The Implications and trade-offs of near-port ship emissions reduction policies

Maritime shipping is considered the most efficient mode of transport in economic and environmental terms. However, its impacts on climate change through greenhouse gas emissions and on human health from air pollutants released near residential centres cannot be ignored. Over the last decades, regulatory bodies have been developing policies that seek to further improve the sector’s environmental performance and at the same time new technologies improve the efficiency of vessels. Operational practices of shipliners and port authority initiatives are also relieving the sector’s impacts. While there has been significant research on the environmental impacts of maritime transport, there has been relatively little work focusing on the effects of maritime activity in the proximity and at ports. This thesis presents a transferable framework that allows the estimation of emissions pollutant generation near the port focusing on CO2, SO2, NOx and BC emissions. The most relevant emissions reduction actions are considered and their effects on the environmental footprint of the port are modelled. The thesis emphasizes on the implementation of speed reduction programmes near the port, use of cold ironing at berth, and the effects of fuel quality regulation, considering the perspectives of the port authority, and the ship operator. The thesis considers the emerging environmental and economic trade-offs due to the different emissions reduction actions. A non-linear convex optimization model is formulated that minimizes fuel consumption in a sequence of port calls where in some areas speed limits or fuel regulations are in place. The results show that there is no universal port policy that can simultaneously minimize the environmental impact of all ships without economic or environmental penalties. This indicates that there is great scope of improvement in existing policies, and that regulators will need to decide what their priorities should be in improving the system. The achievements of this thesis can be beneficial to policy makers, port authorities, and shipping companies that wish to improve their environmental performance without sustaining environmental and economic penalties to do so.Open Acces

Crossing a Canal and pay the price or go the distance and we all pay the price

The pandemic outbreak of Covid-19 led to a sharp decline in demand for oil and historically low fuel prices. Where we go from here is unclear while the pandemic is still affecting the global economy, but it can be anticipated that in the short-term oil production will be reduced. From a ship operator’s perspective, the very low fuel prices may lead to increased sailing speeds for certain sectors (particularly liner shipping), while product and crude tankers may wait things out until fuel prices increase again. A very interesting development is that certain ship operators sail around Africa instead of passing (and paying fees) through the Suez Canal, due to the low fuel prices that make this profitable. In response, the Suez Canal authorities offered rebates up to 17% for containerships from May through to June 2020. The objective of this paper is to examine how canal authorities decided to provide financial incentives to ship operators for choosing to cross their canals, and assess the economic and environmental impacts of this choice. The methodology considers the use of an activity-based model to estimate fuel consumption, and calculate costs and emissions from the different options available to the ship operator. The perspectives of all stakeholders (ship operator, ship owner, canal authorities, and the society) are examined. The importance of market-based measures and the external costs of emissions are discussed, with a forward-looking view for the implementation of the Initial IMO strategy for the decarbonisation of maritime shippin

The Impacts of the Pandemic on the Suez and Panama Canals and the Environmental Aftermath

The pandemic outbreak of Covid-19 led to a sharp decline in demand for oil and historically low fuel prices. The very low fuel prices may lead to increased sailing speeds for certain sectors (particularly liner shipping), while product and crude tankers may wait things out until fuel prices increase again. A very interesting development is that certain ship operators sail around Africa instead of passing (and paying fees) through the Suez Canal, due to the low fuel prices that make this profitable. In response, the Suez Canal authorities offered rebates up to 17% for containerships from May through to June 2020. This paper reviews literature on the effects of canals in international shipping, and aims to propose new research questions following the impacts of the ongoing pandemic. The objective of this paper is to examine how canal authorities decided to provide financial incentives to ship operators for choosing to cross their canals, and assess the economic and environmental impacts of this choice. The methodology considers the use of an activity-based model to estimate fuel consumption, and calculate costs and emissions from the different options available to the ship operator. The perspectives of all stakeholders are examined. The importance of market-based measures and the external costs of emissions are discussed, with a forward-looking view for the implementation of the Initial IMO strategy for the decarbonisation of maritime shipping

Towards a Zero-Emissions Port Stay; Challenges, Opportunities, and Insights from the Industry

