Maritime Logistics: A Complete Guide to Effective Shipping and Port Management

Abstract

This book states that it is intended to address “the convergence of two distinct fields … shipping and port management.” In this the authors have succeeded while covering such divergent aspects of the maritime supply chain as dry bulk, liquid bulk, containerization, intermodalism, port management, hinterland logistics, maritime ergonomics, ocean shipping companies, traditional ports, dry ports, and global trade, to name a few. However, the book presents a conundrum: it tries to be a textbook, but it is not a textbook. Its sixteen sections are numbered and referred to as chapters, but they are not chapters. Instead the authors have assembled a wealth of information comprising a good but uneven overview of the maritime industry. The good comes from the evident passion for the industry and the expertise shown by its various authors, while the unevenness results from utilizing an array of some twenty-six contributors.Maritime Logistics cannot therefore be used as a textbook, but instead as a collection of articles and studies that might have been found had the Transportation Journal published a special, expanded edition dedicated to the international maritime industry. On the plus side, however, the varied content provides an interesting overview for the maritime novice, as well as a wealth of information that even the experienced practitioner can appreciate. As an educational tool it would most likely be used as a source of specific, assigned readings to supplement a true textbook-based international supply chain course. While a majority of the sixteen sections are research findings, others are more historical in nature, and so the number of references for each ranges from just a few to more than six pages—themselves a treasury of sources for additional background information.A word of caution is needed for US readers regarding the variety of different “Englishes” used. Some articles are written in American English, others in British English, some a blend of the two, and still others appear to have been translated into one of those three from another tongue. For the most part this is not a problem, but on occasion some interpretation is needed on the US reader's part, for example, a reference to supply chain rings versus the more commonly used term links. In places where the varying rules of English grammar are applied (or ignored) the text can sometimes become a bit distracting. However, this does not detract from the content, and actually contributes to the international flavor of the book.On the minus side there are a handful of references that were not explained but should have been, or at least deferred to a comprehensive glossary. For example, a reference to a “Marco Polo Programme” forced this reviewer to do his own research to discover that this was an established EU transport program that “co-funds direct modal-shift or traffic avoidance projects … which enable freight to switch from road to other modes efficiently and profitably … to ease road congestion and its attendant pollution by promoting a switch to greener transport modes for European freight traffic.” That is important information, which should have been available to give the Programme its proper context. Also, a bit of additional fact checking will be needed for any future editions planned by the authors. For example, one section states that logistics degrees have only been in existence for about two decades, when in reality they date back to the late 1960s at a number of major universities.As in the Marco Polo example above, a few other supply chain and maritime terms could be better addressed, and hopefully will be in a future edition. Section 10, for example, has an excellent, self-contained glossary, but the reader would benefit from an overall glossary encompassing all of the sections. In addition, the cross-reference index could be more complete, and some additional explanations would prove useful, such as defining a few now-common new terms like cold ironing (shutting down a vessel's power plants while docked in favor of shore-supplied electricity).In summary, this review should not be taken as a negative one because Maritime Logistics is a valuable book that contains a great amount of interesting information that can take the reader on a fascinating journey. Rather, the potential reader should consider this review to be a roadmap around the potholes on such a journey.