The Northwest Passage: A simulation

We model shipping through the Northwest Passage in northern Canada in order to see if reported recent ice thinning has made this route economic relative to the Panama Canal. Container shipping between Yokohama to New York and St. Johns, Newfoundland is simulated by VSLAM for the two routes using bluewater ships for the Panama Canal and identically sized Canadian Arctic Class 3 (CAC3) ships for the Northwest Passage. Each route is broken into a series of logical legs, and environmental conditions and wait times are assigned. Ice conditions are modeled from historical records. Average speed through the Northwest Passage shows little seasonal variation. Round trips per year are higher through the Northwest Passage. The required freight rate (RFR) to recover all costs including capital recovery is calculated. RFR is slightly lower for the St. Johns to Yokohama transit using the Northwest Passage, and higher for the New York to Yokohama route, as compared to the Panama Canal. Possible future thinning of Arctic ice would further improve the economics of the Northwest Passage.     

Comments on “Case studies of shipping along Arctic routes. Analysis and profitability perspectives for the container sector” [Transp. Res. Part A: Policy Pract. 66 (2014) 144–161]

This paper points out an important factor that was neglected by “Case studies of shipping along Arctic routes. Analysis and profitability perspectives for the container sector,” when analysing the operating economy of Arctic routes. Further, this paper explains the idea that cargo has a time value. Arctic routes are likely to bring greater commercial value than the Suez, if cargo time value were to be considered.     

Does a carbon tax affect the feasibility of Arctic shipping?

The Arctic route has huge potential for shipping between Europe and Northeast Asia with significant savings in transit time and distance. However, GHG emissions from shipping would harm the environment of Arctic area. Potential Market Based Measures of GHG emission reduction (such as carbon tax) are under consideration but they may affect the economic viability of Northern Sea Route (NSR) for containerships. This paper investigates the economic viability of NSR against Suez Canal Route (SCR) under 2 proposed carbon tax schemes (fixed vs. progressive). Three different fuel oil types (Heavy Fuel Oil, Light Fuel Oil, Liquified Natural Gas) are used as main bunker fuel for the calculation of economic feasibility. Our result reveals that when there is no carbon tax on NSR nor SCR, or both routes are under a carbon tax scheme, no matter fixed or progressive, NSR is more economically viable, regardless of fuel type choice. When only NSR is under a carbon tax scheme, the viability depends on specific carbon tax scheme and fuel choice, but for the majority of containership sizes, NSR has lower unit cost. The result also suggests that for a given route, a progressive scheme in preferable than a fixed one and LNG would be an appealing fuel with lower unit cost.     

冰撞载荷作用下船舶夹芯抗冲击舷侧结构设计

伴随着"冰上丝绸之路"口号的提出,也为开发北极航道带来了空前的机遇。而北极航区有大量的浮冰存在,船舶航行时难免会遇到船与冰碰撞的问题。在查阅相关文献和掌握理论知识的基础上,利用ANSYS/LS-DYNA建立船舶--浮冰碰撞模型,分别对不同船舶夹芯式舷侧结构与普通结构和浮冰碰撞的损伤情况进行数值模拟计算,根据对数据结果的比较分析选取出一种较优的抗冰载荷作用的结构形式。     

Analyzing trade-offs between transportation,inventory and production costs on freight networks

The purpose of this paper is to determine optimal shipping strategies (i.e. routes and shipment sizes) on freight networks by analyzing trade-offs between transportation, inventory, and production set-up costs. Networks involving direct shipping, shipping via a consolidation terminal, and a combination of terminal and direct shipping are considered. This paper makes three main contributions. First, an understanding is provided of the interface between transportation and production set-up costs, and of how these costs both affect inventory. Second, conditions are identified that indicate when networks involving direct shipments between many origins and destinations can be analyzed on a link-by-link basis. Finally, a simple optimization method is developed that simultaneously determines optimal routes and shipment sizes for networks with a consolidation terminal and concave cost functions. This method decomposes the network into separate sub-networks, and determines the optimum analytically without the need for mathematical programming techniques.     

