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Towards Net-Zero Shipping Innovation and Integration in Maritime Decarbonization
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Towards Net-Zero Shipping Innovation and Integration in Maritime Decarbonization

A special issue of Journal of Marine Science and Engineering (ISSN 2077-1312). This special issue belongs to the section "Marine Environmental Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2026 | Viewed by 7072

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Luis Alfonso Díaz-Secades

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Guest Editor
Department of Marine Science and Technology, University of Oviedo, 33203 Gijón, Spain
Interests: shipbuilding; waste energy recovery; maritime decarbonization; decision support systems
Prof. Dr. Jonas W. Ringsberg

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Division of Marine Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden
Interests: marine renewable energy; ship dynamics; ship performance modelling and analysis; structural integrity analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Carlos Guedes Soares

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centre for Marine Technology and Ocean Engineering (CENTEC), Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal
Interests: renewable energy offshore; floating structures; ship hydrodynamics; numerical modelling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The global urgency to achieve net-zero emissions is driving transformative changes across all sectors and systems. This Special Issue of JMSE, “Towards Net-Zero Shipping Innovation and Integration in Maritime Decarbonization”, invites high-quality original research articles and comprehensive reviews that address innovative pathways toward a low-carbon maritime transportation sector. We seek contributions that explore energy system optimization, the sustainable use of alternative fuels, waste energy recovery technologies, decision support systems, and other strategies for maritime decarbonization.

Particular emphasis is placed on studies that improve energy efficiency, evaluating the technical performance and scalability of onboard carbon capture and storage technologies, and developing integrated engineering approaches that link clean energy innovations with practical implementation in maritime operations.

This Special Issue aims to serve as a platform for technical dialogue and collaboration, bringing together researchers, engineers, and practitioners to accelerate the transition to sustainable and resilient maritime energy systems through engineering excellence and scientific innovation.

Dr. Luis Alfonso Díaz-Secades
Prof. Dr. Jonas W. Ringsberg
Prof. Dr. Carlos Guedes Soares
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • maritime decarbonization
  • IMO net-zero framework
  • waste energy recovery
  • carbon capture and storage
  • alternative fuels
  • optimization of energy systems
  • decision support systems

