The Caribbean basin: adjusting to global trends in containerization

Positioned strategically between major east-west and north-south trading routes, the Caribbean basin has become a locus of new service configurations in container shipping. Over the last decade global shipping lines have been restructuring their service networks in the region in order to integrate local services with the newly rationalized intercontinental connections. By comparing service network structures in 1994 and 2002 at three levels of organization—local, regional and global—we are able to show that although Caribbean ports are well connected to the global system, and while the total number of services has declined between the two years, those mounted by members of global alliances have increased. Moreover, services of the global carriers at the local and regional levels are on the increase. As much as the alliances are reshaping Caribbean networks, the smaller carriers are still playing a role, but at a reduced spatial scale. Parallel with the modifications to network configurations are the changes in the port system. Essentially, traffic of the most important ports in the north and western part of the basin has grown at slower rates than the ports in the south and east. These traffic changes are only partly related to network changes. It is the growth of transshipments that is driving the most important developments in port traffic and bringing to the forefront the development of hub ports. The most important are: Colon, Panama (southwest), Freeport, Bahamas (north), Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago (southeast), Kingston, Jamaica and Rio Haina, Dominican Republic (middle), and Cartagena, Colombia and Puerto Cabello, Venezuela (south).     

The evolution of containerization in East Asia

This paper examines the development and growth of container traffic in the Asia-Pacific region. It is hypothesised that containerization is losing its national character as the geography of container transport changes port hierarchies where only a few ports have become locationally favorable. The organizatioon of the paper is straightforward. First, the development and growth of container traffic in the Asia-Pacific region is examined in order to provide understanding of changes associated with containerization. Second, the role of selected Asian-Pacific ports as key economic players is reviewed, and container development in each port is analysed so as to measure the differences explaining the position of Asian-Pacific ports in the maritime system. Third, the degree of concentration and competition that exist among the container ports of the region is analysed with a view to evaluate what rate of expansion can be expected in the foreseeable future that will shape the network of the container market in the region. The paper concludes on a possible research agenda.     

Response to 'Critique: The Caribbean Basin'

We welcome the opportunity to respond to the issues raised in your critique to our paper. We take the comments as an indication of the interest the paper has sparked. Not often is shipping in the Caribbean a subject of academic concern and we are pleased to keep it in the spotlight. Let us deal with the issues in the order that they are raised.     

2006——我国“集装箱化”又一辉煌成就年

2006年12上旬在汉堡举行的多式联运研讨会和展览会是对全世界集装箱运输行业的又一次大检阅。会上发表的演说以及出版物提供的最新信息，充分展示了全球这一领域的丰硕成果，使业内人士对当前全球“集装箱化”的新发展有了一个新的和更加全面的认识。我国的港口、航运、租箱、港机制造和造箱等行业的新成就，尤其引起与会者的关注。     

全球供应链视角的东亚港口物流服务绩效与趋势分析*

东亚港口基于旺盛的贸易运输需求而在全球供应链体系中崛起,同时也因为港口拥挤等问题而存在降低贸易成本的空间。首先从全球供应链视角解析港口物流服务格局,突出了东亚地区、特别是中国港口的地位,评价港口物流的综合绩效和竞争状态,然后对发展趋势做出预测。研究发现：东亚港口将通过持续投资实现供给需求的动态平衡;日本地震引致的全球供应链重组将使港口物流服务发生结构性变化,东亚将加强跨国港口物流合作以满足区域经济一体化的要求。     

美国谋求监控全球商船

在美国一家海军媒体担任编辑的朋友戴维·蒙斯(DavidW.Munns)最近在来电中对笔者说,现在美国海军,尤其是美国国土安全部等政府权力机构最热门的话题是:单船载重量超过300吨的商船全世界共有121000艘,这么多的商船分别活动在何处?正在干什么?有无危险动向?带着这些问题,美国海军不辞劳苦地在美国和世界各地忙碌着。根据来自白宫的指令,美国海军通过其遥感探测系统和其它现代化侦察手段,全天候精确跟踪分布在世界各地处于运营状态中的每一艘商船的动向。其实美国海军在全球跟踪船舶已不是第一次,早在20世纪90年代初苏联解体之前的冷战时期,…     

Shipbuilding trends in response to environmental issues

This paper offers an overview about how societal issues and environmental challenges will influence shipbuilding in the near future. It begins with an evaluation of societal developments and refers to globalization and climate change. The paper then continues to assess the impact of these developments on ship design and operation, and considers how the adverse effects of shipping in this context can be reduced. In this respect, topics like emission control and scrapping of ships are considered.     

Containerization in Nigeria: trends and patterns

Containerization was introduced into Nigeria in the late 1960s, not through a delibrate policy but through the unilateral action of shipping companies.In spite of this,the percentage of the country's external trade cargo that is containerized grew from only about 0.03 in 1968-69 to about 8.6 in 1981.

