Cost-effectiveness assessment of CO2 reducing measures in shipping

International shipping is a significant contributor to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and is under mounting pressure to contribute to overall GHG emission reductions. There is an ongoing debate regarding how much the sector could be expected to reduce emissions and how the reduction could be achieved. This paper details a methodology for assessing the cost-effectiveness of technical and operational measures for reducing CO₂ emissions from shipping, through the development of an evaluation parameter called the Cost of Averting a Tonne of CO₂-eq Heating, CATCH, and decision criterion, against which the evaluation parameter should be evaluated. The methodology is in line with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and with regulatory work on safety and environmental protection issues at the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

The results of this study suggest that CATCH <50 $/tonne of CO₂-eq should be used as a decision criterion for investment in emission reduction measures for shipping. In total, 13 specific measures for reducing CO₂ emissions have been analysed for two selected case ships to illustrate the methodology. Results from this work shows that several measures are cost effective according to the proposed criterion. The results suggest that cost effective reductions for the fleet may well be in the order of 30% for technical measures, and above 50% when including speed reductions. The results of this study show that the cost effectiveness approach for the regulation of shipping emissions is viable and should be pursued in the ongoing regulatory process.     

Future cost scenarios for reduction of ship CO2 emissions

International shipping is a significant contributor to Global Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, responsible for approximately 3% of global CO₂ emissions. The International Maritime Organization is currently working to establish GHG regulations for international shipping and a cost effectiveness approach has been suggested to determine the required emission reductions from shipping. To achieve emission reductions in a cost effective manner, this study has assessed the cost and reduction potential for present and future abatement measures based on new and unpublished data. The model used captures the world fleet up to 2030, and the analysis includes 25 separate measures. A new integrated modelling approach has been used combining fleet projections with activity-based CO₂ emission modelling and projected development of measures for CO₂ emission reduction. The world fleet projections up to 2030 are constructed using a fleet growth model that takes into account assumed ship type specific scrapping and new building rates. A baseline trajectory for CO₂ emission is then established. The reduction potential from the baseline trajectory and the associated marginal cost levels are calculated for 25 different emission reduction measures. The results are given as marginal abatement cost curves, and as future cost scenarios for reduction of world fleet CO₂ emissions. The results show that a scenario in which CO₂ emissions are reduced by 33% from baseline in 2030 is achievable at a marginal cost of USD 0 per tonne reduced. At this cost level, emission in 2010 can be reduced by 19% and by 24% in 2020. A scenario with 49% reduction from baseline in 2030 can be achieved at a marginal cost of USD 100 per tonne (27% in 2010 and 35% in 2020). Furthermore, it is evident that further increasing the cost level beyond USD 100 per tonne yield very little in terms of further emission reduction. The results also indicate that stabilising fleet emissions at current levels is obtainable at moderate costs, compensating for fleet growth up to 2030. However, significant reductions beyond current levels seem difficult to achieve. Marginal abatement costs for the major ship types are also calculated, and the results are shown to be relatively homogenous for all major ship types. The presented data and methodology could be very useful for assisting the industry and policymakers in selecting cost effective solutions for reducing GHG emissions from the world fleet.     

Effect of proposed CO2 emission reduction scenarios on capital expenditure

The International Maritime Organisation is currently working on establishing regulations for international shipping regarding greenhouse gas emissions, and a cost-effectiveness approach has been suggested as one method for determining the necessary reductions in emissions from shipping. Previous studies have investigated the CO₂ emission reduction potential for the world shipping fleet up to 2030 and the associated marginal abatement cost levels. To analyse the cost implications of different emission reduction scenarios, this study has calculated the emission reduction potential and additional capital expenditure for 25 CO₂ emission reduction measures applied to 59 ship segments. The expected fleet development over time, keeping track of new ships built from 2010 to 2030 and Existing ships built prior to 2010 and still in operation by 2030, have been modelled. Two alternative approaches to find the cost-effective potential in the world shipping fleet have been applied. One approach is to implement only measures which in themselves are cost-effective (measure-by-measure), and another approach is to implement measures as long as the net savings from cost-effective measures balance the costs of non-cost-effective measures (set of measures). The results demonstrate that by 2030, the majority (93%) of the reduction potential will be related to new ships. Our results show that the measure-by-measure approach would decrease the CO₂ emissions by 30% for new ships while the set-of-measures approach with 53% (of the 2030 baseline emissions of 1316?Mt). The implication of achieving such emission reduction is an increase in the capital expenditure on New ships by 6% (USD 183 billion) and 27% (USD 761 billion), respectively, in the period 2010 to 2030 compared to a business-as-usual scenario. The measure-by-measure approach yields a 5% decrease in CO₂ emission per 1% increase in capital expenditure, while the set-of-measures approach yields a 2% decrease per 1% increase. This is due to the significant variation in capital intensity of the different measures, ranging from almost zero to USD 200 per tonne of CO₂ averted. The results of this study are useful for the shipping industry to assess the economic burden that must be shouldered in order to implement abatement measures under different CO₂ emission reduction scenarios.     

