Port-city exhaust emission model: An application to cruise and ferry operations in Las Palmas Port

Exhaust emissions cause air pollution and climate change. The exhausts of shipboard fuel combustion are equally damaging particularly, so close to the environmentally sensitive mainland and island coasts, as well as at ports due to their urbanized character. This paper estimates, for the first time, exhaust pollutants related to cruise and ferry operations in Las Palmas Port and, in an island context. Emission assessment is based on a full bottom-up model and messages transmitted by the Automatic Identification System during 2011. Results are described as a breakdown of NOx, SOx, PM_2.5, CO and CO₂, according to ship classes, operative type and time, providing valuable information to environmental policy makers in port-city areas and islands under similar conditions. It is generally concluded that vessel traffic and passenger shipping in particular are a source of air pollution in Las Palmas Port. Emission maps confirm location of hot spots in quays assigned for cruise and ferry operations. Policy recommendations encourage regular monitoring of exhaust emissions and market-based incentives supported by details on polluting and operative profiles. On the other hand, feasibility studies are suggested for automated mooring, LNG bunkering facilities and also shore-side energy services, prioritizing berthing of shipping sectors (or sub-sectors) with the highest share of exhaust emissions once their local effects have been confirmed by a dispersion, exposure and impact assessment.     

Dynamic calculation of ship exhaust emissions based on real-time AIS data

The activity-based methodology is becoming an increasing way to calculate exhaust emissions from ships in a port. Existing studies make great effort to build and analyze ship emission inventory in a variety of ports by applying this method to historical ship trajectory data. This kind of static emission inventory however, cannot meet the needs of real-time ship emission monitoring. This article proposes a method of dynamic calculation of ship exhaust emissions based on real-time ship trajectory data. Firstly, real-time ship AIS messages are partitioned into continuous data blocks and go through a series of pre-processing operations, including trajectory extraction, association and interpolation. Ship activity parameters are then determined by database querying and regression analysis based on ship attributes. Subsequently, an improved activity-based methodology is employed to estimate exhaust emissions from ships in a distributed way. Based on the grid model, regional ship exhaust emissions can be statistically and dynamically calculated by the spatial allocation of all ship emissions. In a case study, a real-time monitoring platform for ship exhaust emissions in Shenzhen port is developed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.     

Greenhouse gas emissions from ships in ports – Case studies in four continents

Emissions of GHG from the transport sector and how to reduce them are major challenges for policy makers. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the level of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships while in port based on annual data from Port of Gothenburg, Port of Long Beach, Port of Osaka and Sydney Ports. Port call statistics including IMO number, ship name, berth number and time spent at berth for each ship call, were provided by each participating port. The IMO numbers were used to match each port call to ship specifications from the IHS database Sea-web. All data were analysed with a model developed by the IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute for the purpose of quantifying GHG emissions (as CO₂-equivalent) from ships in the port area. Emissions from five operational modes are summed in order to account for ship operations in the different traffic areas. The model estimates total GHG emissions of 150,000, 240,000, 97,000, and 95,000 tonnes CO₂ equivalents per year for Gothenburg, Long Beach, Osaka, and Sydney, respectively. Four important emission-reduction measures are discussed: reduced speed in fairway channels, on-shore power supply, reduced turnaround time at berth and alternative fuels. It is argued that the potential to reduce emissions in a port area depends on how often a ship revisits a port: there it in general is easier to implement measures for high-frequent liners. Ships that call 10 times or less contribute significantly to emissions in all ports.     

Cruise activity and pollution: The case of Barcelona

One of the main causes of mortality worldwide is air pollution. To tackle this problem, local, regional and national governments have implemented policies to reduce emissions from industrial and on-road sources. However, when these policies are being designed, shipping emissions are often overlooked. There has been a drastic increase in the demand for cruises and its economic relevance is also growing in port-cities. Barcelona is Europe’s leading cruise port, and it is located near the centre of the city. In this context, this paper analyses the impact of cruise ships in the air quality of the entire city of Barcelona using a dataset with information about pollutants and the number of cruises arriving to the port. We show that there is a direct impact between cruises staying at the port and city pollution. Additionally, the size and age of the cruise also affect air quality. The larger (or newer) the cruise is, the higher the emission generated. Moreover, our simulations show that the whole city is affected by these emissions.     

