Capturing Effects of COVID-19 on Global Cruise Vessel Density and Emissions

This paper employs a series of data (i.e., AIS data, ship static data, port data, emission control area data, and COVID-19 data) to work with the ship traffic density model and the emission model to investigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on global cruise shipping. Numerical experiments are conducted to analyse global cruise ship density and emissions before and after the COVID-19 outbreak, and show that the epidemic has brought a substantial impact on cruise ship activities. The emissions of SOx, CO 2 , and BC after the COVID-19 outbreak in early 2020 dropped significantly by 97.17%, 61.75%, and 73.91%, respectively. The outcomes from this investigation enrich our understanding of the COVID-19 effects on global cruise vessel activities and the marine environment. Furthermore, a series of valuable insights are obtained from this investigation for industrial practitioners, policy makers, and academia in the field of maritime transportation.