red Sea region as a special area. IMO shall circulate this Resolution to all Member States as of December 2023. The permanent representative of Egypt to the International Maritime Organization in the Egyptian Embassy in London participated in the activities of the PSSA Special Areas Working Group during MEPC 80.

The Egyptian statement highlighted the importance of the region and outlined the case for establishing a date from which the special area status should take effect in the areas.