Evaluating the social cost of cruise ships air emissions in major ports of Greece

Detailed NO_x, SO₂ and PM_2.5 emissions have been estimated for cruise ships in the five busiest Greek ports (i.e. Piraeus, Santorini, Mykonos, Corfu and Katakolo) for year 2013. The emissions were analyzed in terms of gas species, seasonality and activity. The total in-port inventory of cruise shipping accounted to 2742.7 tons: with NO_x being dominant (1887.5 tons), followed by SO₂ and PM_2.5 (760.9 and 94.3 tons respectively). Emissions during hotelling corresponded to 88.5% of total and have significantly outweighed those produced during ships’ maneuvering activities (11.5% of total). Seasonality was found to play a major role, as summer emissions and associated impacts were significantly augmented. The anticipated health impacts of ship emissions can reach to €24.3 million or to €5.3 per passenger proving the necessity of control of the emissions produced by cruise ships in port cities or policy and measures towards a more efficient cruise industry.     

Health externalities of ship air pollution at port – Piraeus port case study

This paper is employing the well-known methodology of impact pathway approach to assess the external costs in human health from ship air pollution at port areas. The passenger port of Piraeus, Greece is the scenery of the study. Piraeus port is in the vicinity of the greater Athens metropolitan area where almost half of the country’s population lives. Hence, this port is the central hub of the Greek coastal passenger ship system which connects the islands of the Aegean Sea with land and is characterized by heavy ship traffic. The case study presented in this paper assesses the annual external cost in human health from air emissions produced by all passenger ships and cruise ships calling the port of Piraeus. Health cost from ships at port has been estimated at both local (Athens metropolitan area) and regional level (entire territory of Greece). Results show that higher costs occur at the local level. The dominant pollutants creating this cost are particulate matter (PM_2.5, and PM₁₀). Overall, the results indicate that the health impact of Piraeus’s passenger port emissions is not negligible; however the cost of PM₁₀ is considerably lower than the corresponded cost deriving from the land based industries of the Athens regional area for which comparison has been available.     

How do economies of density in container handling operations affect ships’ time and emissions in port? Evidence from Norwegian container terminals

Efficient port services are prerequisites for competitive and sustainable maritime transports. This paper makes advances in studying the determinants of the time that ships spend in port and the associated emissions to air. We estimate a production model for cargo handling based on a unique dataset containing each port of call at the largest container terminals in Norway in 2014. In turn, we use auxiliary engine emission factors to estimate particulate matter and nitrogen oxide emissions from ships at berth, to determine how the corresponding damage costs of air pollution vary with container throughput, location, and terminal investments. We find that Norwegian container terminals operate under increasing returns to density. Small ships that unload few containers are far from reaping economies of density, leading to high marginal time requirements for container handling and consequently high marginal external costs. From a Pigouvian taxation perspective, port charges should therefore be regressive in the number of containers handled. Moreover, we find that the external costs of maritime transports are severely understated when port operations are ignored. Our model allows determining the marginal productivities of port facilities. Thereby, it is instrumental in designing port charges that are diversified according to the quantity of containers handled and the service quality (i.e., the speed of handling operations). Regarding contextual factors, we find that establishing high-frequent liner services improves the ship working rate, while simultaneous calls at a terminal impede productivity. The type of container (loading/unloading; empty/laden) also appears to influence the duration of ship working.     