Segment-based alteration for container liner shipping network design

Container liner shipping companies only partially alter their shipping networks to cope with the changing demand, rather than entirely redesign and change the network. In view of the practice, this paper proposes an optimal container liner shipping network alteration problem based on an interesting idea of segment, which is a sequence of legs from a head port to a tail port that are visited by the same type of ship more than once in the existing shipping network. In segment-based network alteration, the segments are intact and each port is visited by the same type of ship and from the same previous ports. As a result, the designed network needs minimum modification before implementation. A mixed-integer linear programming model with a polynomial number of variables is developed for the proposed segmented-based liner shipping network alternation problem. The developed model is applied to an Asia–Europe–Oceania liner shipping network with a total of 46 ports and 11 ship routes. Results demonstrate that the problem could be solved efficiently and the optimized network reduces the total cost of the initial network considerably.     

Maritime routing and speed optimization with emission control areas

Strict limits on the maximum sulphur content in fuel used by ships have recently been imposed in some Emission Control Areas (ECAs). In order to comply with these regulations many ship operators will switch to more expensive low-sulphur fuel when sailing inside ECAs. Since they are concerned about minimizing their costs, it is likely that speed and routing decisions will change because of this. In this paper, we develop an optimization model to be applied by ship operators for determining sailing paths and speeds that minimize operating costs for a ship along a given sequence of ports. We perform a computational study on a number of realistic shipping routes in order to evaluate possible impacts on sailing paths and speeds, and hence fuel consumption and costs, from the ECA regulations. Moreover, the aim is to examine the implications for the society with regards to environmental effects. Comparisons of cases show that a likely effect of the regulations is that ship operators will often choose to sail longer distances to avoid sailing time within ECAs. Another effect is that they will sail at lower speeds within and higher speeds outside the ECAs in order to use less of the more expensive fuel. On some shipping routes, this might give a considerable increase in the total amount of fuel consumed and the CO₂ emissions.     

Microeconomic determinants of dry bulk shipping freight rates and contract times

While the literature has established macroeconomic determinants of shipping freight (charter) rates, there has been no systematic investigation of the microeconomic determinants of shipping freight rates. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate microeconomic determinants of freight rates in the dry bulk shipping market, using a large sample of individual dry bulk charter contracts from January 2003 to July 2009. Differences in freight rates across major dry bulk shipping routes, the geographical distribution of shipping activities around the world, and the duration of the laycan period of shipping contracts are also investigated. Estimated results suggest that the laycan period and dry bulk freight rates are interrelated and determined simultaneously. Furthermore, vessel deadweight, age and voyage routes are important determinants of dry bulk shipping freight rates, while determinants of the laycan period of chartered vessels include vessel age, freight rate level, and freight rate volatility.     

Shipping log data based container ship fuel efficiency modeling

Container shipping lines have been initiating various ship fuel efficiency management programs because bunker fuel costs always dominate the daily operating costs of a container ship. As the basis of these kinds of programs, we develop a viable research methodology for modeling the relationship between the fuel consumption rate of a particular container ship and its determinants, including sailing speed, displacement, sea conditions and weather conditions, by using the shipping log data available in practice. The developed methodology consists of an outlier-score-based data preprocessing procedure to tackle the fuzziness, inaccuracy and limited information of shipping logs, and two regression models for container ship fuel efficiency. Real shipping logs from four container ships (two with 13000 TEUs and two with 5000 TEUs) over a six-month sailing period are used to exhibit the applicability and effectiveness of the proposed methodology. The empirical studies demonstrate the performance of three models for fitting the fuel consumption rate of a ship and the industrial merits of ship fuel efficiency management. In addition, we highlight the potential impacts of the models developed in this study on liner shipping network analysis, as these models can serve as base models for additionally considering the influence of displacement and weather conditions on ship fuel efficiency and exhaust emissions.     

Reversing port rotation directions in a container liner shipping network

Reversing port rotation directions of ship routes is a practical alteration of container liner shipping networks. The port rotation directions of ship routes not only affect the transit time of containers, as has been recognized by the literature, but also the shipping capacity and transshipment cost. This paper aims to obtain the optimal port rotation directions that minimize the generalized network-wide cost including transshipment cost, slot-purchasing cost and inventory cost. A mixed-integer linear programming model is proposed for the optimal port rotation direction optimization problem and it nests a minimum cost multi-commodity network flow model. The proposed model is applied to a liner shipping network operated by a global liner shipping company. Results demonstrate that real-case instances could be efficiently solved and significant cost reductions are gained by optimization of port rotation directions.     

