Estimation of exhaust emission from ocean-going vessels in Hong Kong

As one of the busiest port in the world, ship emissions have become of great concern in Hong Kong. In this study, a detailed maritime emission inventory for ocean-going vessels (OGVs) in Hong Kong with the base year of 2007 was developed. The high-resolution vessel speed profiles determined using the Automatic Identification System (AIS) during 2009 were adopted for the speed data in the estimation. It was obtained that the total ship emissions from 37,150 voyages of OGVs in 2007 were 17,097, 8190, and 1035 tonnes accounting for 17%, 11%, and 16% of the total emissions of NOx, SO2, and PM10, respectively. The contribution of ship emissions during transiting was 60-68% for three pollutants while the emissions during hotelling were responsible for the remaining portions. From the emission spatial allocation, the shipping route along the East Lamma Channel and the berthing location of the Kwai Chung and Tsing Yi Container Port comprised the regions with the highest emissions. The OGV emissions in Hong Kong contributed 0.07% NOx, 0.05% SO2, and 0.06% PM10 out of the global total shipping emissions in 2007.

► A detailed maritime emission inventory for ocean-going vessels (OGVs) in Hong Kong ► High-resolution vessel speed profiles were adopted. ► Total ship emissions from OGVs during 2007 were 17,097 tonnes for NOx, 8190 tonnes for SO2 and 1035 tonnes for PM10. ► Ship under hotelling contributed significantly to the total OGV emissions. ► OGV emissions were geographically characterized to locate the regions with high emissions.