Sea-going labour and Greek owned fleet: a major aspect of fleet competitiveness

This analysis aims to examine the current picture of maritime manpower in the Greek registered and owned fleet, as it has been formed during the post-war years. This objective entails the analysis of the current supply and demand for seafarers, the estimation of any shortfalls and their confrontation. Moreover, this study further investigates the contributory factors of the present employment trends, which simultaneously constitute special problems of the sea manpower of the Greek owned fleet and attempt some recommendations. In the context of the above mentioned objective, this analysis emphasizes issues such as recruitment, marine education and wastage. Furthermore, special consideration is given to the significance of labour costs for the development of the Greek owned fleet, particularly to subjects such as the various ways of reducing manning costs and their repercussions on the employment of Greek seamen. Finally, this analysis examines the trends of the state shipping policy concerning labour issues and proceeds to some recommendations.     

Explaining variations in national fleet across shipping nations

Many studies on national shipping attribute the declines in national fleets of developed economies to the lack of comparative advantage, but little has been done so far to identify factors contributing to countries’ shipping comparative advantage using a systematic approach. Although shipping markets are highly international and competitive, it is not clear whether tonnage owned by countries is governed by country-specific factors. This paper seeks to explain variations in nationally owned fleet across shipping nations. The main variable of interest is national fleet tonnage owned by country of domicile as opposed to registered tonnage. The results of econometric analysis using data from 84 shipping nations indicate that various country-specific factors do indeed contribute to variations in fleet tonnage across shipping nations, albeit at different levels of significance. Financial market development, external trade, ship registration, shipbuilding and shipping history appear to have the most significant impact, followed by the level of development and technology and maritime policy. Based on the results of analysis, implications for policy and future research are also discussed.     

The role of Mediterranean short sea shipping in the EU transport chain: The case of Greece

The European Community has provided valuable support to short sea shipping through various programs and legislation. This paper analyses the situation while focusing on the Mediterranean Sea and suggests solutions for addressing the short sea shipping problems in this special region. The biggest challenge for all sides in the comingyears will be the replacement of the existing fleet. The study presented herein gives an insightful and collective picture of the situation, while focusing on the Greek owned short sea vessels.     

Strategic fleet size planning for maritime refrigerated containers

In the present economic climate, it is often the case that profits can only be improved, or for that matter maintained, by improving efficiency and cutting costs. This is particularly notorious in the shipping business, where it has been seen that the competition is getting tougher among carriers, thus alliances and partnerships are resulting for cost effective services in recent years. In this scenario, effective planning methods are important not only for strategic but also operating tasks, covering their entire transportation systems. Container fleet size planning is an important part of the strategy of any shipping line. This paper addresses the problem of fleet size planning for refrigerated containers, to achieve cost-effective services in a competitive maritime shipping market. An analytical model is first discussed to determine the optimal size of an own dry container fleet. Then, this is extended for an own refrigerated container fleet, which is the case when an extremely unbalanced trade represents one of the major investment decisions to be taken by liner operators. Next, a simulation model is developed for fleet sizing in a more practical situation and, by using this, various scenarios are analysed to determine the most convenient composition of refrigerated fleet between own and leased containers for the transpacific cargo trade.     

Making the Australian flag fleet efficient: dysfunctional policy processes and the 'play of power'

In 1997 the Australian government introduced reform measures aimed at improving the efficiency and cost effectiveneess of the Auistralian maritime sector. These measures are part of an ongoing reform programme initiated in the early 1980s; but despite concerted efforts by a succession of governments and the payout of high labour redundancy costs the problems of inefficiency, high costs and low profitability persist. This paper focuses on the structure and mechanism of the policy making processes that have attempted to deal with the problem of making the Australian national flag fleet efficient and competitive. It does so because it is a fundamental tenet of the paper that it is the process of policy making that so frequently—if not invariably—determines policy content and outcomes.     

The impacts of strait and canal blockages on the transportation costs of the Chinese fleet in the shipping network

ABSTRACT

Straits and canals have always served as key nodes in shipping networks. The blockage of a strait or canal will lead to ship deviations and increased transportation costs. To measure this impact on the Chinese fleet, our study develops a mathematical model that is based on a programming formulation. Each strait or canal is assumed to be blocked in turn, and the increased transportation costs for the Chinese fleet in different scenarios are calculated and compared using the proposed programming formulation in order to measure the impact of the blocked strait or canal on the Chinese fleet. Larger increases in transportation costs have greater impacts on the fleet. The results show that a blockage of the Strait of Hormuz would have the greatest impact of all straits and canals; it would cause the Chinese fleet to lose a portion of its import and export market, and such a blockage cannot be addressed through ship deviations. Based upon increased transportation costs, the four straits or canals that would have the greatest impact if blocked are the Mandeb Strait, the Suez Canal, the Sunda Strait and the English Channel.     

