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Size matters: Exploring the importance of vessel characteristics to inform estimates of shipping emissions

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  • Walsh, Conor
  • Bows, Alice

Abstract

The decarbonisation agenda is placing increasing pressure on retailers to directly and indirectly influence greenhouse gas emissions associated with full supply chains. Transportation by sea is an important and significant element of these supply chains, yet the emissions associated with shipping, particularly international shipping, are often poorly accounted for. The magnitude of emissions embodied in a product is directly related to the distances involved in globalised product chains, where shipping can represent the most emission intensive stage per tonne of goods transported. Specifically, limited choice of ship type and size within assessment tools negates a fair estimate of product chain emissions. To address this, the correlation between ship emissions and size is quantified for a sample of United Kingdom (UK) port callings to estimate typical UK emission factors by ship type and size and to determine how well existing global data and available databases represent UK shipping activity. The results highlight that although ship type is a crucial determinant of emissions, vessel size is also important, particularly for smaller ships where the variance in emission factors is greatest. Existing, globally averaged data correlating ship size with emissions agree well with the UK data. However, the relatively higher proportion of smaller ships satisfying a UK demand for short sea shipping results in a skew towards higher typical emission factors, principally within the general cargo, product and chemical tanker categories. This bias is most visible when emissions per individual ship calling are estimated. Incorporating existing global correlation curves split by ship category into assessment tools would improve product chain estimates. However, user knowledge of likely ship size and type is an important prerequisite given the wide range of emission factors at the lower end of the scale, which could be a pivotal determinant in the absolute product chain emissions estimate.

Suggested Citation

  • Walsh, Conor & Bows, Alice, 2012. "Size matters: Exploring the importance of vessel characteristics to inform estimates of shipping emissions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 128-137.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:98:y:2012:i:c:p:128-137
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2012.03.015
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Wang, Kun & Fu, Xiaowen & Luo, Meifeng, 2015. "Modeling the impacts of alternative emission trading schemes on international shipping," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 35-49.
    2. Chai, Merlin & Bonthapalle, Dastagiri Reddy & Sobrayen, Lingeshwaren & Panda, Sanjib K. & Wu, Die & Chen, XiaoQing, 2018. "Alternating current and direct current-based electrical systems for marine vessels with electric propulsion drives," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 231(C), pages 747-756.
    3. Ernestos Tzannatos & Lefteris Stournaras, 2015. "EEDI analysis of Ro-Pax and passenger ships in Greece," Maritime Policy & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(4), pages 305-316, May.
    4. Diab, Fahd & Lan, Hai & Ali, Salwa, 2016. "Novel comparison study between the hybrid renewable energy systems on land and on ship," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 452-463.
    5. Hualong Yang & Xuefei Ma, 2019. "Uncovering CO 2 Emissions Patterns from China-Oriented International Maritime Transport: Decomposition and Decoupling Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-19, May.
    6. Ling-Chin, Janie & Roskilly, Anthony P., 2016. "Investigating the implications of a new-build hybrid power system for Roll-on/Roll-off cargo ships from a sustainability perspective – A life cycle assessment case study," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 181(C), pages 416-434.
    7. Paolo Iodice & Giuseppe Langella & Amedeo Amoresano, 2017. "A numerical approach to assess air pollution by ship engines in manoeuvring mode and fuel switch conditions," Energy & Environment, , vol. 28(8), pages 827-845, December.
    8. Ančić, Ivica & Šestan, Ante, 2015. "Influence of the required EEDI reduction factor on the CO2 emission from bulk carriers," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 107-116.
    9. Traut, Michael & Gilbert, Paul & Walsh, Conor & Bows, Alice & Filippone, Antonio & Stansby, Peter & Wood, Ruth, 2014. "Propulsive power contribution of a kite and a Flettner rotor on selected shipping routes," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 362-372.
    10. Dai, Wayne Lei & Fu, Xiaowen & Yip, Tsz Leung & Hu, Hao & Wang, Kun, 2018. "Emission charge and liner shipping network configuration – An economic investigation of the Asia-Europe route," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 291-305.

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