An investigation on the effects of ship sourced emissions in Izmir Port, Turkey

Maritime transportation is a major source of climate change and air pollution. Shipping emissions cause severe impacts on health and environment. These effects of emissions are emerged especially in territorial waters, inland seas, canals, straits, bays, and port regions. In this paper, exhaust gas emissions from ships in Izmir Port, which is one of the main ports in Turkey, are calculated by the ship activity-based methodology. Total emissions from ships in the port is estimated as 1923 ton y⁻¹ for NO(x), 1405 ton y⁻¹ for SO₂, 82753 ton y⁻¹ for CO₂, ton y⁻¹ for HC, and 165 ton y⁻¹ for PM in the year 2007. These emissions are classified regarding operation modes and types of ships. The results are compared with the other studies including amounts of exhaust pollutants generated by ships. According to the findings, it is clear that the ships calling the Izmir Port are important air polluting causes of the Izmir city and its surroundings.