Battening down the hatches: How should the maritime industries weather the financial tsunami?

This paper investigates the major impacts of the financial tsunami on the maritime industries, notably port and shipping. The maritime industries are still reeling from market declines, with stakeholders still attempting to weather the storm as best as they can through various strategies. However, such strategies are not uniform, where significant diversifications have been noted between major markets and stakeholders. Looking ahead, this paper has identified four major issues, of which they are believed to play key roles in shaping the maritime industries in the post-2008 world. They include the changing patterns of global trades, the importance of being green, the changing government-industrial relations and the need for transparency. Each of these issues has the potential to alter the future maritime industries in diversified, but significant, ways.     

China will speed up the convertibility of the RMB

The Renminbi (RMB) circulation inneighboring countries and regionsis preparing the ground for its future goal ofbecoming a currency that can be exchangedfreely on the international market, an officialwith the central bank told the Beijing-basedOutlook news magazine recently.     

China mill speed up the conuertibility of the RMB

The Renminbi (RMB) circulation in neighboring countries and regions is preparing the ground for its future goal of becoming a currency that can be exchanged freely on the international market, an official with the central bank told the Beijing-based Outlook news magazine recently. The RMB, which is now being accepted     

On the nature and sorces of controversy in the economic analysis of the liner shipping industry†

The simulations performed show that demand for quality tankers has to increase by 30% for a two-tier tanker market to emerge. The two-tier freight structure will only last for 3–5 years due to contracting induced by higher freight rates. This means that OPA does not by itself result in higher freight rates for tankers that comply with the requirements. If Western Europe also closes their trades to substandard tankers, a two-tier market emerges and quality tankers obtain a premium. The paper presents a simulation model for international tanker markets. The non-linear complementary equilibrium model solves for a sequence of static equilibria in segmented tanker freight markets, shipbuilding and scrapping markets. Freight markets are segmented according to quality requirements for tankers. The model specifies three tanker classes and one—quality tankers—can operate both market segments.     

Blue growth and ocean governance—how to balance the use and the protection of the seas

The economic value of the oceans and maritime industry is strongly gaining in importance. As the oceans are very large and particularly sensitive ecosystems, which need to be preserved, a balance between the use and the protection of the seas has to be found. On this issue, the paper presents some thoughts starting with a brief analysis of what to understand by maritime industry which is labeled as blue economy, and a recapitulation of the main threats for the marine environment, caused by blue economy. After that, some noteworthy prerequisites and criteria for finding a sound balance between the use and the protection of the seas will be highlighted, especially the need for sustainable ocean governance is put to discussion.     

Why is the southwest the most productive region of the East Sea/Sea of Japan?

The East Sea/Sea of Japan is a moderately productive sea that supports a wealth of living marine resources. Of the East Sea subregions, the southwest has the highest productivity. Various authors have proposed coastal upwelling, the Tsushima Current, the Changjiang Dilute Water, eddies, or discharge from the Nagdong River as potential sources of additional nutrients. In this paper, we propose, using satellite data from 1998 to 2006, that the biological productivity of the southwestern region is enhanced mainly by wind-driven upwelling along the Korean coast. Firstly, the climatology of seasonal patterns suggests that the enhanced chlorophyll a along the Korean coast is of local origin. Secondly, coastal upwelling is frequent in all seasons except winter. For example, along the coast of the Ulgi region, enhanced chlorophyll a due to coastal upwelling was observed for 25–92% of the time between Jun and Sep in the period 1998–2006. Thirdly, the advection of upwelled water through various pathways to the deeper basin was observed. Fourthly, there appeared to be a strong correlation between the interannual chlorophyll a variations of the coastal upwelling regions and the Ulleung Basin. The chlorophyll a patterns of both regions were closely related to the wind pattern in the upwelling regions, but not to that in the Ulleung Basin. Finally, changes in advection pathways also appeared to affect the productivity of the Ulleung Basin. Since 2004, there has been a shift in the pathways of upwelled water, and consequent increases in chlorophyll a in the Ulleung Basin were observed. This last observation requires further investigation.     

Chinese shipbuilding industry is climbing up the summit of the world

Market share:the base for Chineseshipbuilding to get onto the topAs stated in the Programme,by2015,China's shipbuilding proportion in the glo-bal shipbuilding volume will increase to40%from the current18%,overtakingJapan;By2020,China will exceed Koreaand …     

MESSAGE from the Director

On the occasion of the additional issue of the CONTAINERIZATION, I'd like to express my sincere appreciation to the readers and authors both at home and abroad on behalf of the CONTAINERIZATION. The container transport in China is booming with leaps and bounds and the CONTAINERIZATION is becoming prosperous with each passing day. With the concern, support and help of the Ministry of Communications, Shanghai News Publication Administration     

When is the end to the problem of desolated waterborne resources?

The short supply of electric power was abig problem for many provinces in Chinain the first quarter of 2004, with a widespread of switching off power or electric-ity limit in most local areas. This situa-tion has changed in the second half of the year;how…     

The Prospect of the Development Strategy for Shipping Industry in the New Century

Facing the economic globalization and rapid developmentof new emerging States economies, the old sea power framework will be confronted with challenges. The shipping con-figuration and its share reallocation are affected by HRallocation, the difference of…     

Can steel makers dance in the rhythm of the flourishing shipbuilding industry?

