Authors : Muhammad Shahzad; Javeria Zahir

Volume/Issue : Volume 10 - 2025, Issue 5 - May

Google Scholar : https://tinyurl.com/3bkw9f8c

DOI : https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/25may1158

Note : A published paper may take 4-5 working days from the publication date to appear in PlumX Metrics, Semantic Scholar, and ResearchGate.

Abstract : Marine transportation is a critical component of the global economy, yet a major source of SOx and NOx emissions, causing air pollution. These emissions have adverse effects on the environment and human health, which has led to the management body, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), putting in place the MARPOL Annex VI regulation. This paper examines the major issues and gaps to analyze critical aspects of how the IMO 2050 emission can be achieved under the MARPOL Annex VI framework. Survey results from maritime professionals provide insight into main concern areas: high implementation costs of new technologies, insufficient infrastructure of alternative fuels, variation in enforcement depending on region, low penetration and training, and the absence of monitoring indicators. The results revealed that the aforementioned challenges correlate with the activity of global frameworks like the BA to standardize check and balance mechanisms under MARPOL Annex VI. To this end, the study highlights the roles of international cooperation, technologies, and capacity-development endeavors to fill these gaps. It is when performing its operations, using the mechanisms for the uniform enforcement of standards, and training, key principles facilitating compliance and thus decreasing the number of emissions from ships are seen. This research therefore, aids in the aimed discussion of sustainable shipment and offers valuable information to policymakers, regulatory agencies, and involved parties that seek to attain the IMO 2050 goals and embrace green shipping.

Keywords : MARPOL Annex VI, Sustainability, IMO 2050 target, Challenges.

References :

