The geographical foundations of tanker (dirty) shipping

A simulation model of individual ship movements demonstrates that distance-weighted regional imbalances of tonnage supply and demand are powerful estimators of tanker rates that are converted to approximate time charter equivalents. Statistical fit is acceptable to good when cargo cycles (ballast-load-cargo-discharge) are the units of observation, either individually or aggregated by region. Up to 30-40% higher average time charter equivalent is possible in an outstanding year, such as in 2004, when consistent use is made of this feature.     

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.     

Operative strategy in tanker (dirty) shipping

Tanker (dirty) operational areas are identified with the help of itineraries and their profitability is estimated with time charter equivalent (TCE, $/day). The level is heavily influenced by the way waiting between cargo cycles is handled. Four alternatives are tried, planned (‘optimal’), simulated and two observed ones, with no or all-inclusive waiting. The choice of alternative is unlikely to upset area ranking seriously. Observed itineraries without waiting are selected. Small vessel size leads to fragmented markets and much variation in TCE. Endemic tonnage oversupply in the Far East depresses TCE in the Panamax, Aframax and Suezmax (PAS) segments. The barrier effect of canals is visible. The Worldscale system pays for port time which raises the paydays/ballastdays ratio and makes itineraries consisting of short cargo cycles attractive. Worldwide itineraries give mediocre TCEs.     

Duration analysis for recurrent ship accidents

About 63% of the world’s shipping accidents are recurrent—they occur to ships that have already experienced at least one prior accident. Therefore, reducing recurrent accidents can contribute significantly to maritime safety. We study the factors affecting both first and recurrent accidents, by focusing on the duration between two accidents. Cox proportional hazard models are applied to ship accident data from 1996 to 2015, and the results identify which ships have a high risk of recurrent accidents, based on ship attributes, ship supply and market conditions, shipbuilding country, previous accident type, and ship type. The recurrent rate is high when the ship involved in the accident is old, small, flies a flag of convenience, and has no detention record. In addition, the accident risk increases when the shipping market faces a high bunker price, overcapacity in supply, a high time charter rate, or low newbuilding price. On the other hand, ships built in China and Japan have lower recurrent accident rates than those built elsewhere, although ships built in China have earlier first accidents than do others. General cargo ships have the highest recurrent accident rate, followed by dry bulkers, container ships, and tankers, in that order.     

定期租船合同中租金的确定

船舶营运中,船舶经营人以期租方式将船租给承运人时,运价的确定是租船合同中一项重要的内容。从船舶经营人的角度出发,通过分析船舶营运成本,将上述复杂的计算编制成简明的EXCEL计算程序,以期对船舶经营人有所裨益。     

期租合同中的租期计算与相关条款之影响

期租合同的租期应是一个确定的时段,但航运实践中的租期却很难精确计算。这其中有租期条款本身措辞的问题,也有合同中其他条款的影响。通过对TheKritiAkti一案的案情和判决的研究,阐述期租合同下租期计算中存在的一些问题及对策。     

-statistic is the ratio between a normal (0,1) distributed variable and the square root of a centrally distributed chi-square variable divided by its expected value, i.e., its degree of freedom.

This paper evaluates empirically some very common theories of the freight rate generating process in the time charter markets. After a review of the most common assumptions made of the way time charter rates are set, the hypotheses are identified as follows: (a) the Zannetos Hypothesis, (b), the Lagged Zannetos Hypothesis, (c) the Koyck Lag Hypothesis, (d) the Rational Expectation Hypothesis, and (e) the Conventional Wisdom Hypothesis. These hypotheses are tested using statistical cointegration analysis that includes both an Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF), and a Johansen likelihood ratio test. Confronted with the data, hypotheses (a) and (b) are rejected outrightly. In the Koyck Lag case, the ADF statistic seem to confirm the hypothesis. A closer look at the numbers reveals that all of the impact on the time charter rates comes from the lagged dependent variable. Hence, the Koyck Lag Hypothesis is rejected. In the Rational Expectation case, the two tests conflicted. Based on the fact that the Rational Expectation Hypothesis includes the lagged dependent variable and that the Johansen test has been found to be a more robust test than the ADF test, the Rational Expectation Hypothesis is rejected. The fifth hypothesis is a reflection of the general bulk industry perception that the time charter rate is impacted by changes in the comparable spot rate and not much by the spot rate levels. In this case both the ADF and the Johansen test accepted the hypothesis for all markets. Thus, the paper concludes that the conventional market explanation of the time charter freight rate setting process is essentially correct-spot rate changes matter spot rate levels do not.     

