More than 80% of global trade is carried out through shipping which is the main contribution to the the development of international trade including maritime logistics industry, infrastructure, shipyards, information and communication technologies, and regulations. However, many problems related to vessel congestion and cargo backlog are withnesed due to increased vessel traffic, severe weather, labor strikes, and knock-on effects. It is deemed that the number of ships and their staying times at the anchorage will be prolonged, leading to increased emissions of ship-generated pollutants that will affect nearby urban air quality. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the causality between vessel operations in anchorage and urban air pollution using the Granger causality analysis with the VAR model. The results show that there was a causal relationship between the monthly number of ships entering the O-2 berth in Busan North Port in the past five years and air pollution. In particular, the secondary pollutants generated from gas emissions during vessel operations significantly contributed to the concentration of PM10 and PM2.5, as well as the strongest impact. The findings provide valuable insights for future policy-making related to berth selection considerations.