Environmental awareness and practice concerning maritime air emissions: the case of the Greek shipping industry

One of the most urgent environmental problems facing the shipping industry today is the reduction of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions from its operations and the possible cost-effective ways in which this reduction could be accomplished. Various technical and operational measures have been proposed as well as market-based instruments for the achievement of the compliance of marine industry with these measures. This paper investigates the levels of environmental awareness of the Greek shipping companies and their views and practices on the proposed policies for the reduction of GHG emissions from their ships. A survey was carried out using a questionnaire distributed to Greek shipping companies of different sizes, involved in different segments of the marine industry, so that the survey's results not only represent a large part of the Greek shipping industry but also reveal the different environmental attitudes and practices on maritime GHG emissions among the shipping companies. Given the size and the importance of the Greek shipping industry in the international maritime field, this paper's results present a special significance as they could be further analyzed and taken into account for the achievement of the compliance of marine industry with any future policy instrument for the reduction of maritime GHG emissions.     

The effects of slow steaming on the environmental performance in liner shipping

The environment issue is one of the significant challenges that the liner shipping industry has to face. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has set a goal to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from existing vessels by 20–50% by 2050 and develop the Energy Efficiency Operational Indicator (EEOI) as a measure for energy efficiency. To achieve this goal, IMO has suggested three basic approaches: the enlargement of vessel size, the reduction of voyage speed, and the application of new technologies. In recent times, liners have adopted slow steaming and decelerated the voyage speed to 15–18 knots on major routes. This is because slow steaming is helpful in reducing operating costs and GHG emissions. However, it also creates negative effects that influence the operating costs and the amount of GHG emissions at the same time.

This study started with the basic question: Is it true that as voyage speed reduces, the operating costs and CO₂ emissions can be reduced at the same time? If this is true, liners will definitely decelerate their voyage speed themselves as much as possible so that they can increase their profits and improve the level of environmental performance. However, if this is not true, then liners will concentrate just on increasing their profits by not considering environmental factors. This led the authors to set out three objectives: (1) to analyze the relationship between voyage speed and the amount of CO₂ emissions and to estimate the changes by slow steaming in liner shipping; (2) to analyze the relationship between voyage speed and the operating costs on a loop; and (3) to find the optimal voyage speed as a solution to maximize the reduction of CO₂ emissions at the lowest operating cost, thus satisfying the reduction target of IMO.     

Atmospheric emissions of European SECA shipping: long-term projections

We modeled the projections of the major atmospheric emissions from shipping of the European sulphur emission control area that includes the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, and the English Channel until 2040. Emission projections were calculated separately for every ship on annual basis, and the model took into account traffic growth, fleet renewal, and the forthcoming regulations. The regulation on sulfur content of ship fuels will drastically decrease the emissions of sulfur oxides and particulate matter (PM_2.5). As the regulation on nitrogen oxides (NO _x ) only affects the new diesel engines, the decrease in emissions will be seen parallel with the fleet renewal. Globally internalized limits will turn NO _x emissions to decrease with moderate traffic growth. However, by designating the Baltic Sea and the North Sea as NO _x emission control areas, more drastic decrease would occur. CO₂ emissions will stay almost constant through the studied timeline. Results show that European Commission's CO₂ target for 2050 will not be reached without implementation of market based measures among the North Sea and the Baltic Sea fleets. Results present new information for decision makers to further develop international regulations of shipping especially in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea.     

