Exploring the effectiveness of ECA policies in reducing pollutant emissions from merchant ships in Shanghai port waters

Using the AIS data in 2017, this study aims to investigate the effectiveness of five ECA policies on pollutant emissions from merchant ships in Shanghai Port waters. Results show that the estimated annual emissions from merchant ships including cargo ships, container ships and tankers are 3.4029 x 10(4) tons for NOx, 2.1037 x 10(4) tons for SO2, 2.291 x 10(3) tons for PM2.5, and 2.921 x 10(3) tons for PM10 in 2017, respectively. Impact analysis results highlight the fact that effects of each ECA policy vary significantly among different merchant ship types and different water areas. The amount of pollutant emissions from cargo ships (e.g., SO2 and PM2.5) is most affected by the ECA policy. However, the NOx emissions are not significantly changed under different ECA policies. Results also show that future ECA policies could cause a much greater decrease of pollutant emissions in water areas of Yangshan and Wusong.