The determinants of maritime policy

The paper is to explore the relation between national economic development and the formulation of maritime policy. It collects and examines data from 30 maritime nations, and shows that maritime policy is determined by economic circumstance rather than the result of rational decision of policy makers. A general solution is produced for an optimum maritime policy under a given economic condition. The general solution can serve as a benchmark for future maritime policy making and research in general.     

Evaluation of maritime safety policy instruments

This paper analyzes the effectiveness of the current maritime safety policy system as a whole. It offers an overview of different kinds of policy instruments that are used to enhance maritime safety and the criteria for effective policy instruments. It provides a criticism and goes through the weak points of the current maritime safety policy system, and finally, the system is analyzed in the light of the criteria for effective policy. The paper is based on literary sources, mainly on articles published in academic journals. The conclusion of the article is that the development of individual policies will not greatly improve the current level of maritime safety, and more fundamental changes are needed in the governance of maritime safety.     

Economic incentives for maritime shipping relating to climate protection

This paper aims to analyze the various policy options for addressing greenhouse gas emissions from international maritime shipping, with an emphasis on the use of economic instruments. The economic incentives provided for the industry are categorized and examined with regard to their effectiveness for climate protection purposes. An analysis of the potential use of market-based mechanisms for the shipping sector follows alongside with the review and evaluation of the various proposals for a Maritime Emissions Trading Scheme that are submitted to the Marine Environment Protection Committee of the International Maritime Organization and are currently under consideration. The importance of the adoption of a maritime global cap-and-trade scheme for climate change mitigation is particularly emphasized. Within this context, it is also considered whether the possible introduction of economic incentive measures on a broader (regional or global) level may cause problems of implementation and how these obstacles can be overcome.     

Maritime policy in Scotland

This paper begins by defining the meaning of the term ‘maritime policy’. Since devolution in the UK, the opening of the new Scottish parliament in 1998 and the creation of the Scottish Executive, little effort has been made to establish a distinct maritime policy for Scotland. As was evident prior to devolution, the primary emphasis from any maritime policy perspective has continued to be a focus on lifeline island ferry services. This ignores significant developments in several other key maritime transport sectors, and this paper provides examples of areas that require some form of policy response, including intra-European short sea shipping, UK coastal shipping, urban/river transport and global container shipping. Long-standing institutional bias against maritime transport coupled with subsidy devoted almost entirely to land transport systems has resulted in a quite distorted marketplace. This suggests that a maritime policy is now imperative if maritime transport is to play a more significant role in the overall transport system. Further discussion centres on the need to consider, from a Scottish policy perspective, the role of various state-sponsored maritime service providers and how these bodies might fit better within evolving policy. The conclusion is that formulation of a maritime policy by the Scottish Executive is overdue and that a degree of restructuring of transport responsibilities within the Executive, combined with adequate resource allocation towards the maritime industry, will be necessary in order that market distortions can be overcome, so enabling Scotland to fully exploit the competitive and environmental advantages that maritime transport can provide.     

海事动态监管系统需求分析与技术实现

根据浙江海事局辖区的具体情况分析我国的经济发展和安全趋势,指出传统海事监管手段存在的问题并进行深入的分析,从稳定性、功能性、性能和扩展性四方面提出新型海事动态监管手段的建设目标,并介绍了实现此目标所需要使用的关键技术,如SOA 架构和适配器模式、框架和插件技术、分布式系统和空间索引技术,最后对海事动态监管系统的未来进行展望,为海事动态监管系统的建设提供了一套完整的技术解决方案。     

Maritime policy in Scotland

This paper begins by defining the meaning of the term 'maritime policy'. Since devolution in the UK, the opening of the new Scottish parliament in 1998 and the creation of the Scottish Executive, little effort has been made to establish a distinct maritime policy for Scotland. As was evident prior to devolution, the primary emphasis from any maritime policy perspective has continued to be a focus on lifeline island ferry services. This ignores significant developments in several other key maritime transport sectors, and this paper provides examples of areas that require some form of policy response, including intra-European short sea shipping, UK coastal shipping, urban/river transport and global container shipping. Long-standing institutional bias against maritime transport coupled with subsidy devoted almost entirely to land transport systems has resulted in a quite distorted marketplace. This suggests that a maritime policy is now imperative if maritime transport is to play a more significant role in the overall transport system. Further discussion centres on the need to consider, from a Scottish policy perspective, the role of various state-sponsored maritime service providers and how these bodies might fit better within evolving policy. The conclusion is that formulation of a maritime policy by the Scottish Executive is overdue and that a degree of restructuring of transport responsibilities within the Executive, combined with adequate resource allocation towards the maritime industry, will be necessary in order that market distortions can be overcome, so enabling Scotland to fully exploit the competitive and environmental advantages that maritime transport can provide.     