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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27 pages, 1588 KB  
Article
Sensitivity Analysis of Injection Duration on Combustion Characteristics and Exhaust Emissions in a Marine Diesel Engine
by Mina Tadros and Evangelos Boulougouris
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2026, 14(10), 883; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse14100883 - 10 May 2026
Viewed by 545
Abstract
This study investigates the role of injection duration in marine diesel engine combustion within an optimised operating framework. While injection parameters are typically analysed in isolation, their interaction within a coupled engine system remains insufficiently understood, particularly under realistic operating conditions. To address [...] Read more.
This study investigates the role of injection duration in marine diesel engine combustion within an optimised operating framework. While injection parameters are typically analysed in isolation, their interaction within a coupled engine system remains insufficiently understood, particularly under realistic operating conditions. To address this gap, a structured methodology integrating one-dimensional (1D) engine simulation and optimisation is applied to evaluate the sensitivity of injection duration around optimised operating points across multiple engine loads. The approach is based on a calibrated engine model developed in WAVE, coupled with an optimisation framework to determine load-dependent optimal control parameters. Injection duration is then systematically varied around its optimised values to assess its influence on engine performance, emissions, and heat release rate (HRR). This enables the evaluation of the robustness of the optimised solution under realistic deviations. The results demonstrate that injection duration governs the transition between premixed and diffusion-controlled combustion, directly influencing heat release structure, combustion stability, and emissions formation. Longer injection durations promote mixing-limited combustion, leading to reduced peak temperatures and lower nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions, but increased incomplete combustion products, including carbon monoxide (CO) and unburned hydrocarbons (HCs), due to reduced oxidation efficiency. These effects are strongly load-dependent, with part-load operation showing higher sensitivity. The study provides a system-level interpretation of injection duration as a control variable rather than an isolated parameter, offering new insight into its role in combustion regime transitions and engine response. The proposed framework enables a more physically consistent understanding of injection control in modern electronically controlled marine diesel engines and supports the development of robust optimisation and calibration strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards Net-Zero Shipping Innovation and Integration in Maritime Decarbonization)
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20 pages, 18432 KB  
Article
Rethinking Ship Emission Hotspots: A 100 m Resolution AIS-Based Inventory for Coastal Chinese Waters
by Shuting Sun, Huihui Zhao, Xianchao Yang, Li Zhu and Wei Han
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2026, 14(10), 875; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse14100875 - 8 May 2026
Viewed by 304
Abstract
Existing ship emission inventories for coastal seas are typically gridded at 500 m to 1 km, a resolution too coarse to distinguish navigation channels from anchorage zones. Whether the hotspot patterns reported at such scales reflect true emission geography or are artifacts of [...] Read more.
Existing ship emission inventories for coastal seas are typically gridded at 500 m to 1 km, a resolution too coarse to distinguish navigation channels from anchorage zones. Whether the hotspot patterns reported at such scales reflect true emission geography or are artifacts of spatial averaging remains an open question. We construct a 100 m resolution AIS-based emission inventory for two contrasting coastal environments in eastern China—the Yangtze River estuary and the Wenzhou coastal area—using the STEAM framework, and we quantify spatial concentration with Lorenz curve analyses. At this finer resolution, three emission archetypes become separable: discrete anchorage clusters, bankside berthing bands flanking navigation lanes, and sinuous riverbank traces in confined waterways. Emissions are extremely concentrated: the top 1% of grid cells capture over three-quarters of the total theoretical emission potential (Gini = 0.940), and this pattern persists across all months of 2023. Reaggregating the same data to 1 km reduces the top-1% share by roughly 10%, confirming that coarse gridding systematically understates anchorage contributions while overstating those of transit corridors. A dedicated sensitivity analysis on auxiliary engine load assumptions (±30% perturbation of canonical Jalkanen-style load brackets) shows that, while absolute emission totals carry approximately ±15% uncertainty, the spatial concentration of emissions is highly robust: Across all perturbation scenarios, the Gini coefficient varies by less than 0.01, the top-5% emission share varies by less than 2 percentage points, and the location of top-5% hotspot cells overlaps by ≥97.9% (Jaccard index). The results highlight stationary vessel hotspots—discrete anchorages and bankside berths—as a major and previously underemphasized contributor to the cumulative coastal ship emission budget, complementing rather than replacing the conventional navigation-lane focus, with direct implications for shore power siting, anchorage management, and emission control zone design. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards Net-Zero Shipping Innovation and Integration in Maritime Decarbonization)
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35 pages, 3294 KB  
Article
Performance of SOFC and PEMFC Auxiliary Power Systems Under Alternative Fuel Pathways for Bulk Carriers
by Mina Tadros, Ahmed G. Elkafas, Evangelos Boulougouris and Iraklis Lazakis
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2026, 14(8), 702; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse14080702 - 9 Apr 2026
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1250
Abstract
Fuel cell technologies are increasingly investigated as alternatives to conventional auxiliary diesel generators in order to enhance shipboard energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This study presents a unified and uncertainty-driven system-level assessment of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) and proton exchange [...] Read more.
Fuel cell technologies are increasingly investigated as alternatives to conventional auxiliary diesel generators in order to enhance shipboard energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This study presents a unified and uncertainty-driven system-level assessment of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) and proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) systems operating as auxiliary power sources on a 200 m bulk carrier. Both technologies are evaluated under identical vessel characteristics, operating profiles, auxiliary load levels (360–600 kW), and cost assumptions, and are benchmarked directly against a conventional three–diesel-generator configuration. A modular numerical framework is developed to model propulsion–auxiliary interactions for ship speeds between 10 and 14 knots. SOFC systems are assessed using grey, bio-derived, and green natural gas pathways, while PEMFC systems are examined under grey, blue, and green hydrogen supply routes. Performance indicators include annual fuel consumption, carbon dioxide (CO2) emission reduction, net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR), payback period (PBP), and marginal abatement cost (MAC). Economic uncertainty is explicitly embedded in the framework through Monte Carlo simulation, where fuel prices (±20%) and capital costs are sampled across defined ranges, generating probabilistic distributions rather than single deterministic estimates. This uncertainty-centred approach enables assessment of robustness, downside risk, and probability of profitability. Results show that replacing a single operating 600 kW diesel generator with fuel cell systems reduces auxiliary fuel energy demand by 25–35% for SOFC and approximately 15–25% for PEMFC relative to the diesel benchmark. Annual CO2 reductions range from 1.1 to 1.3 kt for SOFC systems and 1.8–2.8 kt for PEMFC configurations. Under grey fuel pathways, median NPVs reach approximately 2–4.5 M$ for SOFC and 9–17 M$ for PEMFC as load increases, with IRRs exceeding 15% and 30%, respectively. Transitional pathways exhibit narrower margins, while renewable pathways remain more sensitive to fuel price variability. The findings demonstrate that fuel pathway cost dominates lifecycle outcomes under uncertainty and that hydrogen-based PEMFC systems exhibit the strongest economic resilience within the examined market ranges. The framework provides structured, uncertainty-aware decision support and establishes a foundation for integration into model-based systems engineering (MBSE) environments for early stage ship energy system design. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards Net-Zero Shipping Innovation and Integration in Maritime Decarbonization)
