Container Fleet Research Articles

Container freight rate level forecasting with machine learning methods

In an ocean container transportation market, the fluctuation of spot rate is volatile, making it difficult for market players to optimise freight related operations. This paper applies an multivariant approach to first identify the significant factors affecting rate development and then utilises machine learning methods to handle the complex multivariant nonlinearities, attempting to achieve an balance between forecasting accuracy and economic factor interpretation. In the Far East-Europe trade case study, it is found that four key factors, demand, the fitting value of ARIMA model, utilisation rate and containership fleet growth, affect the rate significantly; and among the tested machine learning methods, random forest outperforms the other. Comparing with the best univarite model (ARIMA), the obtained multivariant model performs equally well, indicating that despite of the complex nonlinearities between the variables in container freight, multivariant modelling in combination with machine learning methods has the potential for reliable prediction.

Başlıca Ticari Gemi Tiplerinin Ortalama Filo Hızlarının Modellenmesi ve Analizi

In this study, the average speeds of container, dry bulk and crude oil fleets, which are the main market types in maritime transportation, are estimated and analyzed by using external factors such as freight rate, bunker price, fleet size and interest rate. Freight and interest rates affect the average speeds positively, while bunker price and fleet size negatively affect in accordance with the theoretical justifications. The freight rate mostly affects the average speed of the container fleet, while bunker price, fleet size and interest rate mostly affect the average speed of the crude oil fleet; the average speed of the dry bulk fleet is least affected by the fuel price and fleet size; and the average speed of the container fleet is least affected by the interest rate. In general, when the coefficient sizes between the factors are considered, the most effective factor in average speeds of the three market is their fleet size. Thus, new dimensions have been added to the empirical literature stuck in the framework of freight rate and bunker price.

Container fleet renewal considering multiple sulfur reduction technologies and uncertain markets amidst COVID-19

The onset of 2020 is marked by stricter restrictions on maritime sulfur emissions and the spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). In this background, liner companies now face the challenge to find suitable sulfur reduction technologies, make reasonable decisions on fleet renewal, and prepare stable operation plans under the highly uncertain shipping market. Considering three sulfur reduction technologies, namely, fuel-switching, scrubber, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) dual-fuel engine, this paper develops a robust optimization model based on two-stage stochastic linear programming (SLP) to formulate a decision plan for container fleet, which can deal with various uncertainties in future: freight demand, ship charter rate, fuel price, retrofit time and Sulfur Emission Control Area (SECA) ratio. The main decision contents include ship acquisition, ship retrofit, ship sale, ship charter, route assignment, and speed optimization. The effectiveness of our plan was verified through a case study on two liner routes from the Far East to Northwest America, operated by COSCO Shipping Lines. The results from SLP model show that large-capacity fuel-switching ships and their LNG dual-fuel engine retrofits should be included in the long-term investment and operation plan; slow-steaming is an important operational decision for ocean liner shipping; if the current SECA boundary is not further expanded or the sulfur emission restrictions not further tightened, the scrubber ship will have no advantage in investment cost and operation. However, considering the probabilities of more flexible scenarios, the results from the robust model suggest that it is beneficial to install scrubber on medium-capacity fuel-switching ships, and carry out more LNG dual-fuel engine retrofits for large-capacity fuel-switching ships. Compared with SLP, this robust strategy greatly reduces sulfur emissions while slightly pushing up carbon emissions.

ЛОГИСТИЧЕСКИЕ АСПЕКТЫ РАЗВИТИЯ ТАНККОНТЕЙНЕРНОГО РЫНКА В РОССИЙСКОЙ ФЕДЕРАЦИИ

The article deals with topical issues of development of the market of tank-container freight transportation in Russia. The study presents data on the use of tank-containers on various modes of transport, which allow high-quality and reliable transportation of goods in comparison with traditional tanks. The technological features of the design of tank-containers, their overall dimensions, weight and capacity are considered. Statistical information reflecting the dynamics of the chemical cargo transportation market in containers and tanks has been analyzed. The risks and threats that can lead to an environmental disaster due to the problems of updating the fleet of containers have been studied. The directions of development of smart logistics are given.

