To cope with severe environmental problems, the government has implemented strict emission control policies, and promoted the use of technology such as shore power (SP) in the form of subsidies. The SP providers of the shipping lines like the ports provide better SP services to shipping lines by improving its reliability, such as safety and standardization. This paper examines a two-echelon maritime supply chain consisting of a port and a shipping line under government green subsidy and explores the subsidy mechanism and its impact. The optimal government subsidy intensity and subsidy reduction point are confirmed using game theory. The system dynamics (SD) method is used to analyze the influence and evolution of practical problems such as government subsidy efficiency, information asymmetry, and inconsistent decision-making periods under multiple games utilizing the optimal response function. The paper shows that both shipper SP preference and decision period affect the SP reliability. When the shipper’s preference is high, the actual shipper’s subsidies and government subsidies are inefficient. Information asymmetry borne by ports and shipping line causes considerable fluctuations in the game and does not affect the actual subsidies received by shippers. Also, shipping line downstream of the supply chain are more affected by it. This paper offers insight for the government to formulate subsidy policies in the maritime supply chain.

The sustainable development of the maritime supply chain is an undeniable trend. Low-carbon port operations are a vital component of creating an eco-friendly maritime supply chain, requiring substantial investments in technologies that reduce carbon emissions. However, the key factors influencing investment decisions by ports and shipping companies in these green technologies, particularly government subsidies, remain poorly understood. Hence, this paper proposes a game-based framework to explore the impact of government subsidies. Through numerical analysis, this study first demonstrates that the pricing decisions, investment level, and profits of ports and shipping companies are sensitive to government subsidies and low-carbon preferences of the market; however, the influence of government subsidies and low-carbon preferences varies with different adopted investment strategies. Furthermore, investment decisions are mainly influenced by investment costs, low-carbon preferences, government subsidies, and cost-sharing ratios. Ports are more sensitive to government subsidies and low-carbon preferences while shipping companies are more sensitive to government subsidies and cost-sharing ratios. In addition, government subsidies and low-carbon preferences are substitutes for each other and can balance cost-sharing ratios between ports and shipping companies. Finally, recommendations are provided to the government, ports, and shipping companies for promoting low-carbon port operations based on the findings of this study.

China is advancing a strategic transport shift to establish railway container transport as a key logistics pillar, supporting its dual carbon goals through sector restructuring. However, empirical research on its low-carbon efficacy remains limited. Based on the spatial Dobbin model, and combining the data from railway container loading and unloading stations, night lighting and socio-economic factors, this study deeply studies the remarkable characteristics of regional changes of railway container transportation and carbon emissions in China, and comprehensively discusses how railway container transportation affects regional carbon emissions at different scales. Key findings: (1) Urban carbon emissions are rising, with eastern cities emitting most intensely and western regions showing widespread high emissions. Railway container flows exhibit spatial disparities, creating “oligarchic cities” with concentrated transport activity. (2) Railway container transportation notably curbs the production of carbon emissions, thereby facilitating the attainment of regional low-carbon objectives. Moreover, when comparing across regions, the suppressive impact of railway container transportation on carbon emissions stands out more prominently in both the eastern and western regions. The railway container transportation conducted in the Yangtze River Delta Economic Zone and the Bohai Rim Economic Zone demonstrates a more pronounced suppressive effect on regional carbon emissions.