Robust planning and disruption management in roll-on roll-off liner shipping

This paper presents different strategies for handling disruptions in fleet deployment in roll-on roll-off liner shipping, which basically consists of assigning a fleet of vessels to predefined voyages at minimum cost. A new mathematical model of the problem is presented, including a set of robust planning strategies, such as adding slack and rewarding early arrivals. To solve real-life instances a rolling horizon heuristic is proposed. A computational study, where we also propose some recovery planning strategies, is conducted, and simulation results show that adding robustness significantly reduces the actual cost of the plan and the total delays of the voyages.     

Port traffic risks – A study of accidents in Hong Kong waters

This paper investigates port traffic risk issues by discussing historic accidents in Hong Kong port. A total of 2012 marine accidents with 94 deaths were reported in Hong Kong waters in year 2001–2005, while 660,427 oceanic ships visited the port. A negative binomial regression model is used to analyze the record of dataset. It is found that port traffic risks are of certain pattern and collision accidents are the most popular incidents when port traffic is heavy. Passenger-type vessels have higher potential for injuries during accidents. The findings have identified statistically significant factors for improvements in managing port traffic risks.     

Port devolution revisited: the case of regional ports and the role of lower tier governments

Most models of port governance have been developed to fit the largest ports, and tend to simplify the devolution process as one involving the transfer of jurisdiction from the State to the private sector. The devolution of smaller ports has been largely ignored as have transfers involving transfers from upper levels of government to lower tiers of public administration. Yet in many countries this has been the experience of port governance, where complex structures have arisen, many of which involve public control, in contrast to the strongly privatised process covered in the literature. The objective of this paper is to examine the process and consequences of changing port governance involving small and medium size ports where lower tiers of government are involved. It examines the recent devolution process in Canada and the decentralization policy in France. It brings to light the diversity of actors, public and private, who have come into play. The paper goes on to examine the challenges that have come about as a result of devolution that face the new port administrations. The paper concludes that existing models of port governance are incomplete and that the role of public administration in port governance is greater, albeit in a different form, than claimed in the existing literature.     

Designing a sustainable maritime supply chain: A hybrid QFD–ANP approach

This study aims to design a sustainable maritime supply chain by taking customer requirements as the focus. This is achieved by an analytical approach combining Quality Function Deployment (QFD) and Analytical Network Process (ANP) for guiding shipping companies’ design. An analysis of a major container shipping line is conducted to illustrate and validate the approach. The four main customer requirements are: (1) Cost and Price Competitive, (2) Pollution Reduction, (3) Efficient Use of Fuel and Resources, and (4) Health, Safety, and Security. The Use of Green Design Ships, Engines and Machinery is found to be the most important design requirement.     

Regional integration and maritime connectivity across the Maghreb seaport system

Models and empirical studies of port system evolution dominantly focus on land-based dynamics. Hence, it is traditionally recognized that such dynamics condition the evolution of ports and their relations as well as wider regional integration processes. The Maghreb region (Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia), which is currently responsible for no less than one-third of all African port throughputs, offers a fertile ground to test the possibility for regional integration to occur through maritime linkages despite limited trade integration and land-based transport connectivity. Main results highlight the increase of trans-Maghreb maritime connectivity but this occurs mostly at the periphery of the system based on transit flows. Logistical integration versus trade integration is discussed in light of the recent evolution of Maghreb ports and of the region in general.     

运用铁路现代化建设成果 大力提升武汉枢纽整体效能

地处路网中部、以水陆联运为特色的武汉铁路枢纽结构复杂,组织难度颇大。针对枢纽特点,探讨铁路企业如何通过优化运力资源配置和运输组织模式,完善枢纽布局和功能,促进枢纽整体效能的释放,提升其服务全路运输大局和地方经济社会发展的保障能力。     

铁路与公路运输在现代物流中的协调性研究

为研究铁路与公路运输在现代物流中的协调性，运用数据包络分析方法，以1990-2004年间中国公路、铁路运输的相关数据作为输入和输出指标，并将数据进行标准化和综合化处理，利用DEA模型，用LINGGO编制线性规划求解程序，计算协调发展程度。计算结果表明，公路运输与铁路运输之间协调性随着年份的推移有良好的发展趋势，但在此期间内也有少量波动，反映出国家公路与铁路运输的发展程度及趋势。     

Going West? Spatial polarization of the North Korean port system

This paper analyzes North Korean ports in light of existing models of port system evolution. It reviews the economic and political factors shaping port concentration in developed, developing, and socialist countries. A database on vessel movements allows for the analysis of individual North Korean port traffic by total capacity circulated, cargo type, fleet nationality, immediate origin and destination, and berthing time. While ideological factors and military control hamper port modernization and trade openness, traffic concentration at the Pyongyang–Nampo gateway highlights the spatial polarization in the capital region at the expense of Eastern ports for which inland transport limitations and industrial decline have become major issues. The North Korean case only partly fits general models because traffic concentration occurs due to geopolitical isolation and internal limitations rather than economic and trade growth.