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18 pages, 2747 KB  
Article
Stochastic Air Quality Modelling of Ship Emissions in Port Areas for Maritime Decarbonization Pathways
by Ramazan Şener and Yordan Garbatov
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2026, 14(6), 542; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse14060542 - 13 Mar 2026
Viewed by 455
Abstract
Decarbonizing the maritime sector requires not only adopting alternative fuels and propulsion technologies but also quantitatively assessing their impacts on coastal and urban air quality. This study develops a stochastic, time-resolved air-quality modelling framework to evaluate ship-related pollutant dispersion in port environments. The [...] Read more.
Decarbonizing the maritime sector requires not only adopting alternative fuels and propulsion technologies but also quantitatively assessing their impacts on coastal and urban air quality. This study develops a stochastic, time-resolved air-quality modelling framework to evaluate ship-related pollutant dispersion in port environments. The approach integrates Automatic Identification System (AIS) trajectories, vessel-specific emission factors, and meteorological inputs within a moving-source Gaussian dispersion model to simulate the spatio-temporal evolution of pollutant concentrations. A 24 h case study for the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach demonstrates highly intermittent emission behaviour, with peak aggregated emission rates reaching approximately 1.2 kg/s for CO2 and 3.8 g/s for SO2. Temporally integrated concentration fields reveal maximum cumulative dosages of 0.145 g·s/m3 for NOx, 0.023 g·s/m3 for SO2, 0.014 g·s/m3 for total PM, and 7.5 g·s/m3 for CO2 in near-port traffic corridors. Sensitivity analysis indicates that effective emission height variations alter cumulative exposure by up to 17%, whereas temporal resolution changes produce deviations below 7%, confirming numerical stability. Monte Carlo uncertainty propagation demonstrates bounded but non-negligible variability in exposure estimates under realistic emission and wind uncertainties. Results show that cumulative exposure patterns differ substantially from short-term concentration peaks, highlighting the importance of time-integrated and receptor-based metrics for port air quality assessment. The proposed AIS-driven stochastic framework provides a reproducible and computationally efficient tool for evaluating operational mitigation strategies and supporting evidence-based maritime decarbonization pathways. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards Net-Zero Shipping Innovation and Integration in Maritime Decarbonization)
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43 pages, 6596 KB  
Article
Techno-Economic Assessment of Integrated CO2 Liquefaction and Waste Energy Recovery Using Low-GWP Zeotropic Mixtures for Maritime Applications
by Luis Alfonso Díaz-Secades, Aitor Nicolás Fernández Álvarez, Raquel Martínez Martínez, Pablo A. Rico Lázaro, Jonas W. Ringsberg and C. Guedes Soares
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2026, 14(5), 420; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse14050420 - 25 Feb 2026
Viewed by 745
Abstract
The increasing regulatory pressure on the maritime sector to decarbonize, driven in part by market-based mechanisms at the European level, is accelerating the development of onboard carbon management and energy-efficiency solutions. In this context, this study evaluates an integrated architecture that combines a [...] Read more.
The increasing regulatory pressure on the maritime sector to decarbonize, driven in part by market-based mechanisms at the European level, is accelerating the development of onboard carbon management and energy-efficiency solutions. In this context, this study evaluates an integrated architecture that combines a CO2 liquefaction system with organic Rankine cycles. The system captures 66% of the total CO2 emitted by ship engines and is capable of recovering up to 2600.8 kW of energy from onboard hot and cold sources. To identify the most suitable working fluids, an extensive screening of 208 low-GWP zeotropic mixtures is conducted, assessing their thermophysical behavior and energy recovery performance. A detailed thermo-economic assessment is undertaken, including the calculation of CO2-equivalent savings, GHG abatement cost, and payback periods. To account for fuel price variability, probabilistic modelling based on Monte Carlo sampling is applied to estimate the distribution of discounted payback outcomes. The results demonstrate that Novec 649-based zeotropic mixtures combined with the proposed architecture reduce fuel consumption and enhance onboard CO2 management while remaining safe and economically viable across a wide range of operating scenarios. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards Net-Zero Shipping Innovation and Integration in Maritime Decarbonization)
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30 pages, 2087 KB  
Article
Opportunities for Green H2 in EU High-Speed-Crafts Decarbonization Through Well-to-Wake GHG Emissions Assessment
by Alba Martínez-López, África Marrero and Alejandro Romero-Filgueira
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2026, 14(2), 190; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse14020190 - 16 Jan 2026
Viewed by 517
Abstract
This paper introduces a mathematical model to assess the polluting impact of the decarbonization options for medium-sized High-Speed Crafts in the EU, and their consequences in terms of Market-Based Measure costs and Goal-Based Measure compliance under expected regulatory scenarios. This model is applied [...] Read more.
This paper introduces a mathematical model to assess the polluting impact of the decarbonization options for medium-sized High-Speed Crafts in the EU, and their consequences in terms of Market-Based Measure costs and Goal-Based Measure compliance under expected regulatory scenarios. This model is applied to a particular European High-Speed Craft operating in the Canary Islands. Considering slow steaming along with High Speed Craft’s retrofitting with alternative technologies for its electricity supply, we conclude that green H2 fuel Cells provide the greatest environmental advantage by comparison with slow steaming alone, achieving a 6.96% improvement in emissions and savings under European Market-Based Measures of 39.76% by 2033. The expected regulative progression involves a 5.90% improvement in the Market-Based Measure costs’ convergence with the actual pollution impact of High-Speed Crafts. The findings warn about the pressing need to review the implementation of On-Shore Power Supply emissions into the Fuel EU fines, and about a concerning pull effect for the most polluting European High-Speed Crafts are moved towards the outermost regions of the EU due to their permanent exceptions from the application of the European Market-Based Measures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards Net-Zero Shipping Innovation and Integration in Maritime Decarbonization)
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Review