Cluster analysis of the competitiveness of container ports in Brazil

The container cargo proportion of total maritime transport increased from 3% in 1980 to 16% in 2011. The largest Brazilian port, the port of Santos, is the 42nd largest container port in the world. However, Santos’ performance indicators are much lower than those of the world’s largest ports, so comparisons with them are difficult. This article focuses on the Brazilian container terminals that handled containers in 2009 and compares port competitiveness. This study classified seventeen Brazilian container terminals into three distinct groups based on the following competitiveness criteria: number of containers handled, berth length, number of berths, terminal tariffs (in US$), berth depth, rate of medium consignment (in containers/ship), medium board (containers/hour), average waiting time for mooring (in hours/ship), and average waiting time for load or unload cargo (in hours/ship). This classification used a hierarchical cluster analysis. The classification shows that the terminal of Tecon in the port of Santos has the best performance of all, while small terminals (<150,000 container units) are the worst performing terminals in Brazil.     

Substitution of bus for car travel in urban Britain: an economic evaluation of bus and car exhaust emission and other costs

Car exhaust emissions cause serious air pollution problems in many regions and, at a global level, contribute to climate change. Car use is also an important factor in other problems including traffic congestion, road accidents, noise pollution, community severance, and loss of countryside from road building. Forecasts of further increases in car ownership and use have prompted calls for policy-makers to encourage car users to switch to other forms of transport, particularly the bus. The effects of substituting bus for car travel in urban areas are simulated by specifying a spreadsheet model incorporating two types of car (petrol and diesel engine) and three types of bus (mini-, midi- and large bus). Six types of exhaust emission are considered for each vehicle type for the years 1992, 1995 and 1999: carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide, (small) particulate matter and carbon dioxide. The paper provides a synthesis of monetary estimates of these exhaust emission and other costs. The other costs considered are traffic congestion, fuel consumption, noise pollution, road accidents and road damage. The exhaust emission monetary cost estimates, mainly from the United States and the United Kingdom, are discussed within the context of a sensitivity analysis which allows for changes in parameters such as load factors, emission factors and the individual exhaust emission cost estimates. The simulation results show that substitution of bus for car travel generally decreases the overall costs, particularly the costs of congestion, but increases exhaust emission costs if bus load factors are insufficiently high. In order to reduce exhaust emission costs from car to bus transfer at given load factors, the most effective policy option is to encourage the reduction of particulate emissions from bus engines. In terms of the overall costs, increasing bus load factors by relatively modest amounts can lead to substantial reductions in these overall costs. These results should be regarded as illustrative rather than definitive, given the uncertainties in a number of parameter estimates and the need for further research in areas not covered by the paper.     

A tool for calculating aircraft emissions and its application to Greek airspace

This paper quantifies the impact of aircraft emissions on local air quality and climate change. Aircraft emissions during the cruise cycle and the landing/take-off cycle are considered. A tool is developed that computes emission values using real-time air traffic data derived from various databases. Emissions include carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides. The overall output is a detailed ‘emissions map’ of a given territory that enables the identification of critical emission spots including routes, airports, season, aircraft type and flight category. The method can be used for real-time monitoring of airline emissions and for policy analysis. The proposed tool and resulting outputs are illustrated in the case of the Greek airport system using domestic, international and overflights. Demand volatility driven mainly by tourism and its impact on emissions is assessed.     

Evaluating effects of traffic and vehicle characteristics on vehicular emissions near traffic intersections

Urban air quality is generally poor at traffic intersections due to variations in vehicles’ speeds as they approach and leave. This paper examines the effect of traffic, vehicle and road characteristics on vehicular emissions with a view to understand a link between emissions and the most likely influencing and measurable characteristics. It demonstrates the relationships of traffic, vehicle and intersection characteristics with vehicular exhaust emissions and reviews the traffic flow and emission models. Most studies have found that vehicular exhaust emissions near traffic intersections are largely dependent on fleet speed, deceleration speed, queuing time in idle mode with a red signal time, acceleration speed, queue length, traffic-flow rate and ambient conditions. The vehicular composition also affects emissions. These parameters can be quantified and incorporated into the emission models. There is no validated methodology to quantify some non-measurable parameters such as driving behaviour, pedestrian activity, and road conditions     

Port performance in Asia: Does production efficiency imply environmental efficiency?