Global shipbuilding orders have expe- rienced a shift from Europe to Japan and then to South Korea, and the industry now undoubt- edly agrees that the next country to come is China. The fact is true for the developing trend of Chinese shipbuilding has mad…     

Challenges to implementing motorways of the sea concept—lessons from the past

Establishing a European wide high-quality shipping links and integrating them with the trans-European Transport networks has been the vision of the European Commission (EC) to reduce land transport congestion under the Motorways of the Sea (MoS) concept. However, in spite of strong political backing and favourable policy initiatives, MoS projects have met with limited success. Establishing MoS is complex because of its international scope and involvement of a number of public and private stakeholders with conflicting objectives and goals. The paper attempts to identify critical factors for establishing viable MoS projects. The paper reviews the development of the MoS concept to understand the expectations of the EC and the concerns of the important stakeholders. The present status of these policy actions is reviewed and their possible effect on the performance of MoS projects is estimated. Case studies of short sea shipping initiatives in different parts of Europe and the world are reviewed to learn from their successes and failures. This knowledge is applied to find critical factors for the success of MoS projects in the European context.     

Application of the Grey topological method to predict the effects of ship pitching

Ship motion,with six degrees of freedom,is a complex stochastic process.Sea wind and waves are the primary influencing factors.Prediction of ship motion is significant for ship navigation.To eliminate errors,a path prediction model incorporating ship pitching was developed using the Gray topological method,after analyzing ship pitching motions.With the help of simple introduction to Gray system theory,we selected a group of threshold values.Based on an analysis of ship pitch angle sequences over 40 second intervals,a Grey metabolism GM(1,1) model was established according to the time-series which every threshold corresponded to.Forecasting future ship motion with the GM(1,1) model allowed drawing of the forecast curve with effective forecasting points.The precision of the test results show that the model is accurate,and the forecast results are reliable.     

Reliability analysis of fatigue life of the connectors—the US Mobile Offshore Base

Reliability-based design analysis of the fatigue life of the connectors of the five sections of the 2-km long US Mobile Offshore Base (MOB) is demonstrated. A performance function is defined in terms of the nominal stress range, inherent defect or starter crack, and appropriate material properties, which are considered random variables. The reliability analysis is performed for a sea state 1–8 (SS1–8) random loading having a Gumbel distribution. Where possible, uncertainty data for random variables are obtained from published data relating to the fatigue of metal and metal alloys. Otherwise, judgmental coefficients of variation are prescribed for purposes of demonstration. The fatigue life is assumed to follow the Weibull distribution. The reliability function is defined in terms of the mean life and the total uncertainty in the fatigue life. Preliminary reliability calculations suggest that current design stress levels be reduced to meet the current fatigue life target reliability level for the MOB connectors. An illustrative design is demonstrated and the metal selected for a fatigue design of the connectors for 10 million cycles with a reliability of 0.99 at a nominal stress of 203 MPa is HY-130 steel.     

Repair the house before it rains

Many people like making predictions at the end of a year. However, late October to January is not only a time for predictions, it is also when economists send out early warnings about emerging problems. Some of their comments are revealing. For instance, one problem resulting from a lack of government reform is posing a hindrance to the economy's progress.     

Can clusters be bi-polar? Exploring the case of the Piraeus port–maritime cluster

ABSTRACT

Further to being Greece’s biggest port, Piraeus has been a traditional pole of attraction for a plethora of organisations, companies, and institutions engaged in port- and shipping-related activities. Regional development literature has already indicated that the benefits deriving from adjacency and agglomeration economies are maximised when individual entities are organised in forming business clusters. Therefore, the paper critically addresses the existence of theoretical preconditions to a competitive port–maritime cluster formulation in wider Piraeus area. Based on a thorough review of cluster theory, the basic characteristics of clusters are identified to provide the analytical tools for examining the geographical concentration and economic specialisation in Piraeus. Field research in the form of in-depth interviews with leading shipping- and port-related business representatives and institutional bodies and the analysis of qualitative and quantitative data collected revealed that necessary preconditions for successful cluster formulation are met despite the inexistence of a formally recognised cluster. Two distinct poles of economic activity (shipping and port related) are recognised, demonstrating differentiated clustering behaviours and patterns of interaction with other players. The paper concludes with proposals deriving from this dual cluster structure and governance and the need for innovative, differentiated strategies.     

Study on the design method of the jack-up’s x-type cantilever allowable load nephogram

The extending of a cantilever and transverse moving of a drilling floor enable the jack-up to operate in several well positions after the Jack-up has pitched. The cantilever allowable load nephogram is the critical reference which can evaluate the jack-up＇s drilling ability, design the cantilever structure and instruct a jack-up manager to make the operations safe. The intent of this paper is to explore the interrelationships between the cantilever position, drilling floor and the loads including wind force, the stand set-back weight etc., through analyzing the structure and load characteristics of the x-type cantilever and the simplified mechanics model with the restriction of the maximum moment capacity of the cantilever single side beam. Referring to several typical position designs load values, the cantilever allowable load nephogram is obtained by using the suitable interpolation method. The paper gives a method for cantilever allowable load design, which is proved reliable and effective by the calculation example.