Monitoring ship emissions using sentinel-5P and AIS data

Ship pollution has become a pressing environmental issue, prompting the introduction of various policies such as the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL). The effectiveness of such policies has been evaluated using data from Sentinel 5P and Automatic Identification System (AIS) messages, revealing a correlation between ship routes and pollution levels over the oceans. However, the assessment of ship pollution using Sentinel 5P has limitations as it cannot distinguish sulphur emissions from ships offshore or differentiate them from coastal emissions. This presents challenges in monitoring and enforcing regulations aimed at reducing sulphur emissions from ships, particularly in highly coastal areas such as the Mediterranean Sea.