Estimating shipping emissions in the region of the Sea of Marmara, Turkey

Ship emissions are significantly increasing globally and have remarkable impact on air quality on sea and land. These emissions contribute serious adverse health and environmental effects. Territorial waters, inland seas and ports are the regions most affected by ship emissions. As an inland sea the Sea of Marmara is an area that has too much ship traffic. Since the region of the Marmara is highly urbanized, emissions from ships affect human health and the overall environment. In this paper exhaust gas emissions from ships in the Sea of Marmara and the Turkish Straits are calculated by utilizing the data acquired in 2003. Main engine types, fuel types, operations types, navigation times and speeds of vessels are taken into consideration in the study. Total emissions from ships in the study area were estimated as 5,451,224 t y^{- 1} for CO₂, 111,039 t y^{- 1} for NO_x, 87,168 t y^{- 1} for SO₂, 20,281 t y^{- 1} for CO, 5801 t y^{- 1} for VOC, 4762 t y^{- 1} for PM. The shipping emissions in the region are equivalent to 11% of NO_x 0.1% of CO and 0.12% of PM of the corresponding total emissions in Turkey. The shipping emissions in the area are 46% of NO_x, 25% of PM and 1.5% of CO of road traffic emissions in Turkey data between which and correspond to a higher level than aircraft emissions and rail emissions in Turkey.