Emission Control Routes in Container Shipping between Korea-China

Purpose – As the severity of air pollution caused by the shipping industry is becoming evident, port authorities have started making efforts to reduce air pollutants. Considering the limitations of the currently implemented emission-control area (ECA) and vessel-speed reduction program (VSRP), which are narrow in the designation range and navigation behavior of ships, this study proposes an emission-control route (ECR) that can complement the aforementioned two environmental policies. Design/methodology – This study was conducted on Korea-China trade service routes (ports of call) of regular liners. This study employed vessel-specific data, which is from an automatic identification system (AIS), for 1,728 maritime transportations performed by 387 container vessels during one year (July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022). Performing a scenario analysis, this study analyzed the effectiveness of reduced air-pollutant emissions. Findings – This study found that the implementation of ECRs could increase average voyage time by 12.38%-25.28% but reduced air-pollutant emissions by 29.02%-43.54%. Additionally, the increase in average voyage times reduces the anchorage time of ships outside ports, providing an incentive for ship operators to voluntarily participate in compliance with regulations, thereby contributing to the establishment of a virtuous cycle of air-environmental policies related to ships. Originality/value – This study aims to verify the policy effectiveness by designing an ECR scope for liner trade routes between Korea and China. Therefore, originality and the value of this study includes conceptualizing the ECR system, analyzing its environmental performance, and exploring new policies that can be implemented while complementing existing policies.