A study on compliance strategy towards sulfur emission reduction of shipping companies and its influence factors

The regulation about sulfur emissions which was introduced by the International Marine Organization took effect in 2020. After that, shipping companies have to take measures to reduce sulfur emissions. Presently, the emission reduction compliance options commonly used by shipping enterprises mainly include using alternative fuels, installing scrubbers, using liquefied natural gas fuels, using hybrid batteries and using eco engine. To analyze the factors impacting shipping companies decisions on different compliance options, the Multinomial Logistic regression was employed, considering the influencing factors of ship characteristics, company characteristics and market factors. The result shows that vessels with large deadweight tonnages prefer to install scrubbers, use LNG fuel or alternative fuels. They may further make more specific decisions based on the ship’s age and speed. Small-scale shipping companies with a large number of small and medium-sized vessels mainly consider using alternative fuels or hybrid batteries. Policy makers can encourage shipping companies to install scrubbers or use LNG fuel by appropriately providing shipping companies with certain subsidies.