Atmos.  Chem.  Phys.,  15,  10087-10092,  2015
www.  atmos-chem-phys  .net/15/10087/2015/
doi:10.5194/acp-15-10087-2015
©  Author(s)  2015.  CC  Attribution  3.0  License.

Atmospheric  f
Chemistry  |
and  Physics  %

Monitoring  compliance  with  sulfur  content  regulations  of  shipping
fuel  by  in  situ  measurements  of  ship  emissions
L.  Kattner 1  2 ,  B.  Mathieu-Uffing 1  2 ,  J.  P.  Burrows 1 ,  A.  Richter 1 ,  S.  Schmolke 2 ,  A.  Seyler 1 ,  and  F.  Wittrock 1
institute  for  Environmental  Physics,  University  of  Bremen,  Germany
2 Federal  Maritime  and  Hydrographic  Agency,  Hamburg,  Germany
Correspondence  to:  L.  Kattner  (lisa.kattner@bsh.de)
Received:  12  March  2015  -  Published  in  Atmos.  Chem.  Phys.  Discuss.:  15  April  2015
Revised:  3  August  2015  -  Accepted:  13  August  2015  -  Published:  9  September  2015

Abstract.  In  1997  the  International  Maritime  Organisation
(IMO)  adopted  MARPOL  Annex  VI  to  prevent  air  pollution
by  shipping  emissions.  It  regulates,  among  other  issues,  the
sulfur  content  in  shipping  fuels,  which  is  transformed  into  the
air  pollutant  sulfur  dioxide  (SO2)  during  combustion.  Within
designated  Sulfur  Emission  Control  Areas  (SECA),  the  sulfur ­
  content  was  limited  to  1  %,  and  on  1  January  2015,  this
limit  was  further  reduced  to  0.1  %.  Here  we  present  the  set-up
and  measurement  results  of  a  permanent  ship  emission  monitoring ­
  site  near  Hamburg  harbour  in  the  North  Sea  SECA.
Trace  gas  measurements  are  conducted  with  in  situ  instruments ­
  and  a  data  set  from  September  2014  to  January  2015
is  presented.  By  combining  measurements  of  carbon  dioxide ­
  (CO2)  and  SO2  with  ship  position  data,  it  is  possible  to
deduce  the  sulfur  fuel  content  of  individual  ships  passing  the
measurement  station,  thus  facilitating  the  monitoring  of  compliance ­
  of  ships  with  the  IMO  regulations.  While  compliance
is  almost  100  %  for  the  2014  data,  it  decreases  only  very  little
in  2015  to  95.4%  despite  the  much  stricter  limit.  We  analysed ­
  more  than  1400  ship  plumes  in  total  and  for  months
with  favourable  conditions,  up  to  40  %  of  all  ships  entering
and  leaving  Hamburg  harbour  could  be  checked  for  their  sulfur ­
  fuel  content.

1  Introduction
Shipping  is  a  major  part  of  the  global  transportation  sector
and  its  importance  is  still  growing.  According  to  the  United
Nations  Conference  on  Trade  and  Development’s  Review  of
Maritime  Transport,  in  2013  a  total  of  9.6  billion  tons  were
transported  via  ships.  This  corresponds  to  a  growth  rate  of

this  sector  of  3.8  %  per  year  (UNCTAD,  2014).  Despite  being
the  most  efficient  and  least  emitting  mode  of  transportation
per  ton  of  cargo  compared  to  land-based  or  airborne  transport, ­
  shipping  emissions  nevertheless  are  a  considerable  fraction ­
  of  total  anthropogenic  emissions  and  have  a  significant
impact  on  the  air  quality  of  coastal  areas.  70  %  of  shipping
emissions  are  produced  within  400  km  off  the  coasts  (Corbett
et  ah,  1999)  and  can  cause  severe  health  and  environmental
problems  to  these  regions  (Corbett  et  ah,  2007;  Eyring  et  ah,
2010).
The  International  Maritime  Organisation  (IMO),  an
agency  of  the  UN  with  171  member  states,  has  decided  on
measures  to  limit  the  impact  of  shipping  emissions  by  adopting ­
  MARPOL  Annex  VI  in  1997.  One  part  of  these  measures, ­
  and  on  which  this  study  focuses,  is  the  reduction  of
sulfur  in  ship  fuel  in  order  to  reduce  sulfur  dioxide  (SO2)
emissions.  When  oxidised,  SO2  forms  small  sulfate  particles,
which  have  an  effect  on  cloud  properties  and  change  their  reflectivity ­
  and  lifetime  (Latter  et  ah,  2007).  SO2  emissions  by
ships  lead  to  an  enhanced  sulfate  concentration  of  10-50%
in  coastal  areas  (Matthias  et  ah,  2010),  which  increases  acidification ­
  by  acid  rain  (Endresen  et.  ah,  2003).  Gaseous  SO2  as
well  as  sulfate  particles  have  health  effects  on  humans,  when
inhaled.  SO2  is  produced  during  the  combustion  process  by
burning  sulfur  that  is  contained  in  the  fuel.  Ship  engines  have
been  developed  to  be  able  to  burn  heavy  fuel  oils  (HFO)  that
have  a  very  high  sulfur  content  of  up  to  several  percent  and
are  basically  a  waste  product  of  oil  refineries  and  thus  very
cheap.
The  IMO  regulations  concerning  sulfur  content  came  into
force  in  2005  and  were  revised  in  2008;  the  revision  came
into  force  in  2010.  For  all  oceans  worldwide,  the  sulfur  con-Published

  by  Copernicus  Publications  on  behalf  of  the  European  Geosciences  Union.