Maritime security guidelines: a study of Swedish ports’ perceived barriers to compliance

ABSTRACT

Due to the constant risk of piracy and terrorist attacks which cause disturbances within international shipping of goods, barriers to the adoption of maritime security guidelines (MSGs) at European ports have become prevalent. In this paper, a conceptual framework was created to explore the perceived barriers that prevent compliance with MSGs. To verify the conceptual framework, empirical data were collected using a mixed-methods approach, which was comprised of interviews with national experts and a survey of 47% of Swedish ports involved in the shipping of goods. According to the presented framework, the perceived barriers of Swedish ports to compliance with MSGs were linked to collaborations within the Swedish Maritime Security stakeholder network, available resources and educational knowledge about security culture. In addition, the perceived barriers of smaller ports were linked to the adaptation to MSGs at different levels and the absence of specific tools of maritime security management. Due to an increased interest in international shipping of goods, this paper is currently one of few that addresses the barriers to compliance with MSGs. Moreover, the paper presents a general conceptual framework, novel managerial implications and recommendations for future research.     

Big data and artificial intelligence in the maritime industry: a bibliometric review and future research directions

ABSTRACT

This study provides a bibliometric review of 279 studies on the applications of big data and artificial intelligence (AI) in the maritime industry, published in 214 academic outlets, authored by 842 scholars. We extracted bibliographical data from the Web of Science database and analysed it using the Bibliometrix tool in R software. Based on citation analysis metrics, we revealed the most influential articles, journals, authors and institutions. Using the bibliographic coupling methodology, we identified four underlying research clusters: (1) digital transformation in maritime industry, (2) applications of big data from AIS, (3) energy efficiency and (4) predictive analytics. We analysed these clusters in detail and extracted future research questions. Besides, we present research collaboration networks on the institution and author level.     

Clustering and performance: the case of maritime clustering in The Netherlands

Over the last years, the concept of clustering has become a central concept for analysing the competitiveness of nations, industries and firms. The cluster concept can be usefully applied to study clustering of maritime activities. Maritime activities, such as shipping, shipbuilding and port and maritime services, are clearly geographically concentrated in a number of maritime clusters. Due to ongoing internationalization in these industries, the concentration of maritime activities in clusters is likely to increase. This observation leads to two important research questions: what are the advantages for firms to locate in clusters and what factors influence the development of maritime clusters? This study identifies four agglomeration economies that attract firms to cluster: a joint labour pool, a broad supplier and customer base, knowledge spillovers, and low transaction costs. Furthermore, it discusses the effects of aspects of the cluster structure, being the presence of internal competition, the heterogeneity of the cluster population, the entry and exit barriers, and the presence of (above mentioned) agglomeration effects. It also briefly discusses the important issue of cluster governance. This overview allows one to develop a theoretical framework to analyse clusters. In the empirical part, this framework is applied to the maritime cluster in The Netherlands. Based on empirical data, from surveys amongst firms in the maritime cluster, studies commissioned by the Dutch maritime Network and regional statistics, the presence of agglomeration economies in the cluster is shown. Secondly, it is shown that the cluster structure is beneficial for the performance. This paper finishes with conclusions and suggestions for further research.     

Generalized F distribution model with random parameters for estimating property damage cost in maritime accidents

ABSTRACT

This study develops a generalized F distribution model with random parameters to estimate the ship property damage cost in maritime traffic accidents with 10 years’ shipping accident data in the Fujian waters. Model results show that sinking and capsizing can incur the largest property damage cost, followed by collisions, contact, grounding and fire/explosion. There is a smaller ship property damage cost when the ship is moored or docked. The poor visibility has the least impact on the increment of ship property damage cost. Results reveal that the bigger property damage cost is associated with maritime accidents occurring in the Straits/sea areas and under the strong wind/wave condition and nighttime periods. It is also found that the lookout failure exhibits a bigger effect than the operation error. These results are helpful for policy makers to make efficient strategies for reducing property damage cost in maritime accidents. The developed model is useful for insurance companies in determining the appropriate ship insurance rates.     

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.     

