Critical barriers to the introduction of shore power supply for green port development: case of Djibouti container terminals

Greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants from ships contribute to climate change and poor local air quality. While at berth, the use of shore-side electricity as an alternative technique to generate electricity to ships can greatly reduce emissions and improve air quality. The container terminals of Djibouti accommodate a significant number of ship calls, but there is a lack of emissions mitigation measures. The purpose of this study is to identify the most critical barriers that hinder the deployment of shore power supply in the container terminals of Djibouti. To achieve this aim, this study consults professional experts and experienced managers working in the maritime industry. The data collection is based on a survey questionnaire collected in the form of linguistic preferences to handle fuzziness of human perceptions. The collected linguistic preferences are later converted into quantitative data and analyzed using fuzzy cognitive map approach. The results reveal that power requirement, investment cost and electricity cost are the key barriers that currently influence the implementation of the shore power technology in Djibouti. The findings of the study have great implications and are hoped to assist decision makers and port authority in prioritizing the different barriers according to their importance, in an effort to accelerate the introduction and the development of green port strategies.