Development Of Inland Waterway Transport Research Articles

Assessment of operational performance and service quality in inland waterway transport: A case study of Warri Southwest, Nigeria

Purpose: This study aims to evaluate the operational performance and service quality of inland waterway transport in Warri Southwest, Nigeria, by examining the factors that influence them. Methodology: The study employs a quantitative research approach, using a structured questionnaire to collect data from 180 respondents. The data is analyzed using regression analysis and a structural equation model (SEM) with the help of PLS Software Version 13.0. Results: The findings indicate that cargo clearance, infrastructure quality, and storage facilities significantly influence the performance of agent operation in inland waterway transport (p=0.000). Staff performance also directly impacts the provision of logistical services, which affects customer service. However, jetty operations do not promote operational performance (p=0.075). Additionally, staff performance does not significantly influence the association between jetty operation and performance and the relationship between cargo clearance and infrastructure level (p=0.136, 0.388). Theoretical contribution: This study contributes to the literature on inland waterway transport by providing empirical evidence on the factors influencing operational performance and service quality. The findings can help inform the development of policies and strategies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of inland waterway transport in Nigeria and other similar contexts. Practical implications: The study's recommendations include improving the quality of infrastructure, cargo clearance processes, and storage facilities to enhance operational performance. Additionally, investing in staff training and development can improve the provision of logistical services and, in turn, customer service. The study also suggests that the government and relevant stakeholders should prioritize the development of inland waterway transport to unlock its potential for socio-economic development, particularly in rural and hard-to-reach areas.

Challenges and Opportunities for the Development of Inland Waterway Transport in Brazil

Despite the presence of numerous navigable rivers in Brazil, they remain underutilized for Inland Waterway Transport (IWT). Given the recent changes in transport systems which aim to reduce reliance on highways due to their high cost and lack of sustainability, it becomes crucial to explore new transport models in Brazil, shifting part of the transport from roads to railways and mainly to waterways. To fill this gap in Brazil’s transport system, it was decided to check why waterways are little used and what challenges cause them to be underutilized and, additionally, what opportunities could leverage their use in the country. In this sense, in this study, we identify the biggest challenges and opportunities faced by IWT in Brazil. To achieve this objective, interviews were conducted using content analysis with managers who work in public and private IWT organizations active in Brazil. Results show that IWT has seen a recovery in interest in recent years due to the need for cheaper and greener logistics. It was also found that the main challenges that IWT faces are a lack of public policies followed by precarious infrastructure of waterways, ports and locks, as well as modest integration with other transport modes. Conversely, the most significant opportunity lies in the potential reduction in transport costs, coupled with the enhanced sustainability of transport activities via the utilization of IWT, thereby fostering greener transport practices. These results can contribute to a better understanding of practical and theoretical approaches related to IWT in Brazil, and they can serve as a reflection for new research focusing on the development of IWT especially in other emerging countries facing similar issues.

Inland waterway transport development: A Q-Method study on Tocantins River, Brazilian Amazon

In Brazil, increasing Inland Waterway Transport (IWT) figures among efforts for the Nationally Determined Contribution due to better energy efficiency and lower CO2 emission levels, when compared to highways and railways. Identifying barriers and drivers is useful to develop IWT as an alternative to terrestrial transportation modes, which are scarce in the Brazilian Amazon. As more than 50% of Brazilian electricity is generated in hydropower plants, the harmonic coexistence between multiple water uses is crucial. This paper aims to explore stakeholders' perceptions and priorities related to the development of inland waterway transport in the Tocantins River, Amazon, Brazil, where there are several hydropower plants. With an emphasis on sustainability issues, we used the Q-Method, a technique for assessing the relative importance of elements in various contexts. We identify and describe four perspectives (factors) using Q-method: (1) “critical shoals”; (2) “waterway, death project”; (3) “dams on waterways” and (4) “freedom for waterways”. Within these perspectives, economic incentives, with insights to cut down costs and increase freight are main concerns. We found disconnection between the reality of local communities and the lack of awareness on negative impacts by government officials and economic agents interested in waterway development. Mechanisms to guarantee social participation in IWT planning and implementing could foster socially acceptable solutions for technical, economic and governance issues.