Atmospheric and water pollution are two main sources of negative environmental externalities generated by shipping. This study recognizes the negative externalities in the production of port services in East Asia by explicitly incorporating environmental impacts of shipping. Programming techniques are used to analyze 156 Origin–Destination pairs between 13 major East Asian ports, to derive the externality-augmented measures of port productivity and efficiency at the waterside. The results suggest that the inclusion of externality mitigation strategies can exert a considerable influence on efficiency performance.     

Integrating multi-source maritime information to estimate ship exhaust emissions under wind,wave and current conditions

How to accurately calculate ship exhaust emissions has become urgent needs. In this paper, multi-source maritime information is integrated to estimate ship exhaust emissions under ocean environment. Influences of wind, wave and current on ship speed are firstly analyzed and mathematically modeled. Based on the influences, ocean environment information and ship trajectories are integrated to identify ship activities exactly. After that, ship activity based calculation method is present to obtain exhaust emissions from ship in various activities. Contribution ratios of different ship type and ship activities have been further discussed. In a case study of Ningbo-Zhoushan port in China, greenhouse gas (CO₂, CO, SO_x, NO_x and PM) emissions from ships in 2014 calculated by the proposed method are 8.72 × 10⁵ ton, 2.07 × 10³ ton, 1.47 × 10⁴ ton, 2.60 × 10⁴ ton and 1.40 × 10³ ton respectively. The maximum error is under 10%. Experimental results illustrate that the proposed method can produce more accurate ship exhaust emissions than traditional method under ocean environment conditions.     

漓江旅游客船回转性研究

文章借助船舶回航试验报告的有关数据和试验评价,分析了舵要素对漓江游船操纵性的影响,并提出了增强漓江旅游客船回转性的设想,为类似水域条件的船舶操纵性设计提供依据。     

Spin glass and the interactions of congestion and emissions: An exploratory step

This paper models traffic congestion formation on highways and roads by recognizing the centrality of dynamical systems and using concepts from complexity theory as imbedded in the spin glasses analogue. Further, it explores the concept of how an increase in air pollution caused by vehicle exhaust emission can be traced to traffic congestion, specifically to the acceleration/deceleration of vehicles on the roads. First, spin glass is introduced and then by applying the two-dimensional x − y Ising model and defining a Hamiltonian (based on Edwards-Anderson and Mattis models of spin glass systems) for a system of vehicles on the road, derivations are made of the specific friction of congestion and the bulk modulus of congestion using the Gibbs-Boltzmann statistic. Similarly using the interactions of vehicles with each other and the resulting accelerations and decelerations of vehicles as the basis for exhaust emissions, derivations are made of a specificity of exhaust emissions. These are analogues to the entropy models of thermodynamics. This series of derivations serves as an analytical model for detecting incidents of congestion and increase in air pollution due to exhaust emissions in transportation systems.     

Emissions of NOX and particles from manoeuvring ships

Ship exhausts contain high levels of particles and nitrogen oxides due to the heavy fuel oil normally used for combustion and the combustion characteristics of most ship engines. The quantification of exhaust gases during ships’ manoeuvring has not received a lot of attention. This work presents results from emission measurements for the main engines onboard two ships and characterises quantities and potential impacts of emissions from manoeuvring. The observed nitrogen oxides levels vary throughout the manoeuvring period but at lower levels than at cruising speed. With a selective catalytic reduction system in operation, however, the situation is reversed. Elevated levels of particle emissions, measured as number concentrations, are detected throughout the manoeuvring. There are also peak concentrations of particles, at both the start-up and the shut-down of the engines. The increase is big enough to suspect a notable impact on air quality in port cities over the short period that manoeuvring at reduced speeds takes place.     

