In Search of the Link between Ship Size and Operations

Abstract

Since 1990s the liner shipping industry has faced a period of restructuring and consolidation, and been confronted with a continuing increase in container vessel scale. The impact of these changes is noticeable in trade patterns, cargo handling methods and shipping routes, in short 'operations'. After listing factors influencing size, growth in container ship size is explained by economies of scale in deploying larger vessels. In order to quantify economies of scale, this paper uses the liner service cash flow model. A novelty in the model is the inclusion of '6000-20-foot Equivalent Unit (TEU) vessels and the distinction in costs between single and twin propeller units on ships. The results illustrate that scale economies have been Á and will continue to be Á the driving force behind the deployment of larger container vessels. The paper then assesses the link between ship size and operations, given current discussions about the increase in container vessel scale. It is found that (a) ship size and operations are linked; (b) optimal ship size depends on transport segment (deep-sea vs. short-sea shipping, SSS), terminal type (transhipment terminals vs. other terminals), trade lane (East-West vs. North-South trades) and technology; and (c) a ship optimal for one trade can be suboptimal for another.

Research of Bulk Carriers Actual Dimensions for the Port Planning (Technological Solutions of Marine Terminals)

“…Существует ряд исследований, в которых авторы, обладая статистической базой характери-стик судов, выполняют оптимизацию размерений судов в зависимости от выполняемых операций (S. Chen [21], C. Sys [22]) или от экономической составляющей фрахта (W. K. Talley [23], J. O. Jansson [24], Australian Government [25]), определяют параметры маневренности (A. Toma [26]). …”

Optimalna uporaba kontejnerskih brodova koji opslužuju male luke

“…3. The problem can be solved with different techniques, see [3][4][5][6][7][8][9] but here we applied network optimization technique as the shortest path problem in the network with multiple sources/destinations. Some ports have limitation on loading capacity and most of them are secondary ports with capacity below the ship's earning capacity.…”

“…When there is more than one port involved in transportation planning, important inputs like transshipment costs, fuel price for each route, sailing time, time for loading /discharge containers and the location of each port present main inputs to determine the overall efficiency of the process [4]. In addition to the above, other conditions have impact on process in whole like an efficient operator network, efficient logistical support and most important acceptable port conditions (acceptable entry time-window, weather conditions, pilotage availability etc.)…”

“…Before operator even starts planning, first task is to find ship with optimal size, draft, maneuvering characteristics and stowage capacity [4,5]. Potential implications regarding deploying too small or big ship may have adverse effect on venture.…”

“…These are linear network between ports that meet the needs of "mega" container ships, starting on one side and ending at the other side of the world. Among them sail large ships called "mother" ships and further distribution between main and secondary ports is done with smaller container ships [3,4].…”