Containerization of cargo is more significant in the import than in the export trade. Perhaps because of the capital-intensive nature of this technology, there is a concentration of containerization facilities in the ports of Lagos and Port Harcourt. Whereas this is a cost-efficient development, there are various inefficient aspects in the inland distribution of containers.     

Recent trends in ship conversion: an overview

A survey of more than 250 ship conversions between 1980 and 1990 is presented. Conversions are defined as jumboizations of hulls, changes of missions of ship with or without major structural changes, and major reconstruction of cruise liners and passenger ferries. From reports publishd in maritime journals, a database has been established, allowing for analysis of various ratios, principal particulars, and mission changes. Whenever available, evolution of conversion cost and duration over time as well as age, country of build, and converting shipyard are considered. Conclusions are drawn from comparisons of our database with the world fleet. Finally trends in the ship conversion market are discussed.     

Vulnerability of Coastal Resort Cities to Mean Sea Level Rise in the Mexican Caribbean

We evaluated the potential economic impacts of increasing sea level rise (SLR) along the Mexican Caribbean where there are major gaps in our understanding of the mechanisms controlling flooding duration and frequency associated to future ecological and economic impacts. We determined the negative economic impact of SLR on infrastructure in the largest urban centers (Cancun, Isla Mujeres, Playa del Carmen, Puerto Morelos and Cozumel) in the state of Quintana Roo (Mexico) that are considered the largest tourism “hot spots” (resort cities) in the country. The tourism industry in this coastal area injects >8 billion dollars year^?1 to the Mexican economy. Our conservative economic assessment regarding the impact of SLR, under a 1?m scenario for all coastal cities is $330 million USD. Further projections for worst scenarios (SLR >2 m) show a non-linear trend where the cost of inaction can reach up to $1.4 billion USD (2?m SLR scenario) and $2.3 billion USD (3?m SLR scenario). This potential loss of infrastructure, as construction cost, is staggering and represents a robust baseline to start evaluating with more detail future impacts of climate variability and change on the Mexican Caribbean coastline.     

码头取水口及泵房调试中的问题及实用解决方法

主要针对某一消防泵房无法正常取水,进行原因分析及现场调试过程分析,为一些水下施工工程或地下隐蔽工程问题查找提供了一些较为简便实用的方法,可供参考。     

关注中国在全球石油运输格局中的作用

30多年以来,我们从未见过覆盖范围如此广泛的海运市场,几乎所有的货运油轮部门都曾经并将继续在这个市场中持续发展,可能运送化学品以及载重量在1.5万吨以下的船只除外.这会让人回忆起20世纪80年代到90年代那段海运业迅猛发展的光辉岁月,那个时候即使资金回报率差强人意,大多数船东也会欣然接受这样的事实.现在,我们正在见证长期以来一直呈现持续健康发展态势的货运率,我敢确信巨型油轮载货量不足3万吨的日子已经一去不复返了.我们都见证了中国市场需求的快速增长,这种增长实际上仅仅发生在20世纪90年代晚期,而且确实是贯彻中国政府改革开放政策的结果.     

航行中波浪水池的数值动力学研究

利用数值波浪水池进行船舶航行预报,是计算船舶水动力的重要方法。本文首先建立船舶水池的数值控制方程,然后利用网格划分对船舶周围的流场进行划分,最后利用Wigley-III船舶模型计算船舶在规则波中航行时受到纵向、垂向和纵摇力矩的系数,将其与势流理论(3D-BEM)和DUT计算方法相比较。     

The jurisdictional challenges to the prosecution of piracy cases in Kenya: mixed fortunes for a perfect model in the global war against piracy

Since 2008 Kenya has distinguished itself in the global war against piracy by undertaking prosecutions in the national courts of suspected pirates arrested in the high seas and handed over by navies of leading maritime nations under bilateral agreements (MOUs) entered into between Kenya and these leading maritime nations. As of July 2011, Kenya had over 20 convicted pirates serving jail terms ranging between 7 and 20 years and over 100 suspected pirates awaiting trial in national courts. This is the largest number of suspected pirates held and tried in any one state at any given time in modern history. To achieve this, Kenya had to effect far reaching changes in the law. In the initial stages, suspected pirates were charged under Kenya’s Penal Code (Cap 63 Laws of Kenya). However, the high court in the case of Re Mohamud Mohamed Dashi and eight others [2010] eKLR, ruled that Kenya had no jurisdiction to try suspected pirates under that law. In September 2009, Kenya passed a new law (the Merchant Shipping Act), which not only defined more comprehensively and extensively the offence of piracy, but also extended the jurisdiction of Kenyan courts to try piracy committed by non-nationals. Though the law gives Kenya a very broad jurisdiction to try suspected pirates, the process is still fraught with challenges due to lack of financial and human resources. In the case of Republic vs Hassan Jama Haleys Alias Hassan Jamal and five others [2010] eKLR, the court commented thus:

