The emergence of very large container vessel (VLCV) in maritime trade: implications on the Malaysian seaport operations

Abstract

Revolution in containerization has caused an impressive advancement in container shipping and significant developments have been witnessed in this industry, including infrastructure expansions, modern system design, technological advancement, emergence of multimodalism, and introduction of co-modality, as well as improvement in the mechanism of interoperability. Owing to a significant dynamism in maritime logistics, it is projected that the amplification of vessel capacity will continue and achieve up to 24,000 TEUs in coming years and even larger in order to cope with the demand of economies of scale (EOS). The increasing trend of throughput at container terminals to which the very large container vessels (VLCVs) have contributed has challenged seaport decision makers to carry out immense infrastructure improvements and make massive investments in current seaport terminals. Predicated on the previous issues, a question has been raised about the benefits and equality between seaports and liner shipping operators due to the emergence of VLCVs. As a result, this paper has identified, analyzed, and evaluated the impact of VLCVs on Malaysian seaport operations and infrastructures from the sustainability management perspectives. In order to achieve the research objectives, two mathematical methods are employed: the analytical hierarchical process and evidential reasoning. Three major seaports in Malaysia are selected, the Port of Tanjung Pelepas, Northport, and Westport, as case studies in this paper. The result obtained from this paper will assist seaport operators to develop their substantial strategies for adapting to the emergence of VLCVs.