This paper is concerned with the prospects of a potential zero emissions port stay for international ships calling at different ports. We focus primarily on shorepower provision and examine other technological solutions that can be useful in reducing the environmental footprint of port stays. We review academic literature on the subject, where it is evident that the interest on such technological solutions is on the rise. Three key stakeholders are identified in the attempt to reduce emissions from ships at ports. These groups are the port operators, the shipping companies, and the technology or solution providers that reduce emissions. To understand their challenges, their differences, as well as potential synergies, we launched a survey that targeted their views and experiences with the use of emissions abatement technologies. It is evident from the survey that the environmental aspects of port stays are seeing an increasing attention, but the main challenges are still not addressed by the existing solution space. The main challenges and barriers to the further development of shorepower solutions for international shipping are presented, and key differences across different sectors are briefly discussed. In the current uncertain environment with extreme increases in fuel and electricity prices, it is not easy to consider low-carbon solutions in the shipping sector. However, the increased pressure for environmental action, and the potential use of Market-Based Measures (MBMs) can help the transition by acting as an equalizer for the associated economics of energy provision at the port

The Impacts of the Pandemic on the Suez and Panama Canals and the Environmental Aftermath

The pandemic outbreak of Covid-19 led to a sharp decline in demand for oil and historically low fuel prices. The very low fuel prices may lead to increased sailing speeds for certain sectors (particularly liner shipping), while product and crude tankers may wait things out until fuel prices increase again. A very interesting development is that certain ship operators sail around Africa instead of passing (and paying fees) through the Suez Canal, due to the low fuel prices that make this profitable. In response, the Suez Canal authorities offered rebates up to 17% for containerships from May through to June 2020. This paper reviews literature on the effects of canals in international shipping, and aims to propose new research questions following the impacts of the ongoing pandemic. The objective of this paper is to examine how canal authorities decided to provide financial incentives to ship operators for choosing to cross their canals, and assess the economic and environmental impacts of this choice. The methodology considers the use of an activity-based model to estimate fuel consumption, and calculate costs and emissions from the different options available to the ship operator. The perspectives of all stakeholders are examined. The importance of market-based measures and the external costs of emissions are discussed, with a forward-looking view for the implementation of the Initial IMO strategy for the decarbonisation of maritime shipping

A game theoretic approach on improving sulphur compliance

The global sulphur cap is the final step in a series of regulations that aim to reduce SOx emissions from shipping. It affects international shipping and requires all vessels to use fuel with a maximum of 0.5% sulphur content or use abatement technologies that achieve a similar reduction in SOx emissions. The existing legislative framework poses several challenges, stemming mainly from a highly non-homogeneous and spatially differentiated system, with cases where the penalty fines are as low as the benefit that the violator enjoyed from non-compliances. The purpose of this paper is to develop a game theoretic modelling framework that improves the effectiveness of sulphur regulations enforcement and proposes a uniform violation fine system. A mixed strategy game with two players is formulated, representing the ship operator (who can either comply or not with the regulation), and an enforcement agency (that can opt to inspect or not inspect the ship) respectively. The proposed model can improve compliance rates and increase societal environmental benefits through reduced sulphur emissions. We also consider a new system with warnings issued for repeated violations of the regulation that would lead to a mandatory retrofit of the vessel with sulphur abatement technologies. Such models can ensure a level playing field for ship operators that currently have invested heavily in abatement options to comply with the sulphur regulations

The prospects of cold ironing as an emissions reduction option

TRB 97th Annual Meeting, January 7-11, 2018, WashingtonMaritime shipping is considered the most fuel efficient mode of transport with the lowest contribution in CO2 emissions. However, the sector has seen increasing pressure to improve its environmental performance, particularly when it comes to SOx, NOx, and PM emission pollutants. The majority of academic literature is focusing on the full journey environmental aspects of maritime transport, and less attention is given to ports. Davarzani et al. (2016) conduct a literature review on greening ports in order to identify research areas for further investigation (1). Cold ironing is the process of providing shorepower to cover the energy demands of vessels calling at ports. In California six ports are included to the At-Berth regulation that constitutes mandatory the use of the technology for ocean going vessels (70% of total vessel calls, up to 80% by 2020). The EU regulation on at-berth emissions is targeting only SO2 emissions, the reduction of which is also the objective of Emission Control Ares (ECAs). Therefore, a ship can switch to ultra-low sulfur fuel while at berth or within ECAs, or alternatively use scrubber systems to comply with the regulation (2). The scrubber solution reduces PM emissions as well, but has a limited effect on NOx. A paradox is evident; between 2005 and 2015 (the sulfur limit was 1% within ECA, 0.1% at berth) a vessel calling at EU ports would have a higher incentive to invest in cold ironing as it would replace the use of ultra-low sulfur fuel at the port. The objective of the paper is to start a discussion on the future prospects of cold ironing as a viable option to reduce in port emissions, as well as to present a quantitative framework that can be useful to stakeholders deciding on whether to invest in this technology or not