A decision-making solution to ship flagging out via administrative maritime strategies

The choice of flag is one of the main strategic/critical decisions for shipowners in the initial stage of maritime enterprises. On the other hand, flagging out has a great influence on the prestige and economic benefits for traditional maritime countries. To address this issue, this paper proposes a Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) approach using a Primarily Strategic Action Plan (PSAP) in a short-run period and a Secondary Strategic Action Plan (SSAP) for a long-term perspective. The case is demonstrated with respect to the flagging out issue in Turkish shipping fleet. It measures the decision-making tendencies of shipowners using Turkish National Shipping Registry (TNSR), Turkish International Shipping Registry (TISR), and Open Registries (ORs) as potential shipping registry alternatives. The model outcomes originally contribute to Turkish maritime policy, especially in terms of strengthening and reinforcing of TNSR procedures.     

US shipping policy under conditions of a new world economic and political environment

The maritime policy of the US has evolved over more than 100 years from the support of US shipping through mail and fleet auxiliary contracts before the turn of the century, to the present array of direct and indirect Government aids and regulations based on the assumption that a strong maritime industry composed of both US-flag shipping and US-shipbuilding capacity is essential for the economic well-being and defence of the country. Notwithstanding massive direct and indirect aid to the US merchant marine, amounting to well over a billion dollars a year in recent years, US shipping and shipbuilding has declined dramatically and now comprises less than 3% of world shipping. Only 2.8% of US foreign trade by volume and 6% by value is today carried in US flag ships. Government aids constitute well over 33% of total revenues of US-flag shipping.

The traditional argument for US Government support has been the need for cost parity to permit US-flag shipping to compete effectively in international trade against foreign shipping serving the same routes with presumably lower operating costs. This argument is difficult to sustain today, as vessel costs of many other industrialized nations are now about equal to those of US-flag ships.

In 1970 the US enacted a new, vastly more liberal, maritime act for the support of the US maritime industry. Notwithstanding its even more liberal terms and elimination of the strict cost-parity interpretation, the US maritime industry continues its decline. The recent bankruptcy of two old, established subsidized shipping companies has caused tremors in the industry, yet no new ideas, policies, or plans seem to be forthcoming. It is the objective of this paper to study the development and effects of various historic US Government policies relating to the support of the US maritime industry, and evaluate the positions taken by proponents or opponents of the maritime policy leading to the policy development.

The decision processes are studied by evaluating literature on the evolution of Congressional, administration, industry, and labour interest and positions on the issue of Government aid to the maritime industry. The impact and effectiveness of various elements of past and present US maritime policy is evaluated in relation to the stated objectives. The alternatives to these policies are reviewed in the light of the changing US position in international trade, military strategy, and political objectives. In addition the effectiveness of the present and alternative policies is evaluated as it is and will be affected by changing technology in use, composition of ownership, and operations of US-flag shipping and shipbuilding.     

The gender perspective in maritime education and training

The aim of this article is to show if and how European maritime education and training institutions have met the increasing enrolment of women, and how shipping in general has reacted to gender equality. WMU has partly been the source for finding data related to studies in a multicultural and gender (minority) mixture of students and professors. In addition to a questionnaire to maritime education and training institutions, unstructured conversations with WMU students and professors have contributed to fact findings. Apparently, there is more to be done in order to have women compete on a level playing field in the sphere of shipping. Shipping is historically male dominated and conservative, so it is well understood that there are ropes to be untied. In this article, there are examples on how stakeholders in society have introduced policies on how to meet diversities. It is recommended that universities seriously pursue this trend. I wish to appeal to educational institutions to publish a university policy on the gender perspective and diversity management in general. The policy must be in writing in order for staff and students to understand and remember the content of the policy. This is an issue that should follow the quality assurance aims and goals and should be posted in a public place within the university’s premises for everybody to be reminded.     

