Economic Calculation and Operations Research in Terms of LNG Carriage by Water Transport: A Case Study of the Port of Bratislava

Abstract

The presented manuscript discusses a specific research study examining several variants of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriage from chosen seaports to the port of Bratislava using the Danube waterway, assessing them using chosen multi-criteria analysis techniques. Two ports in Turkey and one port in Georgia are deemed export terminals. A total of twelve variants are compared, whereby the comparison is carried out based on multiple evaluation criteria defined by a panel of experts who laid particular stress on their importance. An economic calculation is performed in the first phase to assess LNG carriage in all the variants. This represents the very foundation for the multi-criteria evaluation, which is conducted using Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) and the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). The evaluated variants differ not only in terms of export port location, but also in relation to transport technology. As for the second phase, four distinct technologies in three different scenarios are assessed—specifically, Small-Scale (SS) LNG-C tankers—while two modes of operation (i.e., time-charter, own tanker) and a river-sea LNG tanker with an LNG barge in two versions are considered. The first version considers the use of Marine Gasoil (MGO) fuel, while the second one considers LNG use. The results obtained provide interesting findings, wherein two out of three applied methods prefer the same transport option. Thus, it can be stated that our study presents a unique approach by comparing different scenarios of LNG distribution as a commodity inland along the river Danube, specifically to Central Europe, from a variety of standpoints. The manuscript evaluates carriage using traditional MGO fuels as well as alternative LNG fuels, and also brings a comparison from a technological point of view.

Sustainable Transport in the Danube Region

“…Looking at the Danube region, the highest rate of accidents is observed in Bulgaria and Romania. The overall number of road fatalities in these countries is at least 100 deaths per 1 million inhabitants [3]. On the other hand, the average number of fatalities in Germany and Austria is from 10 to 14 deaths per million inhabitants.…”

“…The main idea of this programme is to decrease the number of deaths on European roads to almost zero by 2050. This concept is focused on key safety indicators, such as vehicle safety, seat belts, post-crash care and so on [3].…”

Development of Inland Waterway Transport as a Key to Ensure Sustainability: A Case Study of Lithuania

“…The topic of the benefits and development of inland waterway transport compared to road transport, thus achieving sustainability, is discussed a lot in the scientific literature [1,2,7,8,[11][12][13][14][16][17][18]24,25]. Erceg [11], Leijer et al [12], Caris et al [18], Solomon et al [21] and others analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of inland waterway transport and stated that economy, efficiency, reliability, safety and environmental friendliness are the most important advantages.…”

“…The steady growth in demand for transport, especially road transport, raises serious concerns about the long-term sustainability of current mobility trends [1,2]. In recent decades, the flow of cargo in the EU has been actively growing.…”