国际海运温室气体减排措施概述

文中分析了国际海运温室气体排放的特征，介绍了国际海运温室气体减排措施，并对未来发展趋势作出了预测。     

Barriers for adoption of energy efficiency operational measures in shipping industry

According to the Third Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Study 2014 of International Maritime Organization (IMO), the total emission in 2012 are estimated to be 949 million tonnes which is 2.7% of global CO₂ emission by total shipping and expected to increase from 2012 levels by 50–250% by 2050. Significant changes are needed to all industry by implementation of energy efficiency design and operational measures to meet existing and future global emission reduction targets. Although the fuel cost-reducing effects of some energy efficiency measures and new technologies are well established and matured, shipping companies appear reluctant to adopt them. Besides, it is observed that the stakeholders are directly or indirectly involved for implementation of energy efficiency measures in shipping industry. Therefore, the objective for this study was to identify the barriers to energy efficiency operational measures by a qualitative survey among various stakeholders from all corners of shipping industry. It has been found in the research that the barriers for implementation of all cost-free operational measures are almost the same such as lack of information of the measure, lack of awareness and competence of ship crews and operation difficulties which are in nature of information and technical barriers. But financial issue and owner’s interest are the key barriers for some other operational measures which are related to costing and need investment for implementation.     

Air pollution from ships: Recent developments

All developments on air pollution by ships are fairly recent. Annex VI of the international Marpol-convention, regulating the emissions of CFCs, Halons, Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) from cargoes, emissions from incinerators and exhaust gas emissions from engines (NO_x and SO_x) entered into force in May 2005. The International Maritime Organization is currently discussing an upgrade of the air pollution issues covered by Annex VI and some that are not in Annex VI, such as greenhouse gas emissions. CO₂ is the most important greenhouse gas emitted by ship. Fuel consumption by the world merchant fleet is expected to grow to between 250–300 million tons per year with corresponding CO₂ emissions of 800–960 million tons per year. In Western Europe land based measures have reduced sulphur emissions substantially, leaving shipping as an important remaining source of these emissions. Average sulphur content of heavy fuel oils is 3%, with a limit of 4.5% imposed by Annex VI. Both the Baltic- and the North Sea have the status of SO_x emission control area, limiting sulphur content to 1.5%.     

Swedish ports’ attitudes towards regulations of the shipping sector's emissions of CO2

Shipping is increasing today along with the sector's emissions of greenhouse gases. The awareness of the emissions has increased the pressure for regulations of the shipping industry. Regulating the sector is far from simple due to the complexity of the market and the evasive characteristics of the industry. We know from studies of road pricing that attitudes among stakeholders are important for a successive policy implementation. The objective of this paper is to capture the Swedish ports’ attitudes towards regulations of the shipping sector's emissions of CO₂ . This has been done by conducting a survey among commercial ports in Sweden. To our knowledge, this is the first study of this kind. Our analysis indicates that ports in Sweden are generally positive towards an implementation of regulations to reduce carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from the shipping industry. The ports where most positive towards CO₂ differentiated port due (97%), followed by a technical standard (92%), CO₂ taxation (84%) and EU ETS (The European Union Emissions Trading Scheme; 74%).     

EEDI给中国造船业带来的挑战

基于国际海事组织（IMO）限制温室气体排放（GHG）条约,阐述了船舶能效设计指数（EEDI）的概念,其计算公式中各项参数的含义及降低EEDI值的途径,重点指出EEDI的出现对我国造船业带来的影响及挑战。船舶采用经济航速是最为有效的节能减排的方式,但对营运商不是最佳选择,故而研发低碳燃油等优化技术成为当下最为重要的任务。船舶能效设计指数的强制实施在短期内对我国造船业造成了一定的冲击,但是长远看会进一步推进我国造船业进行深入的技术改造,从而提高中国船舶企业的综合竞争实力。     

Reviews on current carbon emission reduction technologies and projects and their feasibilities on ships

Concern about global climate change is growing, and many projects and researchers are committed to reducing greenhouse gases from all possible sources. International Maritime (IMO) has set a target of 20% CO₂ reduction from shipping by 2020 and also presented a series of carbon emission reduction methods, which are known as Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) and Energy Efficiency Operation Indicator (EEOI). Reviews on carbon emission reduction from all industries indicate that, Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is an excellent solution to global warming. In this paper, a comprehensive literature review of EEDI and EEOI and CCS is conducted and involves reviewing current policies, introducing common technologies, and considering their feasibilities for marine activities, mainly shipping. Current projects are also presented in this paper, thereby illustrating that carbon emission reduction has been the subject of attention from all over the world. Two case ship studies indicate the economic feasibility of carbon emission reduction and provide a guide for CCS system application and practical installation on ships.     

