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Keywords

IMO, Ship emissions, Bibliometric analysis, Decarbonization, Maritime policy

Document Type

Research Article

Abstract

The regulation of ship emissions has become an important issue in the context of global environmental sustainability, climate change mitigation, and maritime policy. This study examines the impact of International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations on academic research related to ship engine emissions using a bibliometric methodology. A dataset consisting of 1,275 publications from 1995 to 2025 was extracted from the Scopus database and analyzed using the Biblioshiny package in RStudio. The average age of the studies was 5.77, while international collaboration was determined to be 28.08%. Outcomes show a 185.19% increase in post 2018 academic outputs following the implementation of key IMO initiatives such as MARPOL Annex VI, the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI), and the Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP). It demonstrates that Europe and Asia are the dominant contributors to the formation of regulations, while Africa and South America are relatively underrepresented, highlighting global inequalities. Simultaneity and thematic network analyses identify two further interconnected clusters: technical and environmental studies addressing emission reduction mechanisms, and policy-focused research highlighting governance, compliance, and sustainability challenges. Highly cited studies emphasize the fundamental importance of emission reduction technologies and regulatory frameworks, while more recent contributions increasingly focus on adopting green fuels and strategies to achieve long-term decarbonization. The findings show that IMO regulations not only guide technological innovation and industry practices but also actively shape the course of academic research.

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