Maritime accident risk estimation for sea lanes based on a dynamic Bayesian network

ABSTRACT

The safety of maritime transportation has become increasingly important with the development of international economics and trade. This paper introduces a dynamic Bayesian network (DBN) model to facilitate the estimation of the dynamic emergency risk in sea lanes. The DBN model is a novel model that can efficiently represent and infer complex stochastic knowledge. To construct this model, available data, which were collected from emergency investigation reports by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), are employed in conjunction with expert knowledge to develop and demonstrate a BN; an evidence theory approach is applied to calculate the prior probability with the help of historical data; the conditional probability is learned by the expectation maximization (EM) algorithm; and the transition probability is obtained by a Markov model. Finally, the Viterbi algorithm is adopted to estimate emergency risk. The emergencies that occurred in the Indian Ocean from 2009 to 2018 were used as a case study for risk estimation. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to identify significant influential factors. The results show that the sea lane risk in the Indian Ocean fluctuates within a small range, presenting an overall downward trend over time. These findings provide a reference for maritime stakeholders to make proper decisions.     

EU maritime transport

The purpose of this paper is to summarize the European maritime transport policy within the context of maritime politics at large. At the outset the legal framework conditions and supportive instruments for the shipping and port industries are presented. Against the background of recent accidents at sea, such as the sinking of ERIKA and PRESTIGE, the EU legislation on maritime safety is of particular interest as it is both complex and rapid in reaction to environmental needs and political pressure. Finally, the sensible relationship between the EU as a regional organization and the IMO as “the competent international organization” is discussed with a view to reconcile possible rivalry and to suggest a complementary cooperation between the two organizations.     

A quantitative risk analysis by using interval type-2 fuzzy FMEA approach: the case of oil spill

ABSTRACT

Risk assessment in maritime domain is one of the most cited topics since maritime transportation poses potential hazard for human life, marine environment and property. To mitigate risk and enhance safety awareness in maritime transportation, safety researchers have been seeking proactive solutions. This article prompts a quantitative risk-based approach combining interval type-2 fuzzy sets (IT2FSs) with failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) to perform a comprehensive risk analysis. Thus, potential failure modes and their effects are revealed by calculating risk prioritisation numbers (RPNs). Whilst the FMEA method provides a robust risk analysing tool with relevant control options, the IT2FSs deals with ambiguity and vagueness of linguistic assessment of decision-makers through the FMEA. Hence, expert’s linguistic assessment in risk assessment can be transformed into useful information in terms of enhancing safety and pollution prevention in maritime industry. To demonstrate the proposed approach, potential failures and effects of a real shipboard oil spill case are handled. The findings show that incomplete information exchanged with local maritime authorities, malfunction of oil skimmer and poor organization of shoreline clean-up team are the most important failures during case of oil spill. The proposed approach provides not only theoretical insight into the maritime transportation industry but also practical contributions to chemical/oil tanker safety and environmental protection by mitigating risk in terms of technical or operational aspects.     

Investigating UAVs applications and intention to use in the maritime shipping in Taiwan

ABSTRACT

This study empirically evaluated the effects of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) applications and acceptable cost on intention to use UAVs in maritime shipping contexts. Factor analysis was employed to identify key UAVs applications (i.e. pollution forensics, supervision and service, search and rescue, humanitarian and emergency delivery, and safety and security), acceptable UAV cost, and intention to use UAVs. Survey data were collected from 201 respondents working for a maritime port corporation, shipping company, agency, and stevedoring company, and then hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to test research hypotheses and examine the effects of UAVs applications and acceptable cost dimensions on intention to use UAVs. The results suggested that the pollution forensics, supervision and service, search and rescue, humanitarian and emergency delivery, and safety and security dimensions positively affected intention to use UAVs. The study findings also revealed negative associations among seniority, turnover, and intention to use UAVs. Theoretical contributions and managerial implications are proposed to assist maritime port bureaus, corporations, and operating practice design in remaining competitive and efficient.     

Risk analysis of maritime accidents along the main route of the Maritime Silk Road: a Bayesian network approach

ABSTRACT

The safety of maritime transportation along the twenty-first century Maritime Silk Road (MSR) is important to ensure its development and sustainability. Maritime transportation poses risks of accidents that can cause the death or injury of crew members and damage to ships and the environment. This paper proposes a Bayesian network (BN) based risk analysis approach that is newly applied in the main route of the MSR to analyse its relevant maritime accidents. The risk data are manually collected from the reports of the accident that occurred along the MSR. Next, the risk factors are identified and the results from the modelling method can provide useful insights for accident prevention. Historical data collected from accident reports are used to estimate the prior probabilities of the identified risk factors influencing the occurrence of maritime accidents. The results show that the main influencing factors are the type and location of an accident and the type, speed, and age of the involved ship(s). In addition, scenario analysis is conducted to analyse the risks of different ships in various navigational environments. The findings can be used to analyse the probability of each possible maritime accident along MSR and to provide useful insights for shipowners’ accident prevention.     

