Provision of Emission Control Area and the impact on shipping route choice and ship emissions

Abstract

This paper investigates the impacts of Emission Control Areas (ECAs) on aspects of global shipping. As the direction and degree of climate change have become increasingly well documented, emissions from ships have received more attention from the shipping industry. By using data for the Asia–Europe route, we model the route-choosing behaviour of liner shipping though possible ECA in the Mediterranean Sea. Our investigation reveals that, if an ECA is established, a considerable portion of ships will re-route around the ECA and regional emissions will be excessive under certain conditions. Small ships are more inclined to re-route than big ships. Therefore, despite the potential reduction of ship emissions in one area, our findings suggest that more internationally coordinating effort should be directed towards reducing ship emissions.