Temporal estimation of air emissions due to maritime activities in the main ports of Panama

Maritime transport has seen significant global growth, making it one of the most efficient and safest methods of moving cargo. However, this expansion has also led to negative consequences, such as increased air pollution. Studying port emissions is crucial, particularly in developing countries where information is scarce. This study estimates emissions from Panama's five major ports between 2009 and 2023, aiming to establish a baseline and evaluate changes in criteria pollutants (SO₂, PM₁₀, PM_2.5, CO) and NOx over time. The bottom-up methodology of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was applied to calculate emissions. In addition, three fuel sulfur content scenarios were analyzed for SO₂, PM₁₀, and PM_2.5: 3.5 % S m/m, 0.5 % S m/m (current scenario), and 0.1 % S m/m (potential emission control areas scenario). The results show that the port of Manzanillo leads the contribution with 36.92 % of emissions, followed by the ports of Balboa (20.22 %), Coco Solo Norte (15.88 %), Cristobal (13.71 %) and Rodman (13.27 %). It was also observed that since 2021, 90.81 % of the emissions come from container ships. This shows that this is the predominant activity in Panama's maritime sector, followed by RoRo vessels, which contribute approximately 9 % of the emissions. In general, our results indicate that the Panamanian ports have lower NOx emissions than international ports.