Towards the declaration of the strait of Gibraltar as an environmental controlled area.

The emissions from maritime transportation, both greenhouse gases and traditional pollutants, are harmful to the ecosystem and human health. The large quantities of these pollutants emitted by shipping in the Strait of Gibraltar could be reduced if the Strait was declared an Emission Control Area (ECA). Using the SENEM1 emissions model, this study aims to compare the current situation and a possible future situation as an ECA. Unlike other models, SENEM1 includes all the variables - both ship and external conditions - that influence the calculation of emissions. Comparing only the 2017 emissions from ships sailing in the Strait of Gibraltar with the designated ECA simulation, reductions of up to 75.8 % in NOx, 73.4 % in PM2.5 and 94 % in SOx were collected. It would be a wakeup call for the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the governments responsible to recommend that the Strait of Gibraltar be designated an ECA zone.

Estimating the health and economic burden of shipping related air pollution in the Iberian Peninsula.

Air pollution is the leading cause of the global burden of disease from the environment, entailing substantial economic consequences. International shipping is a significant source of NOx, SO2, CO and PM, which can cause known negative health impacts. Thus, this study aimed to estimate the health impacts and the associated external costs of ship-related air pollution in the Iberian Peninsula for 2015. Moreover, the impact of CAP2020 regulations on 2015 emissions was studied. Log-linear functions based on WHO-HRAPIE relative risks for PM2.5 and NO2 all-cause mortality and morbidity health end-points, and integrated exposure-response functions for PM2.5 cause-specific mortality, were used to calculate the excess burden of disease. The number of deaths and years of life lost (YLL) due to NO2 ship-related emissions was similar to those of PM2.5 ship-related emissions. Estimated all-cause premature deaths attributable to PM2.5 ship-related emissions represented an average increase of 7.7% for the Iberian Peninsula when compared to the scenario without shipping contribution. Costs of around 9 100 million € yr-1 (for value of statistical life approach - VSL) and 1 825 million € yr-1 (for value of life year approach - VOLY) were estimated for PM and NO2 all-cause burden of disease. For PM2.5 cause-specific mortality, a cost of around 3 475 million € yr-1 (for VSL approach) and 851 million € yr-1 (for VOLY approach) were estimated. Costs due to PM and NO2 all-cause burden represented around 0.72% and 0.15% of the Iberian Peninsula gross domestic product in 2015, respectively for VSL and VOLY approaches. For PM2.5 cause-specific mortality, costs represented around 0.28% and 0.06%, respectively, for VSL and VOLY approaches. If CAP2020 regulations had been applied in 2015, around 50% and 30% respectively of PM2.5 and NO2 ship-related mortality would been avoided. These results show that air pollution from ships has a considerable impact on health and associated costs affecting the Iberian Peninsula.

Calculating ships' real emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases: Towards zero uncertainties.

The energy output and emissions from maritime transport have increased considerably over the last two decades. Countries in Europe, North America and Asia use different methodologies to calculate these important variables; two of the main methods used are known as the Ship Traffic Emission Assessment Model (STEAM) and the Ship Traffic, Energy and Environmental Model (STEEM). Furthermore, the International Maritime Organization has recently required additional parameters to be included in the calculation, but the procedure for calculating these is not defined. In this paper, a model named SENEM (Ship's ENergy Efficiency Model) is proposed to calculate the power delivered in real time by the main engine taking into account all the equations required for defining and calculating all these parameters together with the efficiency of both the shaft and propulsion system. This model has been tested and validated on board four Ro-Pax ships operating across the Strait of Gibraltar - three vessels powered by waterjet and the fourth by propeller. The results show differences of up to 40% compared with other models.