Maritime Statistics: a new forum for practitioners

This paper analyses the past, present and future of the maritime transportation industry in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabian seaborne trade and the shipping capacity are analysed for the past 15 years. Relationships between the declining Saudi shipping capacity and other economic measures are identified. Analysis of the Saudi Arabian maritime transportation is performed with respect to the world carrier fleets and models are developed to determine the theoretical shipping capacity required for transportation of the national seaborne cargo. Forecasts of the future shipping capacity requirement for the Kingdom are also presented. This paper illustrates the general approach for analysing a country's maritime industry and thus could help other researchers in that respect.     

Analysis of Saudi Arabian maritime transportation industry

This paper analyses the past, present and future of the maritime transportation industry in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabian seaborne trade and the shipping capacity are analysed for the past 15 years. Relationships between the declining Saudi shipping capacity and other economic measures are identified. Analysis of the Saudi Arabian maritime transportation is performed with respect to the world carrier fleets and models are developed to determine the theoretical shipping capacity required for transportation of the national seaborne cargo. Forecasts of the future shipping capacity requirement for the Kingdom are also presented. This paper illustrates the general approach for analysing a country's maritime industry and thus could help other researchers in that respect.     

Why are maritime ports (still) urban,and why should policy-makers care?

Despite ongoing transformations in the maritime transportation industry and the rise of global supply chain systems, most of the world's important container ports remain urban. Ports continue to occupy urban spaces, are embedded in localized knowledge systems, draw on urban labour markets and infrastructure and are subject to local politics and policy concerns. We identify contemporary geographic theories which help us understand the often increasingly urban attachment of core economic activities despite globalization. We explore how these theories may apply to port studies, highlighting both how they have been used by maritime scholars to this point and also why further development and application are warranted. We argue that a central concern of these geographic theories is the articulation of place- and sector-specific processes operating at a variety of spatial scales. This is in contrast to most maritime studies which continue to be dominated by perspectives which emphasize the global logic of the transportation industry and the analysis of space in generalized and abstract terms. We conclude that a re-appreciation in maritime studies of urban economic processes, informed by geographical theory, will provide policy-makers and others with more understanding of why deep connections between ports and urban places still matter.     

Introduction to the special issue on maritime security

The terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 heightened awareness about the vulnerability of all modes of transportation to terrorist attack. The issue of maritime security has therefore become a major concern in the international maritime sector over the past several years. Globalization has led to a strong growth in seaborne trade; however, it simultaneously increases vulnerability to not only terrorism but also international criminal activities that threaten the world's supply chain. For example, in 2008, the rise in piracy activities in the Gulf of Aden brought the issue of maritime security to the forefront of international debate. In addition to the direct impact on ships, crews and cargoes, and on the maritime industry and governments, piracy also threatens global seaborne trade, and has an impact on energy security and the environment [UNCTAD, 2009, Review of Maritime Transport 2009 (New York: United Nations)]. Maritime piracy can pose substantial risks to seaborne trades, with considerable commodities, ranging between raw materials and energy to high-value manufactured products, being shipped between global economic powerhouses [FU, X. W., NG, A. K. Y., LAU, Y. Y., forthcoming, The impacts of maritime piracy on global economic development: The case of Somalia. Maritime Policy and Management]. Maritime security management, including the definition of security, maritime risk assessment, security measures, the regulation and policy of maritime security in shipping and port-related business operations has been receiving growing attention, both in practice and research.     

Maritime interests in the EU policy-making: Structures,practices, and governability of collective action

Throughout Europe, a number of maritime interests have re-targeted their lobbying structures and strategies aiming to influence the development of the maritime related European Union (EU) policies. The paper examines these maritime interests’ mobilisation in the making of the Common EU Maritime Transport Policy (CMTP). First, it provides a review of the role of these interest groups and the implications of the observed collective interests’ representation. Then, with the contribution a data-set of replies to a questionnaire distributed to all the interest groups that are involved in EU maritime affairs, the paper analyses the variety of interest groups representing the maritime sector in EU affairs. The focus is on the structures (i.e. membership numbers and types, location, internal structures, budget) and the lobbying practices of the 37 identified EU level maritime related organisations. The paper also presents an evaluation of the most positive and most negative parameters of the ‘EU environment’ and the ‘economic environment’ that assist, or undermine, the governability cohesiveness of this collective action. This study provides information on whether and under what conditions maritime interests are able to form comprehensive EU-level organisations capable of representing their members and their interests in the EU policy making process     

Contributions to maritime economics—Zenon S. Zannetos, the theory of oil tankship rates

This paper discusses the importance of Zannetos' 1966 book for the development of maritime economic thought. The main contributions of the book are recounted, and the empirical work in the book is reviewed.