Innovations in river passenger transportation as a factor in the development of the human capital of the regions

The object of research in this article is the relationship between the innovative development of river passenger transportation, increasing labor productivity in the economy of the respective territories and the cost of human capital involved in the production process. The subject of the study was the labor resources, the level of their territorial fragmentation with production capacities and the determination of ways to fill the needs of production in the missing qualified personnel. Particular attention is paid to the development of inland waterway transport as a link between labor resources and production facilities. The relevance of this study is confirmed by the presence of a large potential for the development of passenger transportation by river transport using innovative vessels, modern digital systems and navigation tools. The methodological basis of the study was the methods of statistical observation, analysis and calculation of the possible effect. The use of the abstraction method gave the authors the opportunity to obtain an approximate quantitative assessment of the effect obtained from increasing the labor mobility of the population as a result of the development of innovative passenger transportation by river transport. The main scientific results of the study are: 1) confirmation of the hypothesis about the relationship between the growth of economic activity with increased labor mobility, 2) justification of the need for innovative development of passenger transportation by inland waterway. The scientific novelty of the work is to substantiate the need to increase labor mobility within one region and between regions connected by waterways by innovative development of passenger transportation by river transport, as well as in an attempt to quantify the development of human capital on the example of internal labor migration in order to fill in the missing qualified personnel in modern (including innovative) industries.

Research on solutions to control risks of environmental pollution arriving from transportation of dangerous goods on inland waterway in Vietnam

The development of inland waterway transport (IWT) has led to an increase in the dangerous goods transportation (DGT) on the IWT and has many potential risks of causing environmental pollution, affecting health, human’s life. Troubleshooting problems arising from DGT on IWT is very complicated, even impossible. Therefore, risk control and incident response related to DGT on IWT are essential. From the study on the identification of risks and incidents that environmental pollution arising caused by DGT on IWT. The article gave some solutions to control the risks of environmental pollution from this activity.

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

To ensure the development of sustainability, the Europe Union (EU) set the goal of becoming a climate-neutral economy by 2050. The EU’s ambitious new target cannot be achieved without the involvement of all modes of transport in order to reduce emissions. According to it, the development of inland waterway transport is a key to ensuring sustainability. Calculations proving the benefits of developing the use of inland waterway transport for ensuring sustainability using the example of the Republic of Lithuania were carried out in this paper. Namely, the calculation of the benefit from the transfer of part of the cargo flow from the busy highway A1 Kaunas–Klaipeda to Neman River (inland waterway of international importance E41). Modeling and detailed comparison using the method of calculating the impact on the main external costs (accidents, air pollution, climate change, noise, habitat damage, congestion) showed that external costs are lower when transporting cargo by river. Increasing the barge capacity from 1000 t to 1800 t reduces the external cost of climate change by 25%. Moreover, replacing diesel with liquefied natural gas can reduce the external costs of climate change by 15% to 25%. The greatest effect is achieved by reducing the level of noise, congestion, and safety. It is possible to enlarge the positive effect by using energy generated by solar or wind power plants for electric-powered ships.

Analysis of the current state and directions of development of passenger transport until 2035

The material of an analytical study of the current state of inland water transport of the Russian Federation based on data from the Federal State Statistics Service is proposed. The introduction describes the importance of developing relevant directions for the development of the country's transport complex. The article is devoted to the study of actual scientific and practical problems of the development of passenger transportation by inland waterway transport of the Russian Federation. It analyzes both statistical data on the operation of river transport and the goals outlined in the strategy for the development of inland waterway transport of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2035. The directions of scientific thought on the problems of river passenger transportation have also been studied. The results highlight the main problems of the country's transport industry and especially passenger transport on inland waterways. The author's proposals on the directions and projects of the industry development are submitted for discussion.

