Impact of special shipping across the Taiwan Straits on the employment of Taiwanese ship officers

Nowhere else in the world are there marine transportations highly confined than across the Taiwan Straits (mainland China and Taiwan). This study strives to explore the present employment status of Taiwanese ship officers under the influence of special shipping across the Taiwan Straits, and to make sure if such an employment trend has a negative impact on the future operating mode of Taiwan shipping companies. By means of field interview and questionnaire, this study collected the employment data of ship officers from 21 leading shipping companies in Taiwan, and made a statistical analysis. The research findings show that the existing cross-strait shipping relationship, which is seriously distorted by the hostility between the governments of Taiwan and mainland China across the Taiwan Straits, has made Taiwanese shipping companies turn to flagging-out in order to enter the extensive shipping market of mainland China. This leads to a decline of job opportunities for Taiwanese ship officers. Ironically, the ship officers from mainland China pose a biggest threat to those in Taiwan in this respect. In addition, the operating modes of Taiwanese shipping companies also change gradually in tune with the increasing number of non-Taiwanese ship officers (mainly those from mainland China).     

Impact of special shipping across the Taiwan Straits on the employment of Taiwanese ship officers

Nowhere else in the world are there marine transportations highly confined than across the Taiwan Straits (mainland China and Taiwan). This study strives to explore the present employment status of Taiwanese ship officers under the influence of special shipping across the Taiwan Straits, and to make sure if such an employment trend has a negative impact on the future operating mode of Taiwan shipping companies. By means of field interview and questionnaire, this study collected the employment data of ship officers from 21 leading shipping companies in Taiwan, and made a statistical analysis. The research findings show that the existing cross-strait shipping relationship, which is seriously distorted by the hostility between the governments of Taiwan and mainland China across the Taiwan Straits, has made Taiwanese shipping companies turn to flagging-out in order to enter the extensive shipping market of mainland China. This leads to a decline of job opportunities for Taiwanese ship officers. Ironically, the ship officers from mainland China pose a biggest threat to those in Taiwan in this respect. In addition, the operating modes of Taiwanese shipping companies also change gradually in tune with the increasing number of non-Taiwanese ship officers (mainly those from mainland China).     

集装箱船舶大型化对中国班轮运输的影响

通过竞争情报分析提供了各班轮公司未来船队结构和运力的变化趋势,由此观察到各班轮公司为了降低自身的营运成本,在最近几年大量订购超巴拿马型甚至更大型的集装箱船舶参与运输,但是却不能达到其预期的规模效应。原因就在于相当一部分成本随着船型的增大而线性增加,规模不经济。我们探讨了中国的班轮运输市场的几个重要特点:中外贸易的不平衡导致了货源的不平衡;未来贸易结构的调整会影响航线的布局和调派;贸易上的不稳定因素使班轮公司遇到外在的风险。这些特点会深远地影响集装箱船舶大型化的经济受益,相反的,集装箱船舶大型化的趋势也会加剧这些负面的影响,危及整个班轮运输市场。     

The relative efficiency and financial risk assessment of shipping companies

Since shipping companies are highly competitive, we ask whether financial risk assessment tools impact company performance and, therefore competitiveness and efficiency. Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) is used in the evaluation. Based on distinct features of the risk-return relationship, three cargo segments in the shipping industry are studied—dry bulk, liquid bulk, and containerized cargo. The influence of the risk assessment indicators on market and operational efficiency is subsequently determined using a panel regression to determine whether different asset allocation and risk management techniques improve the performance of shipping companies. In this analysis, 79 international shipping companies listed in Bloomberg Shipping Indices are included in the data collected from Thomson One for the period of 2001–2010. Efficiency estimation from the SFA shows that containerized cargo firms have better performance in both market and operating efficiencies. Operating efficiency performance is achieved by lowering liquidity. Market efficiency is improved by well-managed leverage level.     

