Air pollution from ships in ports: The socio-economic benefit of cold-ironing technology

The global environmental impact of air pollution from international shipping is increasing despite regulatory measures to curb the rise. According to European Environmental Agency forecasts, NOx emissions from international shipping in European waters are projected to increase and could be equal to that of land-based sources by 2020. Since 2010, the sulphur content in fuel used by hoteling vessels in EU ports has been subject to EU directive 2005/33/EC, which requires a maximum sulphur content of 0.1%. For gas oil, this requirement has applied since 2008. This paper addresses the socioeconomic impact of harmful air emissions from hoteling cruise ships with special emphasis on NOx, SOx and Particulate Matter (PM). The aimof the paper is to quantify the socioeconomic benefit fromthe perspective of society in terms of external health cost by offering a cost-benefit analysis of the potential positive effect of introducing cold-ironing technology at the new cruise ship pier in Copenhagen, Denmark.