As smart technology in the shipping industry accelerates, demand for technology development, which aims to increase competitiveness by utilizing the latest smart technologies, is increasing. The shipping industry in each country is pushing for developing its smart technologies at a rapid pace, and it is urgent to prioritize the demand for smart technologies in the shipping industry for sustainable industry growth. The purpose of the present study is to verify the importance and urgency of smart technologies in the shipping industry, and the present study surveys 74 domestic and foreign shipping industry officials, covering shipping companies, brokers, governments, etc. The importance and urgency of each smart technology item in the shipping industry are questioned in a survey. It is necessary to focus investment on specific smart shipping items under a limited budget, and, since the priorities presented in this study were derived through comprehensive collection of opinions from 74 shipping experts, the priorities presented in this study are expected to be effective reference values when implementing sustainable shipping investment policies. According to an interview analysis on importance and urgency, both “autonomous ships” and “blockchain” items show high importance and urgency. Since both importance and urgency are high, strategic priorities are the highest, and it is expected to contribute effectively to enhancing the smartness of the shipping industry when it focuses its investment capabilities in those fields.

This study investigates the impact of reducing waiting times for port berth on improving the Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) ratings of Korean-flagged container ships. As the International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s CII regulation mandates corrective actions for poorly rated ships for Greenhouse Gas (GHG) reduction in international shipping, the analysis focuses on container ships with projected D or E ratings by 2035. Using Automatic Identification System (AIS) data from ships, this study identifies annual waiting times and simulates changes in CII ratings under scenarios of reduced waiting times (30%, 50%, 70%, and 100%). The relationship between ship speed and fuel consumption was established by analyzing the recent literature, and the CII improvement was evaluated based on IMO Data Collection System (DCS) 2022 data. The results show that a 30% reduction in waiting time can lower CO₂ emissions by 12.18% and improve the CII rating by one or two levels for approximately half of the sample ships. However, a 50% reduction or more is required to maintain improved ratings beyond 2030. The findings highlight the significance of just-in-time (JIT) practices in minimizing latency and enhancing regulatory compliance. The policy recommendations advocate for prioritizing port call optimization and recommend the adoption of JIT as a measure to achieve the IMO’s GHG reduction targets.

Short-sea ports in Korea are classified as national or local according to their management and operation entities. Korea has 29 ports, of which 11 are nationally managed and 18 are locally managed. Meanwhile, according to Korea’s Harbor Act, short-sea ports are designed to support the promotion of benefits such as handling cargo required for local industries, transportation of passengers, and revitalization of tourism. However, even though they are designated as short-sea ports, there are cases in which the initial designation purpose was not achieved because of the minor traffic volume and number of passengers. Consequently, this study evaluated the operational efficiency of 29 Korean short-sea ports employing the data envelopment analysis (DEA) and presented the operational efficiency of 29 short-sea ports. Moreover, the study measured the correlation between greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the port operation efficiency of 29 Korean short-sea ports. The analysis results of this study are as follows: First, the correlation between port-operation efficiency and sulfur dioxide was −0.41707. Second, the correlation between efficiency and carbon monoxide was −0.39952. Third, the correlation between efficiency and nitrogen dioxide was −0.30888. In summary, this study concludes that the higher the port-operational efficiency, the lower the GHG emissions. Improving the operational efficiency of ports can reduce GHG emissions, which can positively (+) affect port sustainability.