我国航运企业发展现代物流的战略思考

世界经济一体化进程不断加快,一些国际航运公司实施全球承运人战略,纷纷抢占包括我国在内的世界物流服务市场。我国航运企业面临着如何对日益激烈的市场竞争局面。现就我国航运企业发展物流服务的必要性。开展物流服务的机遇与挑战以及对策等三个方面作系统的研讨。     

基于价值链的中海集运公司风险管理

现代海运业具有"高投资、高风险、高收益"的特点.由于风险众多而分散,传统的企业风险管理模式已难以满足现代航运企业对于风险管理的需求.从系统和集成的角度出发,提出了基于Hines价值链的航运企业风险管理模式,将航运企业面临的风险分为企业内部风险、企业间风险、价值链外部风险等3个层次;针对不同层次的风险宜采取不同的风险处理策略,并特别论述了上述3层次风险之间的关联性.作为案例,对中海集运公司的风险管理实践进行了剖析.结论表明,我国航运企业在企业内部风险管理方面已积累了丰富的经验,并开始重视通过企业间合作来削弱企业间风险的影响,但在价值链外部风险上尚乏举措,在风险管理文化的构建上亦有待深化.     

International comparison of market risks across shipping-related industries

This paper compares the behaviour of shipping and shipping-related company stock returns to reveal whether systematic risk differs from the average in the market and across sub-sectors of the maritime industry. Following an extensive collection of information through a postal questionnaire survey, 108 publicly listed shipping and shipping-related companies, across stock exchanges of the world, are classified by sector according to their core business activity. The Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) is employed for the period 1996-1999 to model stock returns and measure sector βs (systematic risk). Stock returns over the period are mostly negative. The systematic risks of the Drilling and Offshore sectors are significantly higher than those of all other sectors, but are not different from each other. There is no significant difference between the systematic risks of the Bulk, Tanker, Container and Ferry sectors. The systematic risk of the Cruise sector lies somewhere between these two groups. There is no difference in the systematic risk of companies that diversified within shipping or shipping-related industries when compared to companies that diversified in other areas. Over all companies in the sample, βis lower than the market average, and so are the βs of the Ferry, Tanker, Bulk, Container and Yard sectors. Only the βof the Drilling sector is statistically higher than one, while the Cruise, Diversified and Offshore sectors are statistically one.     

海外项目之风险管控

越来越多的国内企业走向国际市场参与全球性的竞争。国内企业在海外施工项目的成败直接影响着企业的利润、声誉甚至生存。由于国际工程存在诸多不确定因素,加之我国工程企业自身弱点,企业在参与国际工程过程中面临着各种风险。以毛塔石油码头修复工程为例,分析海外项目风险管理现状,阐述了外项目风险识别方法,并提出行之有效的风险管理策略,以期增强企业风险管理意识,提高风险识别和评估能力。     

'Government preference' and its influence on the shipping industry in Korea

The author suggests the existence of 'government preference', which has changed the structure of the Korean economy from that of a light-goods industry to one of a heavy and chemical goods industry; and which has affected the formation of an export-dependent economy. 'Government preference' has also affected the shipping sector which was favoured as a foreign-exchange earner, not as an income generator. Korean shipping expanded through market forces in its earlier developmental stage where tonnage of the Korean fleet grew moderately and profitability was reasonably good; and by 'government preference' towards shipping externalities (balance-of-payments effect and support for export industry) which became a prime concern of the government in later years where the fleet expanded rapidly in spite of negative profitability. It follows that under circumstances of 'government preference' which is strong enough to work and which prefers shipping's external effect to value added generated by shipping. Korean shipping might well record a poor performance in terms of profitability. This means that Korean shipping companies' prime concern lies in 'survival' not in 'profit'.     