“… I must note that the ‘piracy trials’ have presented a unique challenge to the Kenyan legal system. We cannot ignore the fact that these are suspects who having been arrested by foreign naval forces on the High Seas are brought to Kenya for trial. They are strangers in the country, do not understand the legal system, may not know what their rights are and do not understand the language… the Kenyan Government and the International partners supporting these trials put in place a system to provide free legal representation for the suspects…”     

国际海运温室气体减排趋势及对我国的影响

本文回顾了国际社会关于温室气体减排的谈判进程。介绍了国际海运温室气体减排的现状和特征,分析了IMO对国际海运温室气体减排的立法趋势及其可能对我国造成的影响,提出了相应的参考建议。     

Port competition in Latin America and the Caribbean: the role of concessions and competition policy

Appropriate port regulation and competitive forces tend to be related to higher levels of operational and economic performance of ports. From a policy-making perspective, pursuing efficiency and securing competition in ports to reach a level playing field is a two-step process requiring (1) ex-ante regulations to set the rules that maximize the competition for the market, especially when the policy objective is to attract private operations to ports on competitive concession processes and (2) ex-post competition policy to monitor and preserve competition in the market. This paper studies port regulation in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) from a competition perspective, analyzing both ex-ante and ex-post policies implemented in the region. The analysis reveals that the competitive environment in LAC is low, giving room for possible anticompetitive practices in the LAC port sector. Since the end of the 1990s, approximately 80% of container terminals in the region were granted to only five companies. Chile and Mexico have been found to be the best practices in the region, with better conditions assuring robust competition in the market. The main policy implication from this analysis is the need for a stronger involvement of antitrust agencies throughout the port concession processes.     

Land utilization in the container terminal: a global perpective

Conventionl wisdom in terms of land utilization has been derived from a micro view—strategies concerning land utilization have been formulated based on the need of terminal operators. The major factors considered are the cost, the manoeuverability, the stacking ability of the yard operating systems etc. Regretfully, they have failed to deal with issues concerning land utilization in a broader aspect. Factors considered from a micro view point cannont explain why there are huge differences in the storage capacity of land, the utilization rate of this storage capacity and varying land productivity achieved among container terminals throughout the world. Few researchers have examined he issues from a macro view point, revealing a lack of far-sightedness. Therefore, they cannot explain the global differences in land utilization among terminal operators. The aim of this paper is to examine this issue from a macro view point and provide principles for terminal development.     

IAME 2001: Contemporary research in global shipping and logistics

The establishment and implementation of a training programme requires a training needs assessment (TNA). Without this approach, more often than not, training programmes have failed to succeed and to make such an assessment the instructional designer, i.e. the person in charge for this work, needs to follow a methodology. Unlike the other industries, the port industry has neglected the use of these methodologies, which is shown by the lack of research work published in academic journals. With a view to fill the existing gap, the paper proposes a five-step TNA methodology to be used in the port industry and applies its first three steps to investigate the port training situation in the new European Union member states. To achieve this objective, the paper is structured in the following way: Section 1 puts the research work into context; section 2 addresses the role of ports; section 3. presents a port TNA methodology; section 4. explains research methodology; section 5 addresses port training issues in the new European-member states; and section 6 presents conclusions and further comments.     

The impacts of maritime piracy on global economic development: the case of Somalia

This paper investigates the impacts of maritime piracy on global economic development. Calibrated with data between 2003 and 2008, we model shipping demands and competition in the Far East-Europe container liner shipping service and investigate the economic welfare loss effects due to reduced volumes of trade and shipping, as well as efficiency loss due to geographical re-routing of shipping networks which would be otherwise uneconomical. The substantial economic loss simulated from our model indicates that, even from purely the perspective of economic interests, more efforts from the international community should be dedicated to tackle maritime piracy.     

The polarization of global container flows by interoceanic canals: geographic coverage and network vulnerability

It is widely acknowledged that the two major interoceanic canals of Suez and Panama play a central role in global shipping flows. However, this role has rarely been measured with precision both in terms of the geographic coverage and network topological properties of canal-dependent flows. Based on vessel movement data for containerships, this research clarifies the weight and share of canal-dependent flows globally and at the level of world regions, routes, and ports. It also estimates and maps the effects of removing canal-dependent flows from the network by means of graph-theoretical methods. While main results converge in showing a decreasing importance of canal shipping in the context of growing south-south trade exchanges, certain areas remain more dependent than others, such as Asia, Europe, and North America. The research also underlines factors of port vulnerability across the globe in relation with the two canals.