Atmospheric impact of ship traffic in four Adriatic-Ionian port-cities: Comparison and harmonization of different approaches

Shipping is a growing transport sector representing a relevant share of atmospheric pollutant emissions at global scale. In the Mediterranean Sea, shipping affects air quality of coastal urban areas with potential hazardous effects on both human health and climate. The high number of different approaches for investigating this aspect limits the comparability of results. Furthermore, limited information regarding the inter-annual trends of shipping impacts is available. In this work, an approach integrating emission inventory, numerical modelling (WRF-CAMx modelling system), and experimental measurements at high and low temporal resolution is used to investigate air quality shipping impact in the Adriatic/Ionian area focusing on four port-cities: Brindisi and Venice (Italy), Patras (Greece), and Rijeka (Croatia). Results showed shipping emissions of particulate matter (PM) and NOx comparable to road traffic emissions at all port-cities, with larger contributions to local SO₂ emissions. Contributions to PM_2.5 ranged between 0.5% (Rijeka) and 7.4% (Brindisi), those to PM₁₀ were between 0.3% (Rijeka) and 5.8% (Brindisi). Contributions to particle number concentration (PNC) showed an impact 2–4 times larger with respect to that on mass concentrations. Shipping impact on gaseous pollutants are larger than those to PM. The contribution to total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs) concentrations was 82% in Venice and 56% in Brindisi, with a different partition gas-particle because of different meteorological conditions. The inter-annual trends analysis showed the primary contribution to PM concentrations decreasing, due to the implementation of the European legislation on the use of low-sulphur content fuels. This effect was not present on other pollutants like PAHs.     

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.     

Determinants of the probability of default: the case of the internationally listed shipping corporations

In this study, we use a sample of 192 listed shipping companies and employ a logit model in order to investigate the determinants of the probability of default. We enhance our analysis by isolating not only the cases of company liquidations but also those cases where companies had to change their legal status due to warning liquidity signals. Our key findings are in line with prior research and moreover we depict a changing trend in the marginal effects of relevant variables, on the probability of default. We further show, through an empirical application, how the obtained results can be used in a managerial decision-making process and in a bank credit underwriting process in order to assess the creditworthiness of a shipping company.     

Assessment of cost as a function of abatement options in maritime emission control areas

This paper assesses cost as a function of abatement options in maritime emission control areas (ECA). The first regulation of air pollutions from ships which came into effect in the late 1990s was not strict and could easily be met. However the present requirement (2015) for reduction of Sulfur content for all vessels, in combination with the required reduction of nitrogen and carbon emissions for new-built vessels, is an economic and technical challenge for the shipping industry. Additional complexity is added by the fact that the strictest nitrogen regulations are applicable only for new-built vessels from 2016 onwards which shall enter US or Canadian waters. This study indicates that there is no single answer to what is the best abatement option, but rather that the best option will be a function of engine size, annual fuel consumption in the ECA and the foreseen future fuel prices. However a low oil price, favors the options with the lowest capex, i.e. Marine Gas Oil (MGO) or Light Fuel Oil (LFO), while a high oil price makes the solutions which requires higher capex (investments) more attractive.     

Evaluation of foreign trade transport accessibility for Mainland China

The foreign trade transport accessibility (FTTA) of Mainland China to overseas regions is studied in terms of the shipping connectivity and achievable market scales. First, the concept of FTTA is defined. Second, the path choice behavior of shippers is analyzed, and a method to measure FTTA is proposed. Last, with 357 cities in Mainland China as the origins and eight overseas regions as the destinations, the FTTAs from origins to destinations are evaluated. The study is helpful to acquaint decision-makers with the FTTA’s spatial distribution and to offer information by which China can expand its export-oriented industry and optimize its port and shipping industries.     

Evaluation of total risk exposure and insurance premiums in the maritime industry

The empirical evaluation of maritime risk exposure is based on the monetary value at risk (MVR) that incorporates individual safety quality data of about 130,000 vessels, insurable values related to various potential damages, and proxies for fractions of values lost at incidents. MVR provides a tool to enhance strategic planning of maritime administrations and insurance providers, which is illustrated by a high level comparison of annual risk exposure with insurance premiums for 2010–2014. The analysis reveals a global annual insurable value of 30.6 trillion USD with associated annual MVR of 38.8 billion USD for very serious and serious incidents. Although oil tankers show the highest risk exposure (1.75 million USD per tanker per year), safety qualities are found to be best for this ship type (1.4% annual incident risk) and worst for container vessels (2.8%). Annual growth rates in total risk exposure are mostly positive with highest value for dry bulk carriers (27.8%), whereas risk exposure tends to decline for pollution of oil tankers (−2.0%) and passenger vessels (−11.3%), and for loss of life of oil tankers (−1.9%) and dry bulk carriers (−1.4%). Comparison across administrative dimensions reveals that most risk exposure lies with old open registries and with beneficial owners and the Document of Compliance companies located in high income countries. Comparison with global insurance premiums suggests reasonably adequate coverage of maritime risks (excluding cargo) with under-insurance of risk by around 5% (about 1 billion USD per year), with some uncertainties remaining for actual loss fractions of the involved damages.     

数控车床刀尖与主轴中心对准误差的危害及纠正方法

本文阐述了数控车床刀尖与主轴个心对准误差对产品质量和机床设备的危害，分析了两种常用对准误差纠正方法的缺点，并提出了两种新颖简便的对准误差纠正方法，具有广泛的实用性。     

发挥长江“黄金水道”作用，支持上海国际航运中心

阐述了长江航运发展对上海国际航运中心建设的积极意义，并指出目前该黄金水道的 潜力远远没有发挥.要发挥长江航运本身所具有的优势，关健是要现实长江流城一盘棋，重点 是降低运输成本，突破点在于船舶更新.因此，必须加强长航集团与上海市及沿江城市间的沟 通和协作，建立统一有效的协调机制，交流各港的规划，相互配合，分割不同的市场面.必须打破长江航运经济滑坡的局面，把运输价格和运输服务建立在良性循环上.用优质的服务换取合理的回报.当务之急是结合长江发展集装箱喂给运输的特点，推出经济型、全航段适航、可江海直达和装备现代化通信导航技术的优化标准船型.     

建立国际金融中心对我国经济的影响及对策

我国经济的迅速发展客观上要求建立自己的国际金融中心,以促进金融资源的合理融通和利用,为我国经济发展注入新的活力。尽快根据我国的实际情况和发展水平,统筹规划,建立我国自己的国际金融中心以更好地为经济发展创造有利条件是当务之急。     

港口物流企业EAI实现中的统一安全认证

建立高效、快捷、安全、准确、网络化的物流信息系统,需要集成许多各自独立的应用系统。对于这样一个复杂的大系统,安全性与用户访问的问题是系统正常运行的第一步,本文提供了一个解决港口物流企业EAI实现中的统一安全认证策略。