Optimized selection of vessel air emission controls—moving beyond cost-efficiency

Shipping currently has an unexploited potential for improved energy efficiency and reduced emissions to air. Many existing air emission controls have been proved to be cost-efficient but are still not commonly installed on board vessels. This paper discusses the so-called ‘energy paradox’ in maritime transportation, presenting barriers to overcome and criteria to consider when selecting cost-efficient air emission controls. Current approaches typically select available controls based on their cost-effectiveness. While this is an important aid in the decision-making process, and, in relative terms, easy to quantify, it is not a sufficient criterion to capture the true preferences of the decision-maker. We present in this paper a multi-criteria optimization model for the selection of air emission controls. This decision framework can also incorporate subjective and qualitative factors, and is applied to the shipping company Grieg Shipping. A survey among internal Grieg Shipping stakeholders identifies the important criteria to consider, their relative importance, and the scoring of the controls. This empirical data is used as parameters in the model and the model is then applied on a vessel of the Grieg Shipping fleet. The results show that nonfinancial factors play an important role in the selection of air emission controls in shipping.     

The impact of port operations on efficient ship operation from both economic and environmental perspectives

Recently, shipping lines have focused on efficient ship operation, which relates to energy efficiency issues in shipping and, particularly, to operational issues such that the minimisation of fuel consumption and resulting greenhouse gas emissions. Efficient ship operation in container lines is closely related to the ship’s time at sea and ship’s time in port. Reduction in port time, thanks to high-quality port operations, allows improvement in the operational efficiency of a liner service by reducing the fuel consumption of a ship at sea and its resulting CO₂ emissions. The main goal of this article is to investigate how time in port affects efficient ship operation in terms of operating costs, CO₂ emissions and externalities. For this, as a methodology, a simulation based upon system dynamics is introduced. Major finding is that less time in port resulting from the improvement of port operations contributes to efficient ship operation in terms of operating costs, amount of CO₂ emissions and external effects in the liner shipping industry. In particular, a sensitivity analysis on efficient ship operation vis-à-vis the quality of port operation shows that bigger ships need to select highly productive calling ports that provide less time in port.     

Emission reduction in international shipping—the hidden side effects

In order to curb the trend toward global warming, many technical, operational, and policy options have been proposed to help reduce the emissions from international shipping—the carrier for 80% of the world’s trade. However, these options might not only reduce emissions from shipping activities, but could also have a ripple effect on the whole supply chain of traded goods, as well as on those serving shipping activities. These effects could have both positive and negative impacts, not only on emission reduction, but also on world trade, economic efficiency, and the local environment. While most studies have examined the feasibility of the various options and their potential contribution to emission reduction, their secondary impacts have not been studied. However, failing to take them into account could very well obstruct the implementation of the options. Through a review of existing studies, this article aims to identify and explain some of these previously unexamined secondary effects that are associated with emission reduction in international shipping, point out the problems that will arise if they are ignored, and provide a basis for further detailed research in this area.     

Planning vessel air emission regulations compliance under uncertainty

In this paper we consider the reduction of air emissions from vessels when uncertainty is taken into account. Uncertainty in the reduction effects of the different existing air emission controls is currently high and makes their selection for vessel emission regulations compliance a challenging process. We develop a two-stage stochastic optimization model that addresses this uncertainty. The model’s objective is to plan the installation of air emission controls over a specified time horizon for a vessel to comply in the most cost-efficient way with the air emission regulations. The uncertain reduction effects of the controls are modelled by a set of scenarios. The approach is applied to a case study with real data. The solution exposes the important impact of uncertainty on this problem, especially on the SO _X reduction, while the CO₂ reduction plan seems in this case not affected by uncertainty.     

