Ship life cycle greenhouse gas emissions

The international maritime transport sector is known as one of the oldest industries in the world. Ships are used for various purposes from transportation to military and they are considered vital for global trade since their main use is for the transport of goods around the world. Currently, the international commercial shipping sector is carrying out nearly nine out of ten tons of the global cargo transportation needs. Despite the fact that the effect of shipping emissions to global warming is limited when compared to other modes of transport, greenhouse gas emissions constitute a serious issue for shipping as well. Just as any other product, a ship has a life cycle which is expected to last 20–30 years or more. A ship’s life cycle may be divided into four main phases: manufacturing, operation, maintenance and dismantling/recycling. The great portion of emissions occurs during the operational phase due to the propulsion and energy demands of the ship however greenhouse gases are emitted also in other phases of the ship life cycle. In this study, a life cycle concept for ships is comprehensively described and some illustrative emission results are provided in particular for ship greenhouse gas emissions (GHG’s). © 2016, Springer International Publishing Switzerland.