JUSTIFICATION OF ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL FEASIBILITY OF CARGO TRANSPORTATION BY INLAND WATERWAYS

Topicality. Currently, the demand for transport by inland waterways is constantly growing, especially in economically developed countries. In order to maintain the national economy and create a more efficient and sustainable logistics system in Ukraine, transportation by inland waterways must be developed, because inland waterway transport has a number of advantages over other modes of transport, which creates the preconditions for changing logistics routes. To reduce transport costs, improve infrastructure and logistics in the face of uncertainty, the relationship between the stakeholders of rail and road transport with representatives of water transport is important. Reorientation of transportation from road transport to inland waterway transport, intensification of international trade and attraction of new freight flows to inland waterway transport will contribute to the overall growth of the country's economy and is possible subject to liberalization of transportation.Aim and tasks. The purpose of the article is to substantiate the economic and environmental feasibility of transporting goods by inland waterway transport in the context of the global trend of the need to preserve the environment and rational use of resources.Research results. The port infrastructure of Ukrainian rivers also does not meet modern requirements and is actually in decline. Most of the ports are located in the central areas of cities, causing the destruction of city roads by trucks that are sent for loading / unloading at these ports. In the context of the global trend of the need to preserve the environment for most countries of the world, inland waterway transport is the cheapest and most environmentally friendly mode of transport, suitable for transporting significant volumes of products, mainly raw materials. In Ukraine, the volume of cargo transported by river transport has significantly decreased over the past decade. Of the available volumes of freight transport by river transport, building materials, grain and metallurgy products prevail in the nomenclature. A certain impetus to the development of inland waterway transport was the adoption of the Law of Ukraine "On Inland Waterway Transport", which outlined the prospects for increasing the cargo turnover of river transport. Considering the volume of emissions from river transport, it is the most environmentally friendly compared to road transport. At the same time, the existing rolling stock of water transport is capable of replacing several thousand trucks. It has been established that the Dnieper basin plays the main role in the transportation of domestic cargo and passengers. More than 90% of all river transport in the country is carried out along the Dnieper and its largest tributaries Pripyat and Desna. However, the low operational characteristics of the fleet are one of the factors holding back the development of freight traffic on inland waterways. The four selected shipping companies provide cargo transportation on the Dnieper and Danube rivers, and are also capable of ensuring the potential development and competitive advantages of Ukrainian water transport.Conclusion. The studies carried out made it possible to substantiate the economic and environmental feasibility of transporting goods by inland water transport in Ukraine. Based on the determination of the share of transportations by inland water transport in the EU countries and Ukraine, the potential opportunities for the development of this area were established, taking into account other similar indicators, as well as the growth of export flows of grain and metallurgical products from the central part of Ukraine. Therefore, the development of domestic inland waterways is economically necessary, expedient and will have a positive effect for the entire country and the economy as a whole, given the low level of pollution and environmental pressure on air, land, water resources, biodiversity, which, in turn, affect climate change. , ecosystems in general and public health. Taking into account the total length of the navigable routes of Ukraine and the tendency to reduce the existing fleet, due to moral and physical aging, it is important to assist in attracting investments in the river fleet, will provide potential technical and technological opportunities for the development of all inland water transport and its key players.

Circular Economy as an Opportunity for the Development of Inland Waterway Transport (the Case of Danube River)

The main purpose of the publication is to analyze the integration of the Danube inland waterway transport (IWT) to the circular economy. The relationship between economics of transport and circular economy will be studied. The analysis will be based on the application of econometric models. Based on statistical data for the transportation of recycling products and plastic waste via Danube inland waterway transport, there will be studied the possibilities for development of IWT in the light of circular economy. There will be made a review of the waste management policies, implemented at the inland ports, situated on the Danube.

