The efficient integration of logistics modes is critical for international cargo shipping. The local transportation connecting to the export port then plays a vital role in such integration. This paper investigates the problems of carrier selection in the China Pearl River delta area, with respect to international shipping. The analytical hierarchy process (AHP) model is constructed based on a comprehensive industrial interviews and statistical analysis. Rather than simply ranking the given alternatives, we use AHP is used to analyse the weakness and strength of impacting factors in carrier selection. The model is implemented under different types of shipper. Seven criteria are statistically summarized from the questionnaire for evaluating eight different modes. The results are useful to those liner companies serving the PRD region in relationship to port selection and fleet deployment.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the difference in the level of fatigue induced by high-speed maritime craft operation between the day-shift and night-shift officers.The demographic and work-related factors that contribute to fatigue were also explored. A total of 93 high-speed maritime craft officers participated in the survey, of whom 35 worked a day-shift (Mean age = 48.3 years) and 58 worked a night-shift (Mean age = 45.8 years). Fatigue experience was measured with the Chinese version of the Swedish OccupationalFatigue Inventory (SOFI-C) at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of the work shift.Information on age, work experience, perceived voyage difficulty and duty schedule was obtained. The study found that the night-shift officers seemed to manifest an overall higher level of perceived fatigue than the day-shift officers, while the day-shift officers demonstrated a fatigue carry-over effect across the two workdays. Besides the shift pattern, age, experience in operating high-speed maritime craft and perceived voyage difficulty were the significant factors contributing to the officers' fatigue experience. The finding that the fatigue experience associated with high-speed maritime craft operation has a rapid and accumulative nature suggests that different occupational safety and health guidelines should be devised for these two groups of officers.Fatigue and high-speed maritime craft 3 3

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