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52 pages, 2837 KB  
Review
Technological Bottlenecks in Fuels for Maritime Decarbonization
by Renata Costa
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2026, 14(6), 570; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse14060570 - 19 Mar 2026
Viewed by 1177
Abstract
Maritime decarbonization has shifted from a long-term aspiration to an engineering and systems-integrated problem under near-term compliance pressure. International regulatory bodies, governments, and a wide array of private-sector coalitions will tighten greenhouse-gas fuel-emission standards from 2028, translating climate targets into enforceable cost signals [...] Read more.
Maritime decarbonization has shifted from a long-term aspiration to an engineering and systems-integrated problem under near-term compliance pressure. International regulatory bodies, governments, and a wide array of private-sector coalitions will tighten greenhouse-gas fuel-emission standards from 2028, translating climate targets into enforceable cost signals and accelerating interest in alternative-fuel and retrofit pathways. This review synthesizes the state of the art (SoA) of maritime decarbonization by mapping where technological bottlenecks concentrate along the well-to-wake (WtW) value chain for the main candidate pathways: biofuels, LNG/bio-LNG, hydrogen, ammonia, e-methanol, and electrification, and by benchmarking them side-by-side using a unified framework designed to compare their realizable well-to-wake GHG-reduction potential under maritime operating constraints. Building on that comparative lens, this work aims to connect pathway readiness to the near-term market and regulatory reality, while the alternative-fuel-capable fleet is projected to expand rapidly, creating a structural capability vs. supply gap, in which, for example, ship readiness can outpace low-GHG fuel availability and bunkering rollout. The merged evidence indicates that near-term abatement will be dominated by scalable drop-in biofuels, whereas deep-sea options (ammonia/hydrogen and e-fuels) remain gated by upstream low-GHG production, port infrastructure, and safety/regulatory maturation. Nevertheless, mid-term deployment of low-GHG fuels can act as a system “relief valve”, reducing infrastructure lock-in and accelerating emissions reductions while zero-carbon fuel supply chains scale up. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards Net-Zero Shipping Innovation and Integration in Maritime Decarbonization)
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