Towards the declaration of the strait of Gibraltar as an environmental controlled area

The emissions from maritime transportation, both greenhouse gases and traditional pollutants, are harmful to the ecosystem and human health. The large quantities of these pollutants emitted by shipping in the Strait of Gibraltar could be reduced if the Strait was declared an Emission Control Area (ECA). Using the SENEM1 emissions model, this study aims to compare the current situation and a possible future situation as an ECA. Unlike other models, SENEM1 includes all the variables - both ship and external conditions - that influence the calculation of emissions. Comparing only the 2017 emissions from ships sailing in the Strait of Gibraltar with the designated ECA simulation, reductions of up to 75.8 % in NOx, 73.4 % in PM_2.5 and 94 % in SOx were collected. It would be a wakeup call for the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the governments responsible to recommend that the Strait of Gibraltar be designated an ECA zone.