The activity-based methodology to assess ship emissions - A review

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Marine Engineering
• Atmospheric Chemistry

Background:

• Maritime sector emissions significantly contribute to global anthropogenic pollution.
• Ship emissions impact human health and climate change.
• Activity-based methodologies are increasingly used to estimate these emissions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review activity-based methodologies for estimating ship emissions since 2010.
• To summarize available input data for these estimations.
• To identify best practices and data gaps in maritime emission inventories.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature review of 26 articles published since 2010.
• Analysis of input data including ship technical details, activity, engines, fuels, load, and emission factors.
• Evaluation of methods for predicting ship power and improving emission factors.

Main Results:

• Hotelling (in-port) phases contribute most to emissions, with containerships being major emitters.
• Combining Lloyd's Register data with port, manufacturer, and owner data is optimal for ship information.
• AIS data is the preferred method for tracking ship activity and movements.
• Hollenbach (1998) method and load balancing schemes are recommended for power prediction.

Conclusions:

• Accurate maritime emission inventories require more precise input data.
• Further on-board measurement campaigns are needed to improve emission factors.
• Enhanced data precision is essential for developing effective global environmental policies for the maritime sector.