Impact of low-sulfur ships’ fuel oil regulation on air quality around Kaohsiung Port

IF 3.1 3区工程技术 Q2 ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

International Journal of Sustainable Transportation Pub Date : 2026-06-03 Epub Date: 2025-12-29 DOI:10.1080/15568318.2025.2609923

Pei-Chun Lin , Pei-Fen Kuo , Yun-Hsuan Liang

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has implemented stricter sulfur content limits and the IMO 2020 sulfur limit took effect from January, 2020. Taiwan’s Maritime and Port Bureau not only implemented a low-sulfur fuel policy for all international commercial ports in Taiwan in 2019, ahead of the IMO 2020 implementation, but also began incentive programs in 2018. This study investigates whether Taiwan’s implementation of the IMO low-sulfur fuel policy effectively reduces emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) from vessels around Kaohsiung Port. The study employed the SARIMA time series model to predict the SO₂ concentration. Using the difference-in-differences (DID) model, the study found that the 2018 incentive program resulted in an approximate SO₂ concentration reduction of 1.73 ppb. Implementation of the low-sulfur policy in Kaohsiung Port in 2019 resulted in a reduction of about 2.15 ppb. Implementation of the IMO 2020 regulation in 2020 led to a reduction of approximately 1.73 ppb. Such policy is proven to reduce SO₂ emissions. Our research results can assist port management and the government to initiate the next phase of sulfur content limits for ship fuel by examining regional differences in air pollution and the efficiency of air pollution control in different port locations.

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低硫船舶燃油管制对高雄港周边空气品质之影响

国际海事组织（IMO）实施了更严格的硫含量限制，IMO 2020硫含量限制将于2020年1月生效。台湾海事局不仅在IMO 2020实施之前，于2019年在台湾所有国际商业港口实施了低硫燃料政策，而且在2018年开始了奖励计划。本研究旨在探讨台湾实施国际海事组织（IMO）低硫燃料政策后，是否能有效减少高雄港附近船舶的二氧化硫（SO2）排放。本研究采用SARIMA时间序列模型对SO2浓度进行预测。使用差异中的差异（DID）模型，该研究发现，2018年的激励计划导致二氧化硫浓度减少了大约1.73 ppb。2019年，高雄港实施低硫政策，减少了约2.15 ppb。2020年实施国际海事组织2020法规，减少了约1.73 ppb。这样的政策已被证明可以减少二氧化硫的排放。我们的研究结果可以帮助港口管理和政府通过检查空气污染的区域差异和不同港口位置的空气污染控制效率来启动下一阶段的船舶燃料硫含量限制。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

International Journal of Sustainable Transportation Multiple-

CiteScore

8.90

自引率

2.60%

发文量

期刊介绍： The International Journal of Sustainable Transportation provides a discussion forum for the exchange of new and innovative ideas on sustainable transportation research in the context of environmental, economical, social, and engineering aspects, as well as current and future interactions of transportation systems and other urban subsystems. The scope includes the examination of overall sustainability of any transportation system, including its infrastructure, vehicle, operation, and maintenance; the integration of social science disciplines, engineering, and information technology with transportation; the understanding of the comparative aspects of different transportation systems from a global perspective; qualitative and quantitative transportation studies; and case studies, surveys, and expository papers in an international or local context. Equal emphasis is placed on the problems of sustainable transportation that are associated with passenger and freight transportation modes in both industrialized and non-industrialized areas. All submitted manuscripts are subject to initial evaluation by the Editors and, if found suitable for further consideration, to peer review by independent, anonymous expert reviewers. All peer review is single-blind. Submissions are made online via ScholarOne Manuscripts.