Price formation of dry bulk carriers in the Chinese shipbuilding industry

In this paper, we present, for the first time, the price formation of Chinese dry bulk carriers based on the historical shipbuilding contract prices. Price determinants include generic market factors as well as Chinese elements. Principal component regression analysis is employed as the solution for the multicollinearity problem among explanatory variables. The result indicates that the time charter rate has the most significant positive impact on shipbuilding price; increases in three other factors, namely the cost of shipbuilding, the price-cost margin and the shipbuilding capacity utilisation, have positive influences in the descending order. Unlike the traditional perception of newbuilding price that shipbuilding cost has the most significant effect, we assert that the most important role the time charter rate plays is attributed mainly to the ‘China Factor’ in the bulk carrier sector. In addition, simulations are performed to investigate what would happen to the Chinese dry bulk carrier prices under changes in the time charter rate and shipbuilding cost. The findings are useful for Chinese shipyards, shipowners and emerging shipbuilders.     

基于条件期望的港口货物吞吐量预测模型的建立与分析

为了有效预测港口货物总吞吐量的大小,利用条件数学期望提出了港口货物总吞吐量的预测模型.由于货物总吞吐量的变化与到达港口的货运船数目以及装卸设备的工作效率有密切关系,构造一个关于到达港口的货运船数目以及装卸设备的工作能力组合而成的复合变量,货物总吞吐量是这些复合变量所表示的货物装卸量的和.应用全概理论,得到货物总吞吐量的概率分布.在此基础上,将未来货物总吞吐量看作已完成吞吐量的条件期望.利用增长函数得出港口货物吞吐量的预测模型.以山东地区某港口的货物吞吐量变化规律进行了案例分析.理论分析和案例分析均表明该模型是预测港口货物总吞吐量的有效方法.     

A simulation study on the design of flexible cargo holds in small-sized bulk ships

A simulation study on the design of flexible cargo holds in small-sized bulk ships is presented. The ships considered are equipped with moveable bulkheads which can be placed in a given number of positions in the cargo hold. In this way the ships' cargo holds can be partitioned into several smaller holds with flexible sizes, and several cargoes can be lifted simultaneously by the same ship. The simulation study deals with designing an optimal cargo hold 'configuration' which gives the best flexibility when cargo quantities vary. The results show that there are significant potential savings by finding an optimal cargo hold configuration.     

Research on probability distribution of port cargo throughput

In order to more accurately examine developing trends in gross cargo throughput, we have modeled the probability distribution of cargo throughput. Gross cargo throughput is determined by the time spent by cargo ships in the port and the operating efficiency of handling equipment. Gross cargo throughput is the sum of all compound variables determining each aspect of cargo throughput for every cargo ship arriving at the port. Probability distribution was determined using the Wald equation. The results show that the variability of gross cargo throughput primarily depends on the different times required by different cargo ships arriving at the port. This model overcomes the shortcoming of previous models： inability to accurately determine the probability of a specific value of future gross cargo throughput. Our proposed model of cargo throughput depends on the relationship between time required by a cargo ship arriving at the port and the operational capacity of handling equipment at the port. At the same time, key factors affecting gross cargo throughput are analyzed. In order to test the efficiency of the model, the cargo volume of a port in Shandong Province was used as an example. In the case study the actual results matched our theoretical analysis.     

