Port facilities are a pivotal element of global trade, and when coupled with the energy demands of vessels and port-handling activities, they emerge as a major source of energy consumption. This study quantifies the annual energy consumption of oceangoing vessels visiting Mersin International Port (MIP) and of port cranes on a yearly basis, using data from 2021–2023. It also provides forward-looking projections alongside mitigation strategies. Ships are categorized into five types which are berthing to MIP—Tankers, General Cargo/Bulk Carrier Ships, Ro-Ro Ships, Container Ships, and Others—and compute ship-specific (AkWh) and total energy consumption (TkWh) using inputs such as quantity per year (P), average gross tonnage (GT), length overall (L), average power acceptance (AkW), and average waiting times for anchorage (AAh) and berthing (ABh). The analysis employs an Excel-based calculation framework to derive AkWh per ship type and aggregate TkWh for each year. For port cranes, monthly electricity data for 12 QC-STS and 38 RTG cranes has been included, and crane energy have been combined with ship-based consumption. The results show an overall year-on-year rise in energy demand from 2021 to 2023, driven chiefly by increasing ship-related energy use, with container ships identified as the most energy-intensive category. Cranes were found to have a contrasting trend with a reduction in energy consumption over the same period. Key findings include a 75% increase in the average total waiting time (ATh) from 2021 to 2023, a 49% cumulative rise in ship-based energy consumption, and a 45% increase in total energy demand when combining ships and cranes. Container ships were the dominant energy users among ship types, while total crane energy declined slightly. The study highlights that energy growth aligns with rising operational demand and emphasises the potential of targeted mitigation strategies, such as process optimization, congestion management, and adoption of green port practices (e.g., shore-side electricity, slow-steaming, and alternative-fuel-powered handling equipment). Future work should extend the analysis to larger samples and explore factors such as throughput variability, vessel speeds, demand fluctuations and better port management strategies.
Süner et al. (Tue,) studied this question.