The analysis of the present paper is a citation research on the maritime economics literature that refers to the book. Of the 42 papers in the set, about one-third refers to the book in general. A total of 35 papers refer to one or more elements of the book, with an equal number of references to: (1) the term structure of freight rates; (2) the empirical findings on the form of the supply curve; and (3) on the verification of his results.

The general conclusion of the citation analysis is that, apparently, a number of elements of his work are still very valid for current maritime economics thinking, while maritime economists have disregarded several other elements. The latter seems unjustified for some of the business structure observations that are made in the book, such as the notion that the ship is the firm, and the elasticity of expectations. The former observation is the basis for virtually all empirical work in maritime economics that is based on individual contract data (all freight rate analysis is of this nature), and the second is the basis for the analysis of investment behaviour in shipping, investigations of cyclicality and so on.

Zannetos can definitely be seen as the initiator of the important field of term structure analysis in maritime economics. In addition to this, there are several topics in the 1966 book that are as yet unexplored, and deserve empirical scrutiny.     

Contributions to maritime economics—Zenon S. Zannetos,the theory of oil tankship rates

This paper discusses the importance of Zannetos’ 1966 book for the development of maritime economic thought. The main contributions of the book are recounted, and the empirical work in the book is reviewed.

The analysis of the present paper is a citation research on the maritime economics literature that refers to the book. Of the 42 papers in the set, about one-third refers to the book in general. A total of 35 papers refer to one or more elements of the book, with an equal number of references to: (1) the term structure of freight rates; (2) the empirical findings on the form of the supply curve; and (3) on the verification of his results.

The general conclusion of the citation analysis is that, apparently, a number of elements of his work are still very valid for current maritime economics thinking, while maritime economists have disregarded several other elements. The latter seems unjustified for some of the business structure observations that are made in the book, such as the notion that the ship is the firm, and the elasticity of expectations. The former observation is the basis for virtually all empirical work in maritime economics that is based on individual contract data (all freight rate analysis is of this nature), and the second is the basis for the analysis of investment behaviour in shipping, investigations of cyclicality and so on.

Zannetos can definitely be seen as the initiator of the important field of term structure analysis in maritime economics. In addition to this, there are several topics in the 1966 book that are as yet unexplored, and deserve empirical scrutiny.     

Changing policies in Eastern Europe and their impact on the maritime field: experiences from Eastern Germany

The political changes that occured in Eastern Europe from the late 1980s coincided in the fromer German Democratic Republic (GDR) with the reunification of Germany. The economic result was the existence of a split economy in Germany. Within the maritime field the problem had to be solved by a change over of the former GDR's maritime industry from the centrally-planned command type economy as its failure was evident. Three economic factors were identified as the main causes for the failure which made, together with some other negatives, the collapse inevitable. The transition of the East German maritime industry started immediately after reunification. In the maritime field, two different forms of economic transition have been applied. Using the examples of the main shipping company and the seaports the economic transition process has been analyzed and some basic conclusions regarding the substance and methods of economic transition have been drawn.     

The anachronism in maritime law that is general average

The concept of general average is of great antiquity. It has fruitfully served the maritime community of the last two millennia, but the justification for its continued existence in the 21^st century is questionable. This article examines the proposition that general average is an anachronism and should be abolished — a cry that has been heard for well over a hundred years but has failed to materialise. In the article, the arguments for retaining general average are marshalled alongside the demands for its demise. Current developments in the revision of the York-Antwerp Rules are discussed. In conclusion, the resilience of general average as an age-old equitable maritime principle is recognized. But the author points to the sophistication in the modern regime of marine insurance in support of discarding general average and allowing maritime losses to lie where they fall; to be indemnified independently by the insurer of each interest in a maritime adventure without contribution from co-adventurers or their insurers.