船舶液压起重机延迟反馈吊重消摆控制

由于操纵和工作环境的变化,起重机的吊重在工作过程中会产生摆动,这种摆动降低了起重机的工作效率和安全性能。文章以集美大学轮机工程实验中心船舶液压起重机为研究对象,采用机电液仿真建模技术及拉格朗日方程,在MATLAB Simulink仿真软件平台上,建立起重机操作液压系统及吊重摆动模型,采用与试验数据对比的方法对所建立的模型进行验证。设计基于吊重摆动位置延迟反馈的控制器,通过将延迟反馈信号叠加到操作信号上的方法实现吊重的消摆控制。结果表明,在各种操作情况下,延迟反馈控制器均能很好地抑制吊重的摆动。     

期租合约下的航速计算和索赔

期租下的履约航速计算结果涉及到航速索赔和燃油索赔,关系到船舶的营运成效,因而航速计算显得很重要。航速计算和索赔涉及期租合约及相关条款的订立和良好天气的定义、根据租约相关条款采用的计算方法、良好天气下的航速计算、气象导航公司的评估报告。     

Modelling forward freight rate dynamics—empirical evidence from time charter rates

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the dynamics of forward freight rate dynamics. We specify our model in a Heath–Jarrow–Morton framework. This model was originally developed for interest rate markets and, in subsequent work, the model has been applied to various commodity markets. We analyse ten years of weekly time charter (TC) rates for a Panamax 65,000?dwt bulk carrier. Our data set consists of 6-, 12- and 36-month TC rates. We use this data to construct, each day, a forward rate function using a smoothing algorithm. We use the smooth data to investigate the factors governing the dynamics of the forward freight rate curve. We find a strange volatility structure in the data. Out results show that the volatility of the forward curve is bumped, with volatility reaching a peak for freight rates with roughly one year to maturity. Also, correlations between different parts of the term structure are in general low and even negative.     

Recreational Leasing of Alaska Commercial Halibut Quota: The Early Years of the GAF Program in Alaska

The Pacific Halibut Catch Sharing Plan formalized the process for allocating halibut between the Alaska commercial and recreational charter sectors. It included a new program intended to allow for “flexibility” through inter-sectoral trading, permitting charter operators to lease commercial halibut pounds to relax client harvest restrictions. Here we evaluate the first two years of lease market activity and participation. Participation from some commercial quota holders in the lease market suggests that the program provided beneficial flexibility; in fact, the number of transfers to the charter sector was greater than transfers within the commercial sector for some quota types. We also identified a high proportion of self-leasers. However, transfers to the charter sector were on average smaller than within-sector commercial transfers, and total poundage leased by the charter sector was low compared with commercial transfers. Usage of leased quota by the recreational charter sector enables the harvest of larger fish or additional fish, and provides flexibility in catch composition on halibut closure days. Finally, the value-per-pound may be higher in the charter sector, as commercial-to-charter transfer prices approached the commercial ex-vessel price.     

散货堆场深厚软基加固中塑料排水板耐久性的探讨

对于铁矿石、煤炭等散货堆场深厚软基加固,采用塑料排水板和使用期分级加载方案时,其时间跨度大,应考虑塑料排水板的排水性能耐久性问题,以确保加载期间塑料排水板的排水性能.使实际的地基排水固结状况符合设计计算模型.通过对不同塑料排水板材质、结构、生产工艺的对比,分析了塑料排水板耐久性的影响因素.提出在散货堆场软基加固中,当时间跨度大时应采用耐久性塑料排水板的观点.     

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.     

海门港外航道通航条件研究

海门港外航道水深浅（最浅处达１．２ｍ）且距离长，吃水深的重载货轮都须乘潮进港。本文针对海门港验潮井的历史演变，考证了近年来海门港航道的稳定性，同时指出当前外航道参照潮汐预报点的数据代表性不佳，提出在外航道“白沙”设一潮汐预报点供重载船舶乘潮作业参照，为海门港外航道通航提供新的航海保证条件。     

江海通航船货舱结构强度有限元分析

针对某江海通航船的货舱结构建立有限元模型,利用APDL语言实现波浪载荷的自动施加。分析江海通航货船在满载出港和压载到港两种典型工况下货舱结构的应力水平,并将有限元分析结果同传统的梁理论分析结果进行比较。     

货船IC法防火绝缘设计探讨

在总结所设计货船的防火绝缘经验的基础上,介绍了规范要求的各级别防火分隔种类;指出了采用IC法对货船进行防火绝缘设计时需满足的规范要求;讨论了耐火分隔舱壁或甲板上有贯穿件及开口时,为保持耐火完整性而必须采取的保护方法;以及在防火绝缘设计过程中降低成本、优化设计的方法对船舶总体及内装设计人员有较高的参考价值。