Environmental awareness and practice concerning maritime air emissions: the case of the Greek shipping industry

One of the most urgent environmental problems facing the shipping industry today is the reduction of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions from its operations and the possible cost-effective ways in which this reduction could be accomplished. Various technical and operational measures have been proposed as well as market-based instruments for the achievement of the compliance of marine industry with these measures. This paper investigates the levels of environmental awareness of the Greek shipping companies and their views and practices on the proposed policies for the reduction of GHG emissions from their ships. A survey was carried out using a questionnaire distributed to Greek shipping companies of different sizes, involved in different segments of the marine industry, so that the survey's results not only represent a large part of the Greek shipping industry but also reveal the different environmental attitudes and practices on maritime GHG emissions among the shipping companies. Given the size and the importance of the Greek shipping industry in the international maritime field, this paper's results present a special significance as they could be further analyzed and taken into account for the achievement of the compliance of marine industry with any future policy instrument for the reduction of maritime GHG emissions.     

Flagging options for the future: A turning point in Korean shipping policy?

The issues surrounding the future of Korea's shipping policy have been heavily debated since 1990 because the Korean shipping industry has been facing rising crew costs and difficulties in recruitment of qualified crew, an adverse taxation system, very limited access to foreign capital markets, and an inflexible government regulatory environment. Consequently, this has contributed to the deterioration of Korea's compectitive edge. This paper aims to provide both an account of the current adverse situtation in Korean shipping business and proposals to alleviate the plight of shipping enterprises. Within the context of that adversity, two solutions are suggested to improve the current situation, by either establishing a Korean second register or flagging out. The paper explores the advantages and disadvantages of each solution. Because ship management is closely interrelated to flagging strategies, the paper also discusses areas of co-operation between Korean shipping or ship management companies and advanced foreign ship management companies.     

Korean liner shipping in the era of global alliances

In the course of the last two decades Korean shipping has emerged as a major player in the liner market. In 1970 there was not a single container ship in the Korean fleet; yet, within the next two decades, shipping companies from Korea have become included among the top 10 liner operators in the world, in the context of a spectacular ascent of Asian companies in international container shipping. During the same period the organization of liner shipping itself underwent major changes. In the 1970s and 1980s, pools and powerful consortia prevailed, maximizing frequency and optimizing fleet deployment under pressure from the high investment entailed by containerization. The era of consortia, however, came to a close in the early 1990s; intermodalism and the expansion of the major liner companies into forward and backward segments of the transport chain rendered them inflexible for pursuing individual strategies of product diversification with a view to larger market shares. Global alliances were finally born as a result of a major reshuffling of co-operation agreements and of the globalization of the production process on the demand side. The aim of this paper is to follow and assess the options available to an aggressive low-cost national fleet in its journey to competitive maturity through a period of changing organization of liner shipping, focusing on the course of the leading Korean container company, and one of the largest in the world today, Hanjin. It highlights at the same time both the deep structural changes which liner shipping has undergone in the last two decades and the effects of current changes, such as the recent wave of mergers in this sector.     

Perceptions of foreign exchange rate risk in the shipping industry

This is an analysis of the impact of exchange rate risk on the performance of major shipping companies from two important maritime nations, Japan and Norway. For the shipping industry, such risk is exacerbated by freight rates fixed in US dollars which must then be converted into numerous other currencies. The appreciation of the Yen against the US dollar has been such that Japanese companies have been impelled to insulate themselves from exchange rate movements by natural hedging. For Norway, where fluctuations of the Krone against the US dollar have been less dramatic, exposure has been maintained, allowing an element of speculation. In both cases the market indicates that exchange rate risk is a significant factor in the determination of corporate performance.     

Perceptions of foreign exchange rate risk in the shipping industry

This is an analysis of the impact of exchange rate risk on the performance of major shipping companies from two important maritime nations, Japan and Norway. For the shipping industry, such risk is exacerbated by freight rates fixed in US dollars which must then be converted into numerous other currencies. The appreciation of the Yen against the US dollar has been such that Japanese companies have been impelled to insulate themselves from exchange rate movements by natural hedging. For Norway, where fluctuations of the Krone against the US dollar have been less dramatic, exposure has been maintained, allowing an element of speculation. In both cases the market indicates that exchange rate risk is a significant factor in the determination of corporate performance.     

