Sources published a report on 30 October 2026 noting that the IMO Secretariat has prepared a summary drawn from verified data submitted by shipowners for the previous reporting year. That summary, covering 2025 data, will be considered at the Marine Environment Protection Committee's MEPC 85 session, scheduled for 30 November to 3 December 2026.
The annual review is part of a routine by which the MEPC examines the Secretariat's synthesis of industry submissions. The report is compiled from verified information supplied by shipowners about the previous reporting year and is intended to present an authoritative dataset for policy consideration. reports framed the publication under the question: is shipping's decarbonisation progress fast enough?
What the 2025 dataset represents
The 2025 dataset is the product of verified returns from shipowners for the prior reporting year and is presented to MEPC as a consolidated summary by the IMO Secretariat. Its role is strictly to inform committee members by providing a common factual basis drawn from owner-submitted data.
What is due to be considered at MEPC 85
MEPC 85, meeting from 30 November to 3 December 2026, will consider the Secretariat's summary of the 2025 information. Sources described the session as critical, signalling that committee delegates will use the dataset as a reference point in their deliberations.
For policymakers, the verified nature of the data is significant. Verified submissions mean the underlying figures have passed whatever checks are required before inclusion in the Secretariat's summary, giving delegates shared confidence in the tabled evidence. That common evidentiary foundation shapes both technical discussions and the political judgements members are asked to take.
Shipowners are central to the process because their returns form the primary source material. The summary therefore reflects the participation and reporting practices of owners and operators, and it will be read as much for the trends it reveals as for any one-off datapoints. The committee's examination will test how the industry-provided information aligns with regulatory expectations.
The coming MEPC session will be watched by a range of stakeholders. Industry interests, flag and port states, and organisations attending as observers will all take cues from the Secretariat's summary when assessing the pace of change. reports posed an evaluative question about speed of progress; the committee's task will be to judge the data against policy goals and decide any next steps.
The report's consideration at MEPC 85 does not by itself resolve questions about policy or targets. What the Secretariat supplies is a factual distillation of owner-submitted returns; it is the committee's remit to interpret that material and determine whether further action is needed. Delegates will thus confront both the substance of the 2025 summary and the broader political judgement of whether current trajectories are compatible with the aims discussed in committee.
In the weeks ahead, attention will remain fixed on the MEPC agenda and the Secretariat's summary as the immediate reference point. The 30 November to 3 December 2026 session marks the formal opportunity for that material to be scrutinised at committee level, and it is from that scrutiny that clearer assessments about decarbonisation progress may emerge.