Methodology for ro-ro ship and fleet sizing with application to short sea shipping

A novel methodology is developed for determining the characteristics of a cargo roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) ship and the fleet size required for a given short sea shipping route. The ship and required fleet size to satisfy the transportation demand (for each pair of speed and freight rate) are determined using a database of existing cargo ro-ro ships to obtain the main technical characteristics of the most suitable ship. The time charter, voyage costs and revenue are then calculated considering the technical characteristics of each ship. Fuel costs are corrected for the actual ship speed and loading condition. A number of restrictions in the transportation problem are considered leading to the exclusion of unfeasible solutions. The maximum profit over the period of a year is identified among the feasible pairs of speed and freight rate. This general methodology is applied in a case study that considers the route between Leixões (Portugal) and Rotterdam (Netherlands). The study allows the identification of the most suitable ship and fleet sizes for different market penetration levels and quantifies the impact on shipping company profit of changes in parameters such as fuel costs, time charter costs, emission control area, installed propulsion power and stacking factor.     

Assessment criteria for the sustainable competitive advantage of the national merchant fleet from a resource-based view

To determine the competitive advantage of the national merchant fleet, based on the resource-based view, we collect competitive advantage assessment factors from literature, and use the analytic hierarchy process methodology to compare the importance of assessment dimensions and variables. The article's conclusions include a recommendation that the government review the current allocation of resources and implement measures to reinforce the national merchant fleet. This study's findings can be summarized as follows: (1) Criteria dimensions are ranked in the order of competitive strength, organizational capability, tangible assets, and intangible assets. (2) Criteria variables can be ranked in the order of freight revenue, cargo loading ratio, accuracy of shipping schedule, dead weight tonnage, number of vessels, standard of customer service, reputation of shipping company, cargo transportation volume, gross tonnage, sailing frequency, shipping knowledge, fleet specialization, number of crewmen, and fleet technological level. (3) The government should review existing maritime regulations and measures in order to formulate specific and transparent policies, and seek to adopt optimal alternatives from other countries concerning such issues as tonnage tax, bilateral income tax reduction or exemption agreements, second-registration mechanisms and shipbuilding basis, etc.     

Who mans the world fleet? A follow-up to the BIMCO/ ISF manpower survey

This article uncovers that the BIMCO/ISF manpower survey, both in its data collection and methodology, could be improved upon. It suggests that there is no lack of seafarers in number, but in quality. The major potential supply/demand countries are identified. China has not only the potential to become, it has actually become, a top manpower supplier. Some traditional maritime nations, with the decreasing demands of their national fleets, have become labour supply country, which could contribute in excess of 44000 seafarers to foreign ships. There is a need and opportunity for co-operation on maritime training between suppliers and demanders.     

Assessment of the maritime labour convention compliance using balanced scorecard and analytic hierarchy process approach

Maritime labour convention (MLC), adopted by International Labour Organization in 2006, is one of the latest contemporary issues in the maritime industry. Since the convention entered into force after August 2013, maritime administrations and ship management companies have great responsibilities to control and verify the socio-technical requirements within the shipboard environment. The convention principally organized along with several key considerations such as minimum requirements for seafarers to work on-board ships, conditions of employment, accommodation, recreational facilities, health protection, medical care, welfare and social security protection. At this insight, the compliance and enforcement matters are another concern to fulfil the requirements. This paper provides a model-based approach integrating balanced scorecard (BSC) with analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to evaluate compliance with the MLC requirements at the operational level. The research is expected to provide original contributions to monitor the MLC 2006 compliances level in ship fleet operation and management.     

Participation in the global labour market: experience and responses of chinese seafarers

Regarding their participation in the global labour market, this paper draws attention to the complexity of Chinese seafarer composition and experience. How do they approach the opportunities available? What is the linkage between working for the national fleet and working onboard foreign vessels? Which factors influence their participation? The above issues are addressed by a questionnaire survey conducted in the Port of Hong Kong in 2002/2003. There are many findings from this survey. First, differing from the sole employment pattern of state-owned enterprise (SOE) in the past, a new group, called non-state-owned (NSO) seafarers, is emerging with the target of international recruitment. Second, Chinese seafarers driven by both supply and demand factors desire to engage fully in the global labour market. Third, Chinese seafarers are embarrassed and confused by income inequality both internationally and nationally, which is partly related to the mismanagement in its recruitment. Fourth, a lack of multi-national environments also constrains them from English improvement and professional development.     

De-manning the fleet: federal government reforms and Australia's shipping debate

Australia's merchant fleet underwent a delayed response to the trends responsible for the attrition of the OECD fleets over the past decades. A combination of political factors and the heritage of protectionism led to centrally-directed and government-sponsored programmes of modernization. Essentially, compliance with the federal government's shipping policy was achieved through the linkage of reform to tax incentives and to the management of change by tripartite shipowner, government and trade union committees. This paper explores the basic pattern of the reforms, their costings, assessment and policy alternatives.     

