On July 15, 2011, the IMO officially designated waters around Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands as an area in which stringent international emission standards will apply to ships. The first-phase fuel sulfur standard began in 2014, the second phase began in 2015, and stringent NOx engine standards began in 2016. The following documents are related to the U.S. Caribbean Emission Control Area for marine vessels.

• Designation of Emission Control Area to Reduce Emissions from Ships in the U.S. Caribbean (PDF)(5 pp, 192 K, EPA-420-F-11-024, July 2011)

• Technical Support Document: Proposal to Designate an Emission Control Area for Nitrogen Oxides, Sulfur Oxides and Particulate Matter (PDF)(175 pp, 2.3M, EPA-420-R-10-013, August 2010)

• Proposal to Designate an Emission Control Area for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands for Nitrogen Oxides, Sulphur Oxides and Particulate Matter (PDF)(12 pp, 127 K, June 2010)
• Annex 14: Amendments to the Annex of the Protocol of 1997 To Amend The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution From Ships (PDF)(7 pp, 48 K, July 2011)
• ECA Amendments to MARPOL Annex VI (MEPC.202(62)): Corrected coordinates (PDF)(1 pg, 65 K, September 2012)
• Propuesta de designación de una zona de control de las emisiones de óxidos de nitrógeno, óxidos de azufre y materia particulada para el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico y las Islas Vírgenes de los Estados Unidos (PDF) (PDF)(12 pp, 139 K, junio 2010)
• Designation of an Emission Control Area for Nitrogen Oxides, Sulphur Oxides and Particulate Matter (PDF) (PDF)(59 pp, 2 MB, June 2010)