Projects

Project Profile: ShipTRASE

Global shipping: Linking policy and economics to biogeochemical cycling and air-sea interaction

Who?

Principal Investigators: Anna Rutgersson, Uppsala University, Sweden
Partners: Christa Marandino, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Germany
Nele Matz-Lück, Kiel University, Germany
Laura Recuero Virto, Polytechnic School of Paris, and European Institute for Marine Studies (Brest), France
Kent Salo, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden
Sponsors: National Research Agency, France
Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Germany
Swedish Research Council for Env, Agric Sci & Spatial Planning, Sweden

What?

Full Project Title: Global shipping: Linking policy and economics to biogeochemical cycling and air-sea interaction
Full Call Title: Oceans2018
Website:

Why?

Project Objective: Shipping is the most widely used medium for transport of goods internationally and will continue to increase. Although shipping is a carbon-efficient transport medium, there is an increasing focus on its broader environmental consequences. For a sustainable and equitable use of the oceans, as well as minimizing impacts of global change, a further development to sustainable shipping, or green shipping, is needed. Ship-building and operational standards are introduced and area-based instruments, such as emission control areas (ECAs), are established. However, lack of regulations, vague monitoring, unclear environmental impacts and economic uncertainty might cause problems for industry and society. In ShipTRASE, the environmental, economic and legal aspects of both near-term and long-term solutions to shipping emission reduction and control mechanisms will be analysed. The potential environmental impacts on the lower atmosphere and upper ocean include those from pollutant emission from ship smokestacks and liquid discharge, as well as increased methane-induced greenhouse warming. With our trans-disciplinary team (atmospheric sciences, chemical oceanography, international law, environmental economy and engineering), we will investigate how the use of scrubbers and alternative fuels impact the environment and feedback on economics and regulation. In addition, we will involve stakeholders in both Germany and Sweden (industry, local government, large scale regulation) to discuss these topics, share information and outcomes, and co-design further scientific research. The work involved will use various platforms: in-situ measurements, scrubber laboratory measurements, numerical modeling, cost-benefit analysis, and survey methodologies. ShipTRASE will deliver an economic and environmental consequence analysis of implementation of control areas. In addition, we will assess the impact of policy settings and legal regulation. A methodology for making such analysis is also one important outcome of the project.
Call Objective: This CRA call aims to contribute to the overall challenge of ocean sustainability, using the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #14 (Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development) as the overall framework. This call encourages global partnerships of academics and non-academics to address one or more of the following topics: 1) Pathways toward a sustainable and equitable use of oceans, 2) accounting for and minimizing impacts of global change.

Where?

Regions:
Countries: France, Germany, Sweden

When?

Duration: 54 Months
Call Date: 29 October 2018
Project Award Date: 12 February 2020