Development plans for Baltic short sea shipping promotion centers

Short sea shipping is the movement of cargo and passengers by sea between ports located in Europe or between these ports and ports located in non-European countries that have a coastline in closed seas bordering Europe. Short sea shipping includes domestic and international sea transport. It includes feeder services along the coast, to and from islands, rivers and lakes. The aim of this study was to create a functional and feasible development plan for Short Sea Shipping Promotion Centers (SPCs). There were 5 surveys made for SPCs located in Baltic Sea region (from Germany, Sweden, Finland, Lithuania and Poland) to obtain information on the scope and type of SPC's activities. There is a great potential for the development of SPC in Europe. Although, there are some barriers to overcome like formalities, customs documentation etc. The diverse legal forms of the SPC in individual countries also make it difficult to undertake integrated activities. The topic raised in the article is in line with current plans for the development of inland waterway transport in Poland and coincides with the Assumptions for development of inland waterways in Poland for 2016–2020 with 2030 perspective. The aim of the article was to consolidate the structures and tasks of all SPCs studied and to create a joint 6 point development plan for these centers in order to fully use their potential.

Analysis of the status of inland waterway transport in Poland

The article discusses the current use of inland waterway potential in Poland and also analyzes the opportunities for the development of this transport sector. The purpose of this article was to analyze the state of in-land waterways in Poland, including the role of the port in Szczecin, in the context of the development of this mode of transport by 2020. In the first part of the paper was characterized shipments by inland transport and the general condition of the inland waterways in Poland. The second part is devoted to the assessment of the status of inland waterway transport in the Port of Szczecin. In addition are presented the most important information about the development of inland waterway transport in relation to the assumptions of improvement of navigability of the Odra River planned for 2016-2020.

Stan i ekonomiczne perspektywy rozwoju transportu śródlądowego w układach przestrzennych ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem rewitalizacji drogi wodnej E40

System transportowy jest podstawowym składnikiem infrastruktury gospodarczej każdego kraju. Do głównych podsystemów transportowych możemy zaliczyć: lotniczy, drogowy, kolejowy, morski, rurociągowy, oraz wodny śródlądowy. Harmonijne współdziałanie tych systemów oparte na zasadach współczesnej logistyki zapewnia właściwy rozwój gospodarczy danego państwa, pozwalając na swobodny przepływ towarów i usług. Celem artykułu jest charakterystyka stanu i ekonomicznych perspektyw rozwoju transportu śródlądowego w Polsce ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem analizy planów rewitalizacji drogi wodnej E40. Opracowanie bazuje na analizie literatury przedmiotu, badaniach własnych, wywiadach bezpośrednich, raportach przygotowanych przez Unię Europejską oraz polski rząd dotyczących planów rozwoju wodnej polityki śródlądowej. Metody i techniki badawcze wykorzystane w artykule to analiza danych statystycznych oraz badania terenowe z zastosowaniem pomiarów batymetrycznych za pomocą technologii GPS. W ramach prac terenowych przeprowadzono badania morfologii dna koryta rzeki Bug na odcinku od przeprawy promowej Niemirów–Gnojno (województwo podlaskie) do punktu rzecznego na wysokości miejscowości Borsuki (województwo mazowieckie).

The influence of innovation on the inland waterway transport efficiency

The interest in inland waterway transport observed in recent years in Poland has highlighted the imperfections of both the existing infrastructure and the fleet of inland vessels. Therefore, it was necessary to adapt to EU standards, which requires taking actions that will improve the conditions of transport processes using inland waterways. The number, scope and level of introduced new improvement, modernization and innovation solutions determine the modern management of inland waterway transport. The article presents efficiency and its basic indicators in inland water transport. In addition, the impact of innovation on the development of inland waterway transport was discussed. The aim of the article is to identify and analyze factors affecting the efficiency of inland waterway transport, and in particular to assess the impact of applying innovation on the improvement of inland waterway transport.