国际航运电子市场分析

从介绍近年来电子商务革命对航运业发展的深刻影响入手，阐述了国际航运电子市场的优点、发展演化。根据市场规模和交易频率、市场套利能力和市场信息不均衡性等3个重要因素，分析了国际航运电子市场的定价形态，并进一步分析了相应的定价政策。从而为航运交易的各方进入国际航运电子市场，实现其盈利目标提供了有益的参考。     

Risk and return of U.S. water transportation stocks over time and over bull and bear market conditions

The aim of this paper is to investigate the behaviour of water transportation company stock returns in the U.S. stock exchanges from 1985 to 1994 in order to determine whether the systematic risk of this industry is different from that of the 'average' company in the market, whether it has changed over the ten year period, over bull and bear market conditions, and whether there is a firm 'size' effect in the industry. In the context of the Capital Asset Pricing Model (Capm), we find that the systematic risk of the shipping industry return is not different from that of the 'average' company. It is also found that the covariance of water transportation companies with respect to the overall stock market return did not change over the ten year period although it appears that it has changed over normal upward/downward market movements. There is also reasonable evidence that the intercept of the equation might have changed over normal upward/downward market movements. Finally, we document contradictory evidence regarding the size effect; during the period 1985-1989 we find small companies to have significantly higher returns and risk while during the period 1990-1994 medium size companies tend to have higher risk than small and large firms, which is not however compensated by higher returns.     

An analysis and comparison of multinational officers of the watch in the global maritime labor market

ABSTRACT

Officer of the watch (OOW) is an important part of the maritime labor market. For many years, countries have been improving their development of OOWs for the maritime market, in terms of both quantity and quality. As the supply of qualified OOWs for maritime transportation is such an important issue, shipping companies recruit multinational OOWs for both economic and socio-cultural reasons. This study aims to identify the qualifications of an ideal officer that holds office on commercial ships, and to make a comparison among Filipino, Chinese, Indian, Eastern European and Turkish OOWs. The research takes into account expert opinions of a number of shipping companies that employ multinational seafarers. A Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) technique is applied in this study to assist in the comparison of officers. A number of main and sub-criteria are outlined to determine both positive and negative aspects of OOWs from the selected countries for decision making purposes. This study allows maritime countries to evaluate their maritime education and training policies for selection and assessment of OOWs.     

“大船小证”成因及治理对策

随着我国水运市场快速发展,＂大船小证＂问题逐渐增多,给水上交通安全环境带来重大隐患,严重干扰了航运业、造船业的发展秩序。文中就＂大船小证＂产生的原因,危害,整治的难点以及对策措施进行探讨,望能更好地规范船舶检验,确保航运安全。     

Problems faced by the shipping industry in raising capital in the securities markets

This papers examines the reasons for the shipping industry's general failure to exploit the enormous capital raising potential offered by the world's major security markets. The basic reason put forward is one of joint ignorance and lack a of communication. On the one hand shipping perceives the market as being unsympathetic to its requierments. On the other hand, the Stock market assess it as a minor activity and this is combined with a presumption of industrial instability. An analysis of recent initial public offering of equaity options in shipping highlights the inadequacy of companies who have ventured that way. In particular it is pointed out that shipping companies who embark on such a course must not forget that equaity is, at one end the same time, the cheapest and the most expensive money which they can raise. There is a further underlying problem for the industry, which is that market capital raising neccessiates the loss of personal control.     

Problems faced by the shipping industry in raising capital in the securities markets

This papers examines the reasons for the shipping industry's general failure to exploit the enormous capital raising potential offered by the world's major security markets. The basic reason put forward is one of joint ignorance and lack a of communication. On the one hand shipping perceives the market as being unsympathetic to its requierments. On the other hand, the Stock market assess it as a minor activity and this is combined with a presumption of industrial instability. An analysis of recent initial public offering of equaity options in shipping highlights the inadequacy of companies who have ventured that way. In particular it is pointed out that shipping companies who embark on such a course must not forget that equaity is, at one end the same time, the cheapest and the most expensive money which they can raise. There is a further underlying problem for the industry, which is that market capital raising neccessiates the loss of personal control.