Assessment of profit,cost and emissions by varying speed as a function of sea conditions and freight market

This paper assesses shipping profits, costs and emissions by speed and as a function of sea and freight market conditions. Traditionally, seagoing vessels have been designed to operate at standardized, maximum economic speeds based on hydrodynamic considerations. High fuel costs and increased environmental concerns have challenged this practice. While speed reductions may reduce costs and emissions, most studies are based on still water conditions despite these being the exceptions. In addition, shipping lines operate in a commercial market with the objective of making profit and not solely on cost reductions. Our results show that significant cost and emissions reductions can be achieved and that the maximum economic speeds based on hydrodynamic considerations even in a good freight market are lower than the design speeds.     

Accompanied versus Unaccompanied Transport in Short Sea Shipping between Spain and Italy: An Analysis from Transport Road Firms Perspective

Short sea shipping (SSS) is called to play a key role in ensuring sustainable mobility in the European context. In the past years several studies tried to define the SSS requirements and also to identify the SSS lines that were economically viable. However, no studies approach the profile of their users—the road transport firms—and the organizational patterns adopted by them, in order to gain a better understanding of this transport modality. This research, on the basis of a sample of 81 international road transport firms that use SSS between Spain and Italy, analyses the profile of these firms and certain elements inherent to their relationship with the shipping firms, according to the two modalities of organizing their SSS transport operations: accompanied versus unaccompanied.     

Increased energy efficiency in short sea shipping through decreased time in port

According to a range of assessments, there exists a large cost-effective potential to increase energy efficiency in shipping through reduced speed at sea enabled by shorter time in port. This means that the energy needed can be reduced whilst maintaining the same transport service. However, the fact that a large cost-effective potential has been identified that is not being harnessed by decision-makers in practice suggests that there is more to this potential to understand. In this paper, the possibilities for increasing energy efficiency by reducing waiting time in port are explored and problematised through a case study of a short sea bulk shipping company transporting dry bulk goods mainly in the North and Baltic seas. Operational data from two ships in the company’s fleet for one year showed that the ships spent more than 40% of their time in ports and that half of the time in port was not productive. The two most important reasons for the large share of unproductive time were that ports were closed on nights and weekends and that ships arrived too early before the stevedores were ready to load or unload the cargo. Reducing all of the unproductive time may be difficult, but the results also show that even a conservative estimate of one to four hours of reduced time per port call would lead to a reduction in energy use of 2–8%. From in-depth interviews with employees of the shipping company, ports and ship agencies, a complex picture is painted when attempting to understand how this potential arises. Aspects such as a lack of effective ship-shore-port communication, little time for ship operators, an absence of means for accurately predicting energy use of voyages as a function of speed, perceived risk of arriving too late, and relationships with third-party technical management may all play a role.     

International emission regulation in sea transport: Economic feasibility and impact

Emissions from shipping due to the burning of the sulphur content of marine fuels conduce to air pollution in the form of sulphur dioxide and particulate matter. Various international organisations and institutions impose environmental standards on their member states to limit the emission of greenhouse gases. This paper examines both the potential effects of the emerging international maritime emission regulations on the competition between seaports and the potential underlying economic motivations fostering the discussion of introducing Emission Control Areas. It focuses on deepsea shipping. Another novelty is that the environmental issues are addressed from a policy, an economic and a legislative viewpoint. For the policy-related part, it is found that the political theory of public choice suggests that not the green lobby but rather the petrochemical lobby is the major driving factor behind the very strict emission caps. A potential port shift from Northern Europe to Mediterranean ports seems unlikely due to logistics disadvantages and service problems in Southern European ports. Finally, no convincing proof was found that the main liner companies would be unprepared for this legislation and should be persuaded to change their routes in favour of Mediterranean ports solely on account of the various emission regulations. The legal analysis, however, showed that the current enforcement regime of MARPOL Annex VI should be improved in order to rule out the possibility of a low degree of compliance and to protect the competiveness of complying ships.     

Effects of regulation-driven green innovations on short sea shipping's environmental and economic performance

Despite its pivotal role in European trade, today’s short sea shipping (SSS) industry faces the dual challenge of lessening its environmental footprint while improving its economic performance. To reduce the pollution caused by their operations, SSS companies are required to comply with increasingly stringent environmental regulations enacted by global and regional authorities such as the European Union and the International Maritime Organization. However, the companies tend to regard those regulations as imposing an additional burden of cost that compromises their capacity to enhance their economic performance. This paper examines the impact of external institutional driver namely regulatory pressure on the adoption of green innovations in SSS and in turn, the impact of those innovations on the environmental and economic performance of SSS companies. To investigate the hypothesised relationships of those constructs, a structural equation model was developed and tested with data from a survey conducted amongst 101 short sea shipping companies headquartered in Europe. As detailed in the paper, the analysis revealed that regulatory pressure has generated green innovations that have enhanced the environmental and economic performance of European SSS companies and, as a result, led to a win–win situation for all parties involved. The paper discusses what those findings imply for SSS firm managers and policymakers who seek to improve the environmental or economic performance of Europe’s SSS industry.     

