Large Port Research Articles

The Impact of a New Container Port on the Greenhouse Gas Pollution

Abstract Background Large vessels that call at European ports will have to pay for their CO2 emissions from transporting cargo that enters or goes from a European port since January 2024. The costs will increase with increasing global trade. This results in a higher pollution level, including greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions like CO2. Methods/ Approach Based on the gravity model embedded in a global supply chain, we developed a model to evaluate maritime transport pollution in case a new, sufficiently large container port becomes operational. Additionally, we consider how lousy railway connections to European customers increase transportation costs and pollution. Results The approach to the well-connected sequences of gravity models in the intercontinental maritime chains evaluates the differences in quantities of cargo between ports when a new port is opened, and the waiting time does not change. We also highlight that poor rail connections can reduce this positive effect. Conclusions We showed how it is possible to estimate the optimal capacity of a new port with a multi-level gravity model and how this would affect the pollution around the port and on the routes from the port to the final consumers.

1 × N All‐Logic Optical Switch Based on Polymer Platform Using Multimode Interferometer

The compact and broadband optical switch with a large port count is demanded with the increasing communication capacity. In this article, a universal method for modeling the 1 × N switch using multimode interferometer (MMI) through transmission matrixes is proposed. Herein, the reasons for the narrowing of the operating bandwidth switch are analyzed. As a proof of concept, a wide bandwidth 1 × 4 switch, which has an insertion loss lower than 23.7 dB, and a cross talk better than −10 dB at 1550 nm are simulated, designed, and fabricated. The cross talk throughout the C band is lower than −8.5 dB. According to the experimental result, the 1 × 4 switch with four‐equal‐length modulating arms shows a 32 nm bandwidth for −10 dB cross talk which is 13 times larger than traditional switch. The switch realizes a multi‐port logic optical switch by modulation. The 1 × N switch based on the generalized Mach–Zehnder interferometer (GMZI) structure reduce the footprint significantly compared with the 1 × N switch consisting of a 1 × 2 switch cascade. It is believed that 1 × N switch based on GMZI structures is a promising solution to increase integration density.

A Conceptual Model for Automation of Small Ports

Abstract For large ports and terminals, the loading and discharge operations have to a great extent been automated already. However, for the vast number of small ports, for instance all Norwegian ports, this large-scale automation is not possible due to the small size of the ports compared to the cost of introducing full automation. Still, these small ports are important logistics hubs in the transport system. They facilitate the shift from congested roads to the sea by allowing the goods to arrive closer to the final destination by using smaller, possibly autonomous, vessels. However, this puts pressure on the ports to facilitate reduced laytime in the port, to increase the port efficiency and to improve interoperability towards hinterland systems and terminals. For small ports, this means that manual and automated work processes need to exist side by side, and that it will be important to get an overview of which processes to automate and which will remain manual, in addition to the handling of the hand-over between humans and automation. This paper describes a conceptual model that can be used by small ports as a starting point on their way to introduce automation of their services supporting the cargo flow through the port. The model includes a description of port functions, tasks and responsibilities and use the concept of operational envelope to define the overall capabilities of the system, including both automation and human. This will be the starting point for how to structure the description of an operation centre that monitor and control the maritime terminal operations. The starting point for this work is a use case analysis performed in some small ports in Norway, and their need to optimize the utilization of their assets. The work is done as part of the AutoPort project which is a research project funded by the Norwegian Research Council (project number 337211). The goal of this work is to describe a methodology on how to identify the interface between automation and human operators when it comes to small ports and the movement of cargo through its terminals, and by this give a description on how different levels of automation can be implemented. The methodology consists of several steps, including definition of the context (big picture of the use case, actors and their roles, and communication), the scenario (port activities and processes), and the use cases including the control tasks performed by the automated systems.

Smart port vs. port integration to mitigate congestion: ESG performance and data validation

In practice, ports compete on both service volume and service quality. The latter can be measured by the port congestion situation so the mitigation of congestion helps improve customers’ experience. We observe that smart ports are widely built and many local governments are promoting port integration to ease competition and reduce congestion. One immediate question is: Are the two strategies really effective that further enable the improvement of ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) performance? In this study, by taking the do-nothing strategy as the benchmark, we examine how smart port and port integration strategies work in port congestion reduction and ESG improvement. We reveal that the smart port strategy brings the Matthew effect that the large port obtains a larger market share and the smaller port worries about the win-lose situation. We also reveal that smart port can make each port and the entire port system more congested, resulting in the investment dilemma. Differently, the port integration strategy can effectively reduce congestion but hurt social welfare. We further discuss a mixed strategy where both strategies are implemented. Interestingly, under the mixed strategy, the risk of falling into the investment dilemma can be reduced and social welfare can be increased. We compare the ESG performances under three strategies and highlight that the mixed strategy achieves the highest system profit, the smart port strategy yields the highest social welfare, and the port integration strategy may outperform the other strategies in terms of environmental sustainability.

The impact of shipping on the air quality in European port cities with a detailed analysis for Rotterdam

Air quality in cities with large maritime ports is considerably impacted by emissions from shipping activity which is of a growing relevance due to an increasing relative contribution. To explore the extent of shipping emissions to ambient air quality, simulations with the chemical transport model LOTOS-EUROS (LOng Term Ozone Simulation – EURopean Operational Smog model) were performed for the year 2018 at an approximate 1 × 1 km resolution for six European cities with large ports, i.e., Rotterdam, Antwerp, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Le Havre, and London. It was found that depending on the investigated city, 6.5%–62% of the nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentration in the city centres is attributable to shipping activities. This corresponds to contributions of 1.8–11.5 μg/m3 to the ambient air NO2 concentrations. The average NO2 contribution of shipping in these six cities was 28% (7.1 μg/m3). The largest relative contribution was found for Le Havre where 62% (10.8 μg/m3) of the annual average NO2 concentration was caused by shipping emissions. The largest absolute contribution is found for the city centre of Hamburg with 11.5 μg/m3 (41%). The lowest absolute and relative contribution (respectively 1.8 μg/m3 and 6.5%) are found for London, also having the smallest port in terms of tonnage throughput, which is one of the influential factors that determine emission totals, investigated in this study. For the other investigated pollutants, i.e., PM2.5, PM10 and SO2, contributions from shipping were less pronounced with average contribution for all cities of