The spatial planning of industrial areas in an urbanized area for cargo, in the development of inland waterway transport

Spatial planning, taking into account the configuration of the surface, i.e. its shape (relief) and the presence and mutual location of objects and points of characteristic water ports, is a derivative of several natural, economic, market, technical, social and political factors. It depends on the destination port, the planned structure of trade in cargo, the forecasted traffic of ships, passageways, the technology of reloading used, as well as on the anticipated demand for the development of shipping and trade by sea and inland waterway. The article analyzes the transport accessibility of the Port of Gdynia through the construction of a dock to determine the proposals for improving the conditions of transported cargo.

Identifying the Barriers for Development of Inland Waterway Transport: a Case Study

Inland waterway transport represent environmentally friendly transport mode accompanied with other potential benefits, such as increased transport safety and increased cost savings. In order to encourage further development of inland waterway transport in this paper focus is set on the identification of the barriers that limit and prevent development of inland waterway transport. More specifically, emphasis is placed on the barriers that are preventing the cargo shifting from land to waterway transport system. Research conducted in case of Republic of Serbia investigates several barriers which are classified in four main categories: goods, logistics, infrastructure, framework conditions. Framework conditions barriers are further subdivided and classified in four subcategories: political/legal, environment, economy, technology. Results indicate that the most significant negative influence on the further development of the inland waterway transport in Serbia comes from the political/legal barriers. This result implies that the government need to pay more attention to development of inland waterway transport, as well as to make more effort to enhance the cooperation with stakeholders.

An institutional analysis of the evolution of inland waterway transport and inland ports on the Pearl River

Inland waterway transport (IWT) is the most appropriate means of transportation in the pursuit of a sustainable development strategy. The development of IWT varies per region. Public entities and institutions play an important role in the development of IWT. This paper analyses the development of IWT on the Pearl River from an institutional perspective. Chinese national fiscal reforms, land use reforms and the transfer of power from the central government to local governments impact the governance of IWT. The paper demonstrates that the privatization of inland ports was triggered by the mismatch between the objectives of IWT operators and either public objectives or market demand. This process unfolded while top-level governors did not aim for privatization. The paper shows how formal institutional changes of IWT on the Pearl River are both the result of deliberate design and a path creation in the transformation from the Chinese planned economy to the Chinese market economy. It also shows how institutional changes resulted in a dual development path (i.e. a rapid development of inland terminals but underdevelopment of inland waterways) of IWT in the Pearl River. Policy recommendations are provided based on the research findings with specific attention to the factors hindering IWT development on the Pearl River at the level of the waterway infrastructure and inland ports.

Danube+20: More Jobs Due to Better Inland Water Transport?

The Danube region is an area of Europe that has wide variations in terms of economic development levels and integration. There is a common belief that raising economic performance levels across these countries will deliver welfare gains and promote cooperation across borders. As part of the European Union Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR), a range of actions and projects have been formulated to stimulate the development of inland waterway transport, ranging from waterway infrastructure projects to port & terminal development and from educational programs to promotional initiatives. The set of measures aims to develop a more attractive and more efficient inland transport system, resulting in more effective and extended use of the Danube as a transport corridor. This development should contribute to employment growth in the IWT sector itself, in the sectors associated to IWT (e.g. ports and terminals) and in the sectors using IWT as a transport mode. To assess the possible effects of the actions and projects defined in the EUSDR, the European Commission commissioned a study, with the aim to estimate the employments levels that would be achieved if transport volumes on the Danube would increase by 20% in 2020 compared to 2010.

China in transition: institutional change at work in inland waterway transport on the Yangtze River

Chinese national fiscal reforms and the transfer of power from the central government to local governments impact the governance of inland waterway transport (IWT). In this paper we argue that the development of IWT on the Yangtze River is strongly influenced by institutional changes at different levels of government in line with the path dependent transformation of the Chinese centrally planned economy. This paper deduces how institutional change of IWT on the Yangtze fails to fulfil its purposes because of institutional legacies and conflicts of interests among the various levels of government and the persistent interwovenness of the state with private enterprises (via SOEs). In order to further stimulate IWT on the Yangtze more institutional changes are on the cards, in particular a need for more (foreign) private involvement and more independent SOEs, but these changes will not necessarily break out of the development path.