1. Agarwal, A. K., & Valera, H. (2022). Potential and Challenges of Low Carbon Fuels for Sustainable Transport. Springer Nature.
2. Brito, T. L. F. (2019). Understanding the Diffusion of Alternative Fuels Technologies for Transport. https://doi.org/10.11606/t.106.2019.tde-02062020-112445
3. Bullock, S., Mason, J., & Larkin, A. (2022). The urgent case for stronger climate targets for international shipping. Climate Policy, 22(3), 301-309.
4. Caesar, L.D., 2023. Emerging Dynamics of Training, Recruiting and Retaining a Sustainable Maritime Workforce: A Skill Resilience Framework. Sustainability, 16(1), p.239.
5. Dawangi, Ivan Dewanda, and Muhammad Arif Budiyanto. “Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan Development Using Machine Learning: Case Study of CO2 Emissions of Ship Activities at Container Port.” International Journal of Technology, vol. 12, no. 5, International Journal of Technology, Dec. 2021, p. 1048. Crossref, doi:10.14716/ijtech.v12i5.5183.
6. Dewan, M.H. and Godina, R., 2023. Effective Training of Seafarers on Energy Efficient Operations of Ships in the Maritime Industry. Procedia Computer Science, 217, pp.1688-1698.
7. Dewan, M.H. and Godina, R., 2023. Roles and challenges of seafarers for implementation of energy efficiency operational measures onboard ships. Marine Policy, 155, p.105746.
8. Dewan, M.H. and Godina, R., 2024. Unveiling seafarers' awareness and knowledge on energy-efficient and low-carbon shipping: A decade of IMO regulation enforcement. Marine Policy, 161, p.106037.
9. DNV. (2022). Seafarer training and skills for decarbonized shipping. Retrieved from: https://www.dnv.com/Publications/seafarer-training-and-skills-for-decarbonized-shipping-235124Fourth Greenhouse Gas Study 2020. Available at. https://www.imo.org/en/OurWork/Environment/Pages/Fourth-IMO-Greenhouse-Gas-Study-2020.aspx 
10. Energy, A. B. I. (2021). Role of Hydrogen in Industrial Decarbonization: A Case for Ammonia Industry in the United States.
11. Gössling, S., Meyer-Habighorst, C., & Humpe, A. (2021). A global review of marine air pollution policies, their scope and effectiveness. Ocean & Coastal Management, 212, 105824.
12. Griffiths, S., Sovacool, B. K., Kim, J., Bazilian, M., & Uratani, J. M. (2021). Industrial decarbonization via hydrogen: A critical and systematic review of developments, socio-technical systems and policy options. Energy Research & Social Science, 80, 102208. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2021.102208
13. Harris, J. and Sunley, P., 2021. Future Skills Requirements for a Global Centre of Maritime Training and Education: Skills Challenges for the Solent (Doctoral dissertation, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Southampton). https://www.imo.org/en/MediaCentre/HotTopics/Pages/Cutting-GHG-emissions.aspx
14. IM, Nam-kyun, et al. “Developing and Applying a Ship Operation Energy Efficiency Evaluation Index Using SEEMP: a Case Study of South Korea.” Journal of Marine Science and Application, vol. 18, no. 2, Springer Science and Business Media LLC, Apr. 2019, pp. 185–94. Crossref, doi:10.1007/s11804-019-00090
15. IMO’s work to cut GHG emissions from ships. Available at.Ingrid Sidenvall Jegou (2023) Net-zero by 2050: Achieving shipping decarbonization through industry momentum and the new ambition at IMO. Available athttps://unctad.org/news/transport-newsletter-article-no-108-net-zero-by-2050 
16. Karatuğ, Çağlar, et al. “Decision support system for ship energy efficiency management based on an optimization model.” Energy, vol. 292, Elsevier BV, Apr. 2024, p. 130318. Crossref, doi:10.1016/j.energy.2024.130318.
17. Kouvatsou, D.V., 2022. Decarbonization of International Shipping: Perspectives and Challenges (Doctoral dissertation, University of Piraeus (Greece)).
18. Lind, M., Lehmacher, W., & Ward, R. (2023). Maritime Decarbonization: Practical Tools, Case Studies and Decarbonization Enablers. Springer Nature.
19. Lochmiller, C. R. (2021). Conducting thematic analysis with qualitative data. The Qualitative Report, 26(6), 2029-2044.
20. Ludwig, A. (2023). The IMO’s approach to climate change mitigation: Regulatory and policy framework for reducing GHG emissions (Master's thesis, UiT Norges arktiske universitet).
21. Mahía Prados, J. M., Arias Fernández, I., Romero Gómez, M., & Naveiro Parga, M. (2024). The decarbonisation of the maritime sector: Horizon 2050. Brodogradnja: An International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering for Research and Development, 75(2), 1-26.
22. Marotta, V. (2023). Implementation of impact mitigation measures for maritime transport: an analysis of alternative waste management practices, air emissions monitoring and GHG reduction.
23. Mat Roni, S., Djajadikerta, H. G., Mat Roni, S., & Djajadikerta, H. G. (2021). Preliminary data analysis: An analysis before the analysis. Data Analysis with SPSS for Survey-based Research, 15-54.
24. McGrath, S., Zhao, X., Steele, R., Thombs, B. D., Benedetti, A., & DEPRESsion Screening Data (DEPRESSD) Collaboration. (2020). Estimating the sample mean and standard deviation from commonly reported quantiles in meta-analysis. Statistical methods in medical research, 29(9), 2520-2537.
25. Mohammed, A. F., Sultan, S. M., Lee, J., & Lim, S. (2023). Deep-reinforcement-learning-based IoT sensor data cleaning framework for enhanced data analytics. Sensors, 23(4), 1791.
26. MEPC, R., 2023. 2023 IMO strategy on reduction of GHG emissions from SHIPS.
27. Oxoli, D., Sabri, S., Rajabifard, A., & Brovelli, M. A. (2020). A classification technique for local multivariate clusters and outliers of spatial association. Transactions in GIS, 24(5), 1227-1247.
28. Piccolo, V. (2023). GHG Emissions From Shipping: How to Overcome Persistent Challenges. Kopela, S. (2017). Making ships cleaner: Reducing air pollution from international shipping. Review of European, Comparative & International Environmental Law, 26(3), 231-242.
29. Raising Ambition Levels at the IMO for 2050: An Overview of the Key Issues at Stake at MEPC 80. (2023).
30. Ramirez-Corredores, M. M., Goldwasser, M. R., & De Sousa Aguiar, E. F. (2023). Decarbonization as a Route Towards Sustainable Circularity. Springer Nature.
31. Serra, P., & Fancello, G. (2020). Towards the IMO’s GHG goals: A critical overview of the perspectives and challenges of the main options for decarbonizing international shipping. Sustainability, 12(8), 3220. Laurent, F. E. D. I. Air pollution from ships: towards harmonization or atomization of rules? A plea in favour of a feasible and universal regime for shipping industry.
32. Roni, S. M., & Djajadikerta, H. G. (2021). Data analysis with SPSS for survey-based research. Singapore: Springer.
33. Sahin, A. U. (2024). IMO 2023 Revised Emission Reduction Strategy and Regulatory Challenges of Maritime Decarbonization. European Journal of Commercial Contract Law, 16(1), 25-33.
34. Santos, F. (2020). Modern methods for old data: An overview of some robust methods for outliers detection with applications in osteology. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 32, 102423.
35. Turner, J. R. (2020). Standard Deviation. In Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine (pp. 2132-2133). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
36. Wada, K. (2020). Outliers in official statistics. Japanese Journal of Statistics and Data Science, 3(2), 669-691.
37. Venkadasalam, S., 2023. Addressing the Training Gap for Ammonia-Fuelled Propulsion Systems: A Literature Review and Proposal for a New Job Training Program. Asean Journal of Engineering Education, 7(2), pp.42-50.
38. Waliszyn, Aleksandr, et al. “Overview of the Ship Efficiency Management Plan for a Seafaring Model Ship Based on the IMO MEPC 231 (65) Resolution.” New Trends in Production Engineering, vol. 1, no. 1, Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Oct. 2018, pp. 631–37. Crossref, doi:10.2478/ntpe-2018-0079.
39. Wang, W. (2023). Marine Spatial Planning in Canadian Arctic Shipping Governance: Exploring its application in the Northern Low-Impact Shipping Corridors Initiative. Ocean Yearbook Online, 37(1), 361–407. https://doi.org/10.1163/22116001-03701016
40. Zhang, Y., Wang, H., Gao, W., Wang, F., Zhou, N., Kammen, D. M., & Ying, X. (2019). A Survey of the Status and Challenges of Green Building Development in Various Countries. Sustainability, 11(19), 5385. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11195385