A dynamic model and algorithm for fleet planning

By analysing the merits and demerits of the existing linear model for fleet planning, this paper presents an algorithm which combines the linear programming technique with that of dynamic programming to improve the solution to linear model for fleet planning. This new approach has not only the merits that the linear model for fleet planning has, but also the merit of saving computing time. The numbers of ships newly added into the fleet every year are always integers in the final optimal solution. The last feature of the solution directly meets the requirements of practical application. Both the mathematical model of the dynamic fleet planning and its algorithm are put forward in this paper. A calculating example is also given.     

The seafaring labour market in Brazil

The most recent reports on the supply and demand for seafarers suggest that there is an increasing lack of officers for the expanding world's merchant fleet. With a focus on Brazil, this paper discusses a particular seafaring labour market highlighting specific challenges that need to be overcome. The paper looks into the current condition of the imbalance in Brazilian seafaring labour market as well as the prospects for merchant marine officers from the only two maritime schools in the country. Key issues on demand forecast and supply expectation, policy amendment, promoting maritime career, sea career commitment and maritime career empowerment are discussed to illustrate possible means to overcome the imbalance.     

‘Get yourself a proper job girlie!’: recruitment,retention and women seafarers* [1]

This paper considers the issue of women's employment at sea in view of the current and predicted labour shortage in the industry. It reports on an International Labour Organization (ILO) commissioned study which aimed to explore employment policies and practices regarding women seafarers and the experiences of women seafarers themselves. The data suggested that those employers who had experience employing women seafarers were generally very positive about their skills and abilities. Women seafarers themselves were dedicated and committed to a sea-going career. The paper concludes that women seafarers are an under-recognized resource and, if utilized, could fill labour shortages in the industry, both in sea-going positions and in marine positions ashore that require sea-going experience. A series of recommendations are outlined in order to promote the recruitment and retention of women at sea.     

'Get yourself a proper job girlie!': recruitment, retention and women seafarers* [1]

This paper considers the issue of women's employment at sea in view of the current and predicted labour shortage in the industry. It reports on an International Labour Organization (ILO) commissioned study which aimed to explore employment policies and practices regarding women seafarers and the experiences of women seafarers themselves. The data suggested that those employers who had experience employing women seafarers were generally very positive about their skills and abilities. Women seafarers themselves were dedicated and committed to a sea-going career. The paper concludes that women seafarers are an under-recognized resource and, if utilized, could fill labour shortages in the industry, both in sea-going positions and in marine positions ashore that require sea-going experience. A series of recommendations are outlined in order to promote the recruitment and retention of women at sea.     

Merchant fleet development by legislation: lessons from West and Central Africa

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, several developing maritime nations began to invoke their 'legitimate right' to carry, in their own vessels, cargo generated by their own import and export trades as one way to reverse their underdevelopment and dependency on traditional maritime nations. Consequently, they embarked on the establishment and development of national merchant fleets by means of cargo reservation legislation and flag discrimination practices. West and Central African states have pursued a vigorous policy of merchant fleet development for over two decades. This study examines some of the cargo reservation policies and flag discrimination practices in West and Central Africa and concludes that these two measures alone are insufficient to build up a significant merchant marine. Merchant fleet development depends equally on the resolution of problems such as shortage of ship finance or capital, disruptive bureaucratic politics among the state agencies concerned with shipping, low volume of trade, and contradictory and ambivalent fiscal and macroeconomic policies in these countries that impede the development of the maritime sector.     

Technology Choice and Productivity in the Turkish merchant fleet in the last two decades

Sea transportion has become a significant sector in Turkey since the early 1980s. It has developed due to the domestic subsidies provided and also because of the favourable conjuncture in the world ship Sale and Purchase markets in this period. In the 1990s this sector has started to gain some self-confidence and has completed the 'Infant Inudustry' period. However, bacause its structure is open to international competition, the protection policies available in the 1980s have been found to be inadequate. The capacity of the Turkish merchant fleet has expanded to a considerable extent in the last two decades, but it is comprised of over-aged and old fashioned ships built using outdated technology. and a sudden and cat-astrophic crisis could be approaching. A precaution in the long run could be to have special types of ships carrying convenient loads at minimum costs.     

多功能挖泥配套辅助船舶的研究

疏浚作业是一项复杂的系统工程 ,如何合理配置其各组成单元 ,是一项很值得研究的工作。在分析系统组成的基础上 ,从减少挖泥船队投资规模、提高作业管理效率的角度 ,提出了吸扬式挖泥船队的编队方式 ,即挖泥船 (含水上排泥管系 ) +宿舍船 +多功能辅助船组成的挖泥船队 ,实现了吸扬式挖泥船队的最简化配置 ,并进一步就多功能辅助船舶的设计研究作了有益的探讨     

编队协同防空系统通信网设计初探

目前编队防空正由平台防空模式向协同防空模式过渡,这对防空系统通信网设计带来了一定的挑战.本文首先分析了美军编队协同防空系统的组成和作战样式,据此分析了其通信网组成及相关参数指标.以美军为借鉴.提出了我军编队协同防空系统的初步设想,并据此提出了防空通信网的技术体制,并就其中涉及到的关键技术进行了相关讨论.