典型航线船舶排放清单及排放特征研究

文章分析了我国典型航线典型船舶排放特征,以船舶自动识别系统数据为基础,收集整理所选研究船舶排放参数,结合船舶实际航行资料,采用动力法估算了秦皇岛港—广州港航线某散货船一个航行周期的排放清单,并分析了靠港、停泊、港内机动、巡航4个船舶状态下的排放特征,绘制了2 km×2 km分辨率的空间排放特征图。结果表明,该典型航线上典型散货船舶一个航行周期排放的SOx、NOx、PM10、PM2.5总量分别为18.88吨、30.87吨、1.85吨和1.69吨。排放源分析表明从在船舶的主机、辅机和锅炉3种排放源中,主机是主要排放源。航行状态上巡航工况排放量最大;船舶排放污染物的空间分析表明,船舶在进出港口区域是污染物排放最密集的区域。     

Measuring foregone output under industry emission reduction target in the transportation sector

Numerous countries have implemented or are considering a range of policies to lower emissions from transportation. An analysis of the impacts of environmental regulation is a crucial issue, which has not been properly highlighted in the transportation literature, particularly in terms of the foregone output by such regulation. This study develops a novel DEA model that measures the foregone output when the industry emissions target is imposed. This model reflects the real regulatory process more appropriately than other models in that the authority in charge sets the emission reduction target first, and the transport operators respond to it. In addition, the model can test the industrywide impacts over a wide range of emission target values, which can help policy makers determine the optimal emission target. Finally, the proposed model was applied to the port industry in Korea. The results suggest that Korean ports can reduce their emissions by a maximum of 239,850 tons of CO₂, which accounts for 13% of the total emissions in 2010. The 13% reduction in emission, however, would result in $ 91,109,000 of foregone cargo traffic to the Korean economy. In addition, the foregone cargo traffic increases at much faster rate than the emission reduction rate. For example, the shadow price of emission differs by 2.25 times between the most moderate and strictest emission targets. This suggests that the government needs to impose moderate emission targets at the initial stages if it decides to minimize the regulatory impacts on the industry.     

Green approaches at sea – The benefits of adjusting speed instead of anchoring

In this paper, the concept ‘green approaches’ already used in aviation is applied to cargo transportation at sea. Instead of anchoring outside a port waiting for berth, ships can adjust their speed to arrive just in time for berthing. With improved incentives for reducing speed and shared information about berthing times, green approaches instead of anchoring can be a way to reduce fuel consumption and emissions without increasing the transit times of goods. The present study estimates the benefits to society as a whole for the EU ports in the Baltic Sea with Automatic Identification System data applying a new method using data collected in real time. Data consists of all anchored ships awaiting berth on 40 different occasions in 2015 and are subsequently extrapolated to a year. Fuel consumption by the individual ships, emissions and values are calculated from the detailed data with established models and estimates of unit values. The potential benefits are estimated at 27 million euros per year in the scenario where the near 15,000 anchorings by ships annually awaiting berth may instead start a green approach 12 h prior to arrival and may reduce speed by 25%, using the middle unit values for fuel and emissions. The methodology used in the paper can be applied to estimate the benefits of green approaches in other areas with anchored vessels.     

Modelling Externalities using Dynamic Traffic Assignment Models: A Review

Recently, there has been a growing interest in externalities in our society, mainly in the context of climate and air quality, which are of importance when policy decisions are made. For the assessment of externalities in transport, often the output of static traffic assignment models is used in combination with so-called effect models. Due to the rapidly increasing possibilities of using dynamic traffic assignment (DTA) models for large-scale transportation networks and the application of traffic measures, already several models have been developed to assess the externalities using DTA models more precisely. Different research projects have shown that there is a proven relation between the traffic dynamics and externalities, such as emissions of pollutants and traffic safety. This means that the assessment of external effects can be improved by using temporal information about flow, speed and density, which is the output of DTA models. In this paper, the modelling of traffic safety, emissions and noise in conjunction with DTA models is reviewed based on an extensive literature survey. This review shows that there are still gaps in knowledge in assessing traffic safety, much research is available concerning emissions, and although little research has been conducted concerning the assessment of noise using DTA models, the methods available can be used to assess the effects. Most research so far has focused on the use of microscopic models, while mesoscopic or macroscopic models may have a high potential for improving the assessment of these effects for larger networks.