Speed Optimization for Container Ship Fleet Deployment Considering Fuel Consumption

In recent years, low energy consumption has become the common choice of economic development in the world. In order to control energy consumption, shipping line speed optimization has become strategically important. to reduce fuel consumption, this study optimizes the container ship fleet deployment problem by adopting the strategy of adjusting each leg of each route’s sailing speed. To calculate fuel consumption more accurately, both sailing speed and the ship’s payload are considered. A multi-objective mixed integer nonlinear programming model is established to optimize the allocation of liner routes with multiple ship types on multiple routes. A linear outer-approximation algorithm and an improved piecewise linear approximation algorithm are used for linearization. If segments of an interval increase, the results will be more accurate but will take more time to compute. As fuel prices increase, to make trade-offs among economic and environmental considerations, the shipping company is adopting the “adding ship and slow down its speed” strategy, which verifies the validity and applicability of the established model.

Low-cost emissions cuts in container shipping: Thinking inside the box

Container shipping has become an emission-intensive industry; existing regulations, however, continue to display limitations. Technical emissions reduction measures require large, long-term investments, while operational measures may negatively impact transportation costs and supply-chain practices. For container shipping to become more sustainable, innovative, low-cost technological solutions are required. This study discusses such a technological game-changer which utilizes a lighter container type that, contrary to conventional ones, does not require wood in its floor. In this regard, emissions reductions are achieved both due to lower fuel consumption and tree savings. We estimate the global impact of this technology until 2050 using an integrated assessment model and considering different projections about future characteristics of the container fleet. Our results indicate that the adoption of the examined technology can reduce CO2 emissions by 4.7–18.8% depending on the main fuel used in container shipping lines, saving also a total of about 44 million trees.

Methodology of the experimental study about the effective function of the specialized motor transport enterprise

The article presents the methodology of the optimization for the structure of the motor transport and container fleet of the specialized motor transport enterprise at the heart of which the principles of program and target planning and linear programming are used.

Robust Optimization Model of Feeder Lines Routing Based on the Hub Port

Abstract This article determines one reasonable feeder-line routing for a containership fleet performing pickup and deliveries between the hub ports and spoke ports. It first analyzes the relationship between the hub port and feeder lines and then investigates how to design robust feeder lines routing. A robust optimization model with pickup, deliveries, and time deadlines is built. Improved genetic algorithms are used to solve the model. Results show that the robust optimization model can improve the robustness of the feeder lines routing and reduce the investment risk caused by the uncertainty in the feeder network design.

Joint Optimization of Routes and Container Fleets to Design Sustainable Intermodal Chains in Chile

This paper introduces a decision support tool for sustainable intermodal chains with seaborne transport, in which the optimization of a multi-objective model enables conflicting objectives to be handled simultaneously. Through the assessment of ‘door-to-door’ transport in terms of costs, time, and environmental impact, the most suitable maritime route and the optimized fleet are jointly calculated to maximize the opportunities for success of intermodal chains versus trucking. The resolution of the model through NSGA-II algorithms permits to obtain Pareto fronts that offer groups of optimized solutions. This is not only useful to make decisions in the short term, but also to establish long-term strategies through assessment of the frontiers’ behavior obtained when a sensitivity analysis is undertaken. Thus, consequences of transport policies on intermodal performance can be analyzed. A real-life case is studied to test the usefulness of the model. From the application case, not only the most suitable Motorway of the Seas with their optimized fleets are identified for Chile, but also significant general findings are provided for both policy makers and heads of ports to promote the intermodal option regardless of their geographical locations.

Affecting Factors to the Efficiency in the Container Shipping

Vietnam currently has 39 container shipping ships with a total tonnage of about 30,000 TUE; Vinalines has 11 ships. Thus, Vietnam's container fleet annually transports between 1.2 and 1.3 million TUE. Thus, compared with the total volume of imports and exports through the port each year about 18 million TUE, the container fleet of Vietnam is less than 10%. According to the report of the Vietnam Maritime Administration, up to now, Vietnam's fleet has 1,568 ships with a total tonnage of about 7.8 million tons, ranking 4th in ASEAN (after Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia) and 30th In the world. The average age of Vietnam's fleet is currently 15.6, younger than 5.2 years of the world (20.8 years old). The structure of Vietnam's fleet has also grown towards specialization, especially, Vietnam's container fleet has grown quite well from 19 ships (2013) to 39 ships (2019).