Smaller ports’ evolution towards catalysing sustainable hinterland development

ABSTRACT

From simple organizations as gateways for goods and passengers, ports have evolved and transformed into complex organizational systems with multiple functions. Besides providing cargo, logistics, and other kinds of services to its customers, modern ports engage in the development of their hinterlands. Sustainability, evolving from environmental actions over the years, has become the core of many modern ports’ approach towards hinterland development and port competitiveness. While the literature is concerned with and presents examples of large ports implementing sustainability initiatives, the literature is scarce on smaller ports. This article addresses this gap by exploring qualitatively the case of the Port of Aalborg, a medium-sized port in Denmark, and its evolution towards using sustainability for port and hinterland development. The research focuses on the actions behind environmental development at the port. Its evolution is mapped and explored using the analytical framework developed based on the (larger) ports’ development and their roles. The findings from the Port of Aalborg case exemplify how smaller ports can evolve to drive the sustainable development of their hinterlands and contribute to a better understanding of this kind of port.     

Real-time assessment and prediction on maritime risk state on the Arctic Route

ABSTRACT

Recently, the Arctic Route has become busier with the continuous melting of Arctic ice. However, navigation on the Arctic Route would be much more complex than in normal water as harsh environmental conditions, such as ice-covered water and scarce costal ports that may cause more uncertainty. Nowadays, with the rapid development of sensors on board, more related data has become available. Thus, implementing comprehensive Arctic maritime risk assessment is urgent and necessary in practice. This study proposes an Arctic maritime risk state assessment method including real-time risk state assessment and risk prediction. Specifically, real-time observation samples’ numerical risk state would be firstly obtained with projection pursuit method from 10 risk indicators. Due to the fuzzy uncertainty of single observation set, information diffusion would be applied to provide diffusion estimation on risk probability distribution in order to depict risk state precisely. Also, the accumulated distribution can be regarded as the risk prediction for next time slot and risk entropy is introduced to depict risk tendency directly. Case study based on ‘Yongsheng’ is conducted to demonstrate and verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. The findings can be useful for the operators and management on board during the Arctic voyage.     

A game-theoretical approach for modeling competitions in a maritime supply chain

ABSTRACT

To accommodate the structural changes in logistics, competitions along a maritime supply chain are more intensive than before. This paper adopts a two-stage noncooperative game-theoretical approach to model the horizontal and vertical interactions among liners and ports. In the first stage, Bertrand game is applied to model the interactions between two liners. When the shipping line decides which port to call, a multinomial Logit model is applied. In the second stage, Bertrand game is applied to model the competitions between two ports. Nash equilibrium is derived by solving the Bertrand games. A numerical example is provided as a case study.     

Testing port choice models using physical and monetary data: a comparative case study for the Spanish container trades

ABSTRACT

Transport costs are useful explanatory variables in port choice research. Nevertheless, the availability of such information usually poses a problem. Thus, the formulation of an alternative approach, to be used as a proxy of these variables, would be desirable. The objective of this study is to improve the analysis of container port choice using logit models by adopting physical non-monetary indicators based on maritime distance and ship size. The statistical tests of logit models on port choice using these new variables are compared with the result of using cost variables for the same data set of choice positions. The statistical outcome is good and allows us to present this new approach as a contribution to the literature on port choice modeling.     

Conceptual framework for Comparing University baccalaureate programmes in shipping management

For a long time, a maritime education meant the education of a mariner where technical knowledge of seafaring was taught. However, shipping has evolved into a global and sophisticated business where two kinds of managers are required: one that deals with the operation of the vessel and the other that deals with the shore-side business. The education landscape for shipping has also evolved with time. A mariner’s education has evolved from apprenticeship on a ship to a professional certificate from maritime academies. The shore-side business is traditionally staffed by master mariners that made the career transition from sea to shore but the current staffing trend is to employ graduates schooled in business and/or management. It has been long recognised that shore-side business personnel should ideally be also knowledgeable in vessel operations. Under this scenario, several maritime degree programmes have cropped up around the world to bridge the knowledge gap of shore-side business personnel. This paper provides an overview of the evolution of maritime education and selected maritime degree programmes around the world and proposes a conceptual framework for comparing the programmes. The conceptual framework serves as a guide for evaluating maritime education and an aid to curriculum design where choices of courses need to be made to fit into a 3-year or 4-year study programme.     