A systemic review of shipboard SCR installations in practice

Growing customer demands and more stringent regulations to reduce harmful air emissions from ships have resulted in an increased interest for the installation of shipboard abatement technologies. Specifically, the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides (NO_x) was early adopted by several Swedish shipping companies. The potential NO_x reduction efficiency of the SCR is well established, but the practical experiences of shipboard installations have been less documented. This paper reviews from a systems perspective the practical experiences of marine SCR installations in Swedish shipping. The aim is to identify important not only technical but also human and organizational conditions necessary for safe, efficient, and sustainable SCR operations at sea. Further, to investigate to what extent the capabilities and limitations of human operators and maintainers are taken into account in the design and installation phase of the systems. Two focus group interviews (n?=?10) and five individual interviews were held with relevant stakeholders in the industry, following a semi-structured schedule on the themes installation, operation, maintenance, and training. The results show that deficiencies in the overall system design—with a combination of technical issues, maintenance access problems, and untrained operators with inadequate understanding of the SCR process—have led to inefficient, costly, and unsafe operations. It is concluded that installations and operations of marine SCR systems, and possibly other forthcoming abatement technologies, would benefit from the use of traditional ergonomic principles and methods. This would in turn contribute towards increased sustainability and a reduced environmental impact from shipping.     

Air pollution impact of maritime shipping operations in the port of Houston

Abstract

Major air pollutants from maritime shipping operations are sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter emissions from combustion of fuel oil during cruise, berth, and start‐up modes. Sulfur oxides emissions are substantial from steamships burning high‐sulfur residual fuel oil, where shipping contributes 66 percent of the total sulfur dioxide emissions from transportation sources, and almost 3 percent of the total for Harris county, Texas. Nitrogen oxides emissions are significant during cruise conditions for both steamships and motor ships, while particulate emissions are substantial during start‐up and tube cleaning.

Significant marine air pollutant emission sources are found in busy harbor areas such as the Houston Ship Channel. Offshore terminals for unloading large tankers may result in emissions of 10 to 20 tons of sulfur oxides daily per ship, and 3 to 5 tons of nitrogen oxides daily per ship during pumping operations. Trace‐metal constituents present in the oil may catalyze sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide oxidation to their respective sulfate and nitrate aerosols in the humid Texas Gulf Coast atmospheres to aggravate photochemical air pollution problems once the air masses reach industrial and populated urban areas on land. Onshore sulfur dioxide and particulate‐matter emission controls may be necessary for some large ships in port to minimize potential impact on coastal zone air quality.     

Incremental costs for reduction of air pollution from ships: a case study on North European emission control area

In addition to sulphur oxides control, the North and the Baltic Seas have recently been designated as nitrogen oxides control area. Amidst ongoing developments in energy markets and international trade, shipowners have to develop cost-efficient strategies to comply with the new regulation. This study creates and tests a model calculating the incremental costs of abating NO_x and SO_x emissions under MARPOL Annex VI regulations for the following methods: SCR, HAM and internal engine modifications, marine gas oil, wet scrubbers, and liquefied natural gas propulsion. The model is tested empirically on a broad sample of 244 ships from the Swedish Commercial Fleet database for different operating contexts and fuel prices. Individual ship emission reductions and incremental abatement costs are calculated and the results are presented for the entire studied sample and per ship type class.

The study also explores the sensitivity of the chosen abatement methods to cost determinants and to main engine time operation under the light of economic performance and cost-efficiency. The results of the study aim to contribute to company abatement strategy.     

Cost assessment of ship emission reduction methods at berth: the case of the Port of Piraeus,Greece

This paper addresses the problem of ship exhaust emissions at the Port of Piraeus and undertakes the challenge of finding a cost-effective option for its reduction according to the upcoming requirements of the 2005/33/EU Directive, through analysis of port traffic data and the utilisation of the experience gained through previous studies in this field. The Port of Piraeus makes a particularly suitable reference for this type of work, since it is one of the busiest and highly urbanised ports in the world. It is shown that cruise ships calling at Piraeus fulfill the criteria of selection for such an exercise by virtue of their frequency of calling, berth power requirements and time spent at berth. It was found that, according to current practice, cruise ships at berth consume 11 034 tons of fuel and produce 620.1 tons of NO_X, 274.8 tons of SO₂ and 20.7 tons of PM, totalling to 915.6 tons of exhaust emissions per year. This represents an overall annual cost of 21 million euro, divided between private (bunkering) and external (emission damage) costs by 19.4% and 80.6%, respectively. With regard to the upcoming EU requirements for ship power at berth, it was found that, irrespective of whether operating on ultralow-sulphur (0.1% sulphur) fuel or on shore-side electricity, a sizeable reduction in emissions and associated external costs is achieved, whereas private costs were always higher than those of the current practice. Comparing the two options, it was further found that the shore-side electricity presents the lowest external costs but highest private costs, whereas the overall costs are around 25% lower than the onboard use of ultralow-sulphur fuel.