In Search of the Link between Ship Size and Operations

Abstract

Since 1990s the liner shipping industry has faced a period of restructuring and consolidation, and been confronted with a continuing increase in container vessel scale. The impact of these changes is noticeable in trade patterns, cargo handling methods and shipping routes, in short ‘operations’. After listing factors influencing size, growth in container ship size is explained by economies of scale in deploying larger vessels. In order to quantify economies of scale, this paper uses the liner service cash flow model. A novelty in the model is the inclusion of +6000-20-foot Equivalent Unit (TEU) vessels and the distinction in costs between single and twin propeller units on ships. The results illustrate that scale economies have been – and will continue to be – the driving force behind the deployment of larger container vessels. The paper then assesses the link between ship size and operations, given current discussions about the increase in container vessel scale. It is found that (a) ship size and operations are linked; (b) optimal ship size depends on transport segment (deep-sea vs. short-sea shipping, SSS), terminal type (transhipment terminals vs. other terminals), trade lane (East-West vs. North-South trades) and technology; and (c) a ship optimal for one trade can be suboptimal for another.     

Container vessel fleet deployment for liner shipping with stochastic dependencies in shipping demand

The problem of optimal container vessels deployment is one of great significance for the liner shipping industry. Although the pioneering work on this problem dates back to the early 1990s, only until recently have researchers started to acknowledge and account for the significant amount of uncertainty present in shipping demand in real world container shipping. In this paper, new analytical results are presented to further relax the input requirements for this problem. Specifically, only the mean and variance of the maximum shipping demand are required to be known. An optional symmetry assumption is shown to further reduce the feasible region and deployment cost for typical confidence levels. Moreover, unlike previous work that tends to ignore stochastic dependencies between the shipping demands on the various routes (that are known to exist in the real world), our models account for such dependencies in the most general setting to date. A salient feature of our modeling approach is that the exact dependence structure does not need to be specified, something that is hard, if not simply impossible, to determine in practice. A numerical case study is provided to illustrate the proposed models.     

The impact of alternative routeing and packaging scenarios on carbon and sulphate emissions in international wine distribution

There is a large body of research related to carbon footprint reduction in supply chains and logistics from a wide range of sectors; however the decarbonisation of freight transport is mostly explored from a single mode perspective and at a domestic/regional level. This paper takes into account a range of alternative transport modes, routes and methods with particular reference to UK wine imports from two regions: northern Italy and Southeast Australia. The research examines supply chain structures, costs and the environmental impact of international wine distribution to the UK. A number of options are evaluated to calculate the carbon footprint and sulphate emissions of alternative route, mode, method of carriage, and packaging combinations. The estimation of CO₂e emissions incorporates three main elements - cargo mass, distance and method of carriage; sulphate emissions are derived from actual ship routes, engine power and operational speeds. The bottling of wine either at source or close to destination is also taken into consideration. The key findings are: there are major differences between the environmental footprint of different routeing and packaging scenarios; the international shipping leg almost always has a much larger footprint than inland transport within the UK except in the hypothetical case of the rail shipments from Italy using flexitanks. With reference to sulphate, the lowest cost scenario among the sea maximizing options is also the sulphate minimising solution.     

The fleet renewal problem with regional emission limitations: Case study from Roll-on/Roll-off shipping

In this paper, the maritime fleet renewal problem (MFRP) is extended to include regional limitations in the form of emission control areas. The motivation for including this aspect is that strengthening of emission regulations in such areas is expected to be challenging for deep sea shipping in the years to come. In the proposed model, various means to cope with these stricter emission regulations are evaluated for new vessels, and the possibility of upgrading existing vessels with new emission reduction technology is introduced. We consider future fuel prices to be important for the problem, and have chosen to treat them as uncertain, and thus, a stochastic programming model is chosen. A fleet renewal problem faced by the liner shipping operator Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics, concerning whether to use low sulphur fuel or have an exhaust gas scrubber system installed to comply with sulphur regulation in emission control areas from 2015, is used as a case study. Furthermore, tests show that the savings from including the aspect of emission control areas in the MFRP are substantial.