Shore power systems, an alternative energy source to ships at berth, have the potential to improve air quality at ports and surrounding areas. This study assessed the reduction of four major air pollutants: PM10, PM2.5, NOx, and SO2, from adopting shore power at the Port of Kaohsiung. The reduction was assessed in two scenarios, S1 and S2, with a capacity to provide shore power to 342 and 780 ships at berth, respectively. The emissions from the ships were estimated based on the operation loads of the auxiliary engines, average time at berth, and emission factors. Additionally, the AERMOD model was used to simulate the ground-level dispersion of the four pollutants to the surrounding urban areas. The simulation results showed that the elevated areas in the city were vulnerable to ship emissions, especially for NOx. The maximum simulated contribution at ground level from S1 and S2 were 78.8 µg m -3 and 147 µg m -3 for NOx, and 20.1 µg m -3 and 42.5 µg m -3 for SO2, respectively; while the results for PM10 and PM2.5 were insignificant. The reduction benefit was then calculated as the ratio of the simulated air pollutant concentration to the observed concentration at the local air quality monitoring station. The highest reduction benefit of shore power adoption at the port was for NOx and SO2 emissions, with average reduction benefits of 8.70% ± 2.10% and 11.74% ± 2.95%, respectively. In conclusion, shore power adoption at the Port of Kaohsiung would greatly reduce air pollution in the port city, especially in residential areas, and be considered a sustainable solution to improving air quality and combating climate change.

The paper presents a comparison of the fuel oil (FO) consumption and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of a container ship’s 8000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) during oceanographic navigation. The evaluation has two types of FOs: a 3.4% heavy fuel oil with desulfurization (HFOWD) and a 0.5% very-low-sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO), based on the sulfur cap policy of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The results show the average FO consumption at 130 tons/day of HFOWD and 141 tons/day of VLSFO, which means shifting to VLSFO increases fuel consumption 8.4% more than the HFOWD. The average CO2 emissions are 429 tons/day of the HFOWD and 471 tons/day of the VLSFO, indicating an 9.5% increase in CO2 emissions when the IMO adopts the low-sulfur fuel policy. Moreover, the VLSFO blending of various chemicals further deteriorates and wears out the main engine of the ship. IMO’s low-sulfur fuel policy significantly reduced the emission of sulfur oxides (SOX) and particulate matter emissions. Still, we should not ignore the fact that adopting VLSFO may cause more CO2 emissions. Therefore, while switching to low-sulfur fuels, the maritime industry should improve the related energy efficiency to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

This study presents the real-time energy consumption of a container ship’s generator engine on two round-trips from the West Coast of the US to the East Asian ports and analyzes the ship’s PM10, PM2.5, NOx, SOx, CO, and HC emissions, shore power usage, and factors affecting energy consumption. The average total energy consumption and air emissions for the two round trips were 1.72 GWh and 42.1 tons, respectively. The transpacific crossing segment had the highest average energy consumption (2848 ± 361 kWh) and pollutant emission rate (78.9 ± 10.0 kg h−1). On the other hand, the West Coast of the US had the least energy consumption due to shore power adoption. Furthermore, switching from heavy fuel oil (HFO) to ultra-low-sulfur fuel oil (ULSFO) greatly reduced the emissions of PM and SOx by > 96% and NOx by 17.0%. However, CO and HC increased by 16.9% and 36.1%, respectively, implying incomplete combustion. In addition, the energy consumption was influenced by the number of reefers and wind. Therefore, this study recommends further research on energy-efficient reefers, generator engine optimization, and shore power adoption to reduce emissions from container ships.

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