An integrated framework for carbon footprinting at container seaports: the case study of a Chinese port

The objective of this research is to establish an integrated framework for carbon footprinting (CF) at container seaports (CSs). Three methodological approaches are used in this research: the multiple case study to choose suitable evaluation methods, the case study for verification of the proposed framework, and the quantitative method to calculate the emissions. The proposed integrated framework consists of five modules: policy components, sources structure, input data, emissions estimation and mitigation strategies. The effectiveness of the integrated framework is demonstrated through the practical application in Qingdao Port in China. The case study results in the detailed estimation of CO₂ emissions and detects the problem of data collection and data accuracy for CF and the necessity of stakeholders’ cooperation. The integrated framework serves to evaluate, analyze and control CO₂ emissions from the CS operations.     

Missing the tide? Workplace cultural differences as a barrier to seafarer mobility in the U.S. workboat and sail training sectors

ABSTRACT

While previous research details the psychological and social benefits of sail training programs for amateur ‘trainees,’ much less is known about the value and transferability of sail training work experience in terms of professional development for seafaring careers. This article reviews the current state of scientific knowledge on sail training and presents the findings of a qualitative study of maritime recruiter perceptions at 10 U.S. flag workboat companies. Results suggest that the maritime industry may benefit from an improved understanding of the role that sail training programs and the sail training community can play in training and inspiring the next generation of motivated and professional seafarers. Workboat recruiters see positive and negative aspects of sail training experience and perceive cultural divides within the maritime industry that may affect a seafarers’ job mobility, whether or not such divides actually exist.     

Intermodal land transportation systems and port choice,an analysis of stated choices among shippers in the Rhine–Scheldt delta

ABSTRACT

In this paper, the research concentrates on the intermodal land transportation systems which link Antwerp and Rotterdam with a shared hinterland in the long and medium distance range. It uses a choice-based experiment which has been calibrated on the basis of real case studies to understand shipper’s choices between end-to-end chains. The stated choices reveal shippers’ preferences when needing to choose between two logistic pathways, which employ a similar multimodal composition of transport modes to bring the container from door-to-door, but which route the container differently through alternative maritime gateways. The study therefore touches upon the topic of port competition applying a value-driven supply chain approach. Despite narrow differences on the main performance criteria of the door-to-door chains, the empirical analysis proves that shippers are not loyal to one of the ports, but give preference to the lowest cost solution. Enhancing the frequency levels of the inland transportation solution is only at the benefit of the more costly chain. The findings reiterate the importance of intermodal land transport systems in the competition between load centres.     

An empirical assessment of ISM Code effectiveness on performance: the role of ISO certification

ABSTRACT

Although the introduction of the International Safety Management (ISM) Code aimed at increasing the safety standards in the maritime industry, several studies conducted so far argue for its inability to successfully fulfill its goals. The purpose of the current study is to evaluate the ISM Code effectiveness by drawing analogy from similar applications of ISO 9001 effectiveness in service companies. It also aims to determine its impact on firm performance and differentiate between ISO and non-ISO-certified shipping companies. Findings indicate that ISM Code effectiveness consists of two dimensions, namely continuous improvement and customer satisfaction focus, and the significance of its contribution on improving company performance is revealed, especially in the case of ISO-certified shipping companies. Moreover, the continuous improvement dimension was found to affect performance at a greater extent.     

海商法的统一化——现状、问题与对策

海商法是随着航海贸易的发展而产生和完善起来的。它的国际性决定了其发展呈现一个总的趋势和原则——海商法的统一化。以国际公约、国际惯例、示范规则等形式表现的国际统一海商法在具有全方位、多领域、内容前瞻性等特点的同时,也存在大统一、小分散、法律冲突仍旧突出等问题。采用“默示承诺程序”,充分发挥海事国际组织的规范协调作用、利用统一冲突法等对策可以弥补缺陷。