diff --git a/tools/import-trace/Importer.cc b/tools/import-trace/Importer.cc
index 4803a5bd..accc562f 100644
--- a/tools/import-trace/Importer.cc
+++ b/tools/import-trace/Importer.cc
@@ -249,6 +249,10 @@ bool Importer::add_trace_event(margin_info_t &begin, margin_info_t &end,
 
 bool Importer::add_trace_event(margin_info_t &begin, margin_info_t &end,
 							   Trace_Event &event, bool is_fake) {
+	if (!m_import_write_ecs && event.accesstype() == event.WRITE) {
+		return true;
+	}
+
 	// insert extended trace info if configured and available
 	bool extended = m_extended_trace && event.has_trace_ext();
 
diff --git a/tools/import-trace/Importer.hpp b/tools/import-trace/Importer.hpp
index ccbdad91..f467d607 100644
--- a/tools/import-trace/Importer.hpp
+++ b/tools/import-trace/Importer.hpp
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ protected:
 	fail::MemoryMap *m_mm;
 	char m_faultspace_rightmargin;
 	bool m_sanitychecks;
+	bool m_import_write_ecs;
 	bool m_extended_trace;
 	fail::Database *db;
 	fail::Architecture m_arch;
@@ -111,7 +112,7 @@ protected:
 	virtual bool trace_end_reached() { return true; }
 
 public:
-	Importer() : m_sanitychecks(false), m_extended_trace(false), m_row_count(0), m_time_trace_start(0) {}
+	Importer() : m_sanitychecks(false), m_import_write_ecs(true), m_extended_trace(false), m_row_count(0), m_time_trace_start(0) {}
 	bool init(const std::string &variant, const std::string &benchmark, fail::Database *db);
 
 	/**
@@ -129,6 +130,7 @@ public:
 	void set_memorymap(fail::MemoryMap *mm) { m_mm = mm; }
 	void set_faultspace_rightmargin(char accesstype) { m_faultspace_rightmargin = accesstype; }
 	void set_sanitychecks(bool enabled) { m_sanitychecks = enabled; }
+	void set_import_write_ecs(bool enabled) { m_import_write_ecs = enabled; }
 	void set_extended_trace(bool enabled) { m_extended_trace = enabled; }
 };
 
diff --git a/tools/import-trace/main.cc b/tools/import-trace/main.cc
index 2deebfef..299a81ae 100644
--- a/tools/import-trace/main.cc
+++ b/tools/import-trace/main.cc
@@ -87,6 +87,10 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
 	CommandLine::option_handle NO_DELETE =
 		cmd.addOption("", "no-delete", Arg::None,
 			"--no-delete \tAssume there are no DB entries for this variant/benchmark, don't issue a DELETE");
+	CommandLine::option_handle NO_WRITE_ECS =
+		cmd.addOption("", "no-write-ecs", Arg::None,
+			"--no-write-ecs \tDo not import any write ECs into the database; "
+			"results in a perforated fault space and is OK if you only use absolute failure numbers");
 	CommandLine::option_handle EXTENDED_TRACE =
 		cmd.addOption("", "extended-trace", Arg::None,
 			"--extended-trace \tImport extended trace information if available");
@@ -214,6 +218,7 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
 
 	importer->set_sanitychecks(cmd[ENABLE_SANITYCHECKS]);
 	importer->set_extended_trace(cmd[EXTENDED_TRACE]);
+	importer->set_import_write_ecs(!cmd[NO_WRITE_ECS]);
 
 	if (!importer->init(variant, benchmark, db)) {
 		LOG << "importer->init() failed" << endl;