Publication

Reducing Emissions from Goods Movement via Maritime Transportation in North America

Technical Guidance on Updating the Mexican National Ship Emissions Inventory and Collecting Ships Emissions Data from the United States and Canada

Description

This guidance document provides a framework for Mexico’s environment ministry, the Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (Semarnat), to develop marine vessel (ship) emissions inventories based on local data that accurately represent all domestic and international marine vessel traffic occurring in Mexico’s territorial waters. The methodology recommended in this document quantifies fuel usage and emissions, and accounts for improvements in fuel efficiency and reduced ship emissions through the use of low sulfur fuels, add-on controls, and operational changes such as slow steaming.

To a large extent, the approach presented in this document relies on vessel-specific data in order to develop the most accurate emission estimates. Obtaining vessel-specific data requires the collection of detailed data from individual ports, as well as compiling data via the vessel electronic Automatic Identification System (AIS). This framework applies to the development of ship emissions inventories for any inventory year, as it includes emission factors that represent uncontrolled engines as well as those that comply with current and future Emission Control Area (ECA) regulations. The approach presented here was developed based on consideration of US, Canadian and other international marine vessel air quality methodologies, in order to provide fuel and emission estimates of comparable international quality.

Additional Information