The pressure to reduce emissions in the sector of inland shipping is increasing. Especially considering emissions of environmental pollutants, the increasing pressure gives rise to the question how to get insight into emissions distributions along an inland waterway network. In this research, a bottom-up method is developed that is able to map the potential CO2, PM10 and NOx emissions levels of a single inland vessel on a certain waterway network, as a function of time and space. This method uses the dimensions of the ship, its speed and the waterway characteristics to estimate the energy consumption and corresponding emissions of a vessel. This method can be used in the support of development and evaluation of emission reduction policies. To illustrate the potential of this method, it is applied to a case study: the inland fleet on the Rotterdam-Antwerp corridor, one of the main transport axes in the Netherlands. The developed method is applied to observed AIS data, to map the current potential emission patterns (‘t0 emission scenario’). In addition, a model has been developed that simulates the ‘t0’ case. This model serves as a tool to assess alternative measures to reduce emissions.