Affecting Factors to the Efficiency in the Container Shipping

Vietnam currently has 39 container shipping ships with a total tonnage of about 30,000 TUE; Vinalines has 11 ships. Thus, Vietnam's container fleet annually transports between 1.2 and 1.3 million TUE. Thus, compared with the total volume of imports and exports through the port each year about 18 million TUE, the container fleet of Vietnam is less than 10%. According to the report of the Vietnam Maritime Administration, up to now, Vietnam's fleet has 1,568 ships with a total tonnage of about 7.8 million tons, ranking 4th in ASEAN (after Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia) and 30th In the world. The average age of Vietnam's fleet is currently 15.6, younger than 5.2 years of the world (20.8 years old). The structure of Vietnam's fleet has also grown towards specialization, especially, Vietnam's container fleet has grown quite well from 19 ships (2013) to 39 ships (2019).

GLOBAL CONTAINER SHIPPING OPERATORS’ STRATEGIES AND THEIR IMPACT ON LOGISTICS SUPPLY CHAINS

The world economic and financial crisis that seriously hit the global economy and especially its trade and transport sectors in the years 2008-2009 also affected with significant force the global maritime container transport. This strategic maritime transport subsector is regarded as a driving force of smooth development of the global logistics supply chains and the backbone accelerating globalization processes. However, since 2010 effective demand and potential supply on the global container freight market are in constant state of disequilibrium, caused to a large extend by wrong tonnage investment strategies of container operators. Lack of ability to adapt the supply side to changes occurring on the demand side of the container market has brought numerous serious financial and economic consequences which not only affected the global container shipping operators but also hit other parties involved in the logistics supply chains spread within the global logistics space created in the contemporary global economy. Purpose: The main objective of this paper is to evaluate the dynamics of global maritime container market, especially its demand side which fluctuates vigorously, and assess the short and medium term strategies applied by the powerful shipping operators in terms of their multi-channel impact on the other parties of the global intermodal supply chain and the global logistics system as a whole. Methodology: The traditional method of maritime freight analysis was applied based on container freight and charter indices, such as SCFI or HFI. They reflect the amplitude of freight rate per TEU fluctuations in a certain period of time (e.g. quarter, week, etc.) which is congruent with the effective demand changes confronted with the existing potential supply. Growth of tonnage capacity, determined by the global container shipping operators’ strategies aimed for further development and better utilization of the existing transport potential of container fleet acting on the very competitive global freight market, has been assessed in terms of logistics efficiency and its effects have been estimated within the global value chain. Findings: The obtained results indicate that: 1/ global maritime container transport market is still significantly unbalanced and subject to high dynamics of demand fluctuations, and consequently freight rates , 2/ applied strategies of maritime global container operators in the operational and investment area fail to bring intended results, leading to strong capital horizontal integration in the sector of maritime container transport and vertical integration within the global logistic supply chains, 3/ the situation destabilizes the operations of global supply chains and consequently the global TSL sector, preventing forwarders and shippers from taking rational decisions on a medium and short term basis, 4/ this relatively long-standing situation (from 2010) shakes the foundations of transport and logistics order worldwide, 5/ the beneficiary of this situation on the market of maritime container transport and strategic decisions of global container operators is global economy as well as consumers of goods imported by sea in containers. Originality/value: The approach proposed by the author regarding the analysis of the effectiveness of freight market operations in the context of developed and implemented operational and investment strategies of maritime container operators with an attempt to assess the effects of such decisions within global logistic supply chains has not been the subject of research until now. The obtained initial results which require further detailed analysis, provide significant values, both theoretical (enrich the market theory) and practical (as regards taking rational decisions and effective management of global supply chain).

Changes in container shipping industry: Autonomous ship, environmental regulation, and reshoring

ABSTRACTThis paper proposes the strategy of container shipping industry in the foreseeable future. Container shipping presently encounters challenges such as excess container capacity, low-freight rate, high-fuel cost, and eco-efficient policy. In addition, the Fourth Industrial Revolution also affects the shipping industry via autonomous ship and reshoring phenomena. The hundreds of zettabytes big data enable deep-learning-based ship design as well as autonomous shipping; the various propulsion types become satisfied with the EEDI requirement; the small- and mid-sized containerships account for the significant portion of container fleets. By considering these key issues, the expectable changes are discussed for sustainable shipping.

Combinable containers: A container innovation to save container fleet and empty container repositioning costs

Combinable containers can either be used as a standard 20 ft or in combined state as a 40 ft container by altering the dimensional to match the cargo size. This paper examines the viability of combinable containers for saving the container related costs. We present a model of a minimum cost multi-commodity network flow problem that can be used to simultaneously determine the fleet sizes of standard and combinable containers and their empty container allocation/repositioning. Based on numerical experiments, we discovered that mixed use of both types of containers can save a significant portion of container related cost.

Safety of container ship (un)loading operations in the Port of Antwerp

PurposeEconomies of scale drive container ship owners towards ordering larger vessels. Terminals need to ensure a safe (un)loading operation of these vessels, which can only be guaranteed if the mooring equipment is not overloaded (lines, fenders and bollards) and if the motions of the vessel remain below set limits, under external forces. This paper aims to focus on the passing vessel effect as a potential disturbing factor in the Port of Antwerp.Design/methodology/approachMotion criteria for allowing safe (un)loading of container vessels are established by considering the container handling process and existing international standards (PIANC). A case study simulation is presented where the behaviour of the moored vessel under ship passages is evaluated. Starting from a representative event, the effect of changes in passing speed and distance is discussed.FindingsThe study illustrates the influence of passing velocity and distance on the behaviour of the moored vessel, showing that when passing speeds are higher and/or distances lower than the reference event, safety limits are potentially exceeded. Possible mitigating measures, including the use of stiffer mooring lines and/or a change in arrangement, are discussed.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper serves as a basis for future research on safety criteria and optimisation of the mooring equipment and configuration to deal with passing vessel effects.Practical implicationsThe presented results can be used by ship and terminal designers to gain familiarity with passing vessel effects and adopt suggested best practice.Social implicationsBy restricting the motions of the passing vessels, the focus and general well-being of the crane operator is enhanced, as is the safety of workers.Originality/valueThe paper provides a unique combination of container fleet observation, safety criteria establishment and case study application.

Public-private partnerships and their role in enhancing the cargo handling efficiency of container lines in the Black sea

The article discusses the current situation in the container shipping market and the terminal infrastructure in the Black Sea region. The analysis is based on the container fleet database accumulated by the author. These data are used for making observations and predictions and drawing conclusions about the dynamics of the marine transportation market. The methodological framework comprises theoretical, empirical and mathematical methods. The comparative analysis of container services of different Russian terminals and ports has shown that the market is now undergoing major transformations and suffers from a considerable imbalance due to the rapid growth in deadweight tonnage and the insufficient capacity of the infrastructure, which means that it is unable to keep up with the rising demand. The excess of deadweight tonnage and the shortage of the necessary equipment leads to chronic bottlenecks in cargo handling, cargo clearance and so on. To address these problems, it is proposed to explore the opportunities provided by the integration of public-private partnerships into the service structure of maritime transport. By focusing on the case of the Russian port of Novorossyisk, the article demonstrates that public-private partnerships are able to enhance the efficiency of cargo-handling operations of container lines in the Black Sea region.

Analyzing determinants of the global oil market environment and their impact on financial results of entities operating in the tank container fleet

Analyzing determinants of the global oil market environment and their impact on financial results of entities operating in the tank container fleet

Multidimensional examination of the performances of a liner shipping network: trunk line/route operated by conventional (Panamax Max) and mega (ULC - ultra large container) ships

This paper deals multidimensional examination of performances of a trunk line/route of liner container-shipping network serving an intercontinental supply chain by the conventional (Panamax Max) and mega (ULC - Ultra Large Container) ships. The trunk line/route of the network includes the supplier and the customer seaport of freight shipments consolidated into containers (TEU (Twenty Foot Equivalent Unit)), and the container ships operated by liner shipping carriers and/or their alliances providing transport services between them. The supplier and the customer seaport can be either the main seaports of the line or the hubs of the H&S (Hub-and-Spoke) network of particular liner container-shipping carriers.The multidimensional examination implies defining and developing the analytical models of indicators of the trunk line’s infrastructural, technical/technological, operational, economic, environmental, and social performances and their application to the selected real-life case. The infrastructural performances relate to the characteristics of infrastructure (berths) and container terminals in the seaports at both ends of the line. The technical/technological performances reflect the characteristics of facilities and equipment for loading/unloading and storing TEU shipments in these terminals, and that of the container ships transporting them. The operational performances include the transport service frequency, size, transport work and technical productivity of the deployed container ship fleet while serving a given volume of TEU flows during the specified time. The economic performances contain the inventory, handling, transport, and external costs of handling the TEU flows. The environmental performances relate to the fuel consumption and consequent emissions of GHG (Green House Gases). Finally, the social performances in terms of impacts generally refer to noise, congestion, and safety.The models of indicators of performances have been applied to the liner container-shipping trunk line/route connecting the East Asia and North Europe operated exclusively by two above-mentioned categories of ships according to the “what-if” scenario approach. The results have indicated the very high sensitivity of all considered indicators of performances to the category of deployed ships under given conditions. As well, they have shown to be dependent on each other – the operational on the technical/technological, and the economic, environmental, and social on the technical/technological and operational.

CONCEPTUAL SCHEME FOR ENSURING THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY PRINCIPLE IN MODERN CONTAINER FLEET

As a result of the analysis of the modern merchant fleet, indicators have been revealed of an increase in the size of modern merchant vessels, which affects the overall energy efficiency. It should be noted a significant increase in the container fleet, namely, not only an increase in the number of vessels themselves, but also an increase in the average carrying capacity by almost 2.8 times. As a result, emissions to the atmosphere have also increased due to a significant increase in ship propulsion power and fuel consumption. This is due to the specifics of container traffic, namely for the rapid transportation of goods from port A to port B, for which container ships often move in all weather conditions with maximum speed, respectively, fuel consumption is enormous compared to other types of ships. Despite the fact that the goods must be delivered as soon as possible and without delay, in practice, due to the lack of effective feedback between all participants in the transportation process, this is not always possible. The inefficiency of feedback leads to wasteful resources, which in turn increases the financial costs of the shipowner by increasing fuel consumption. It also reduces the energy efficiency of the ship and increasing emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere. Considering the experience of the giants of maritime transport such as MAERSK, MSC, CMA CGM, it is possible to see that all participants in the process are single unit and interested in maximum efficiency of transportation. Containers of smaller companies that do not own their terminals often face ineffective feedback and are not able to influence the situation. The conceptual scheme proposed in the article should increase the efficiency of feedback between the vessel charter and the port, which, in turn, will increase the efficiency of sea freight. Constant access to information about the situation in the port will make it possible to avoid unnecessary delays of the ship.

MODELING OF ASSESSMENT OF A REGION’S NEED FOR CONTAINER TRANSPORTATION

ABSTRACT The article is devoted to development of a model for substantiating a region’s need for containerization of cargo transportation. The model includes two interrelated elements: a method for substantiating container suitability for cargoes and an imitation algorithm for planning of the region’s need for containerization. The planning of the need for containerization links the demand of enterprises for transportation (taking into account the levels of product container suitability) and the available resources of the container transport system (terminals, container fleet, rolling stock). Further development of the model assumes assessment of costs and benefits of the region from development of the container system. Verification of the simulation model at the example of Sverdlovsk region demonstrates its efficiency and adequacy of reality. Keywords: container transportation, containerization, container suitability of cargo, social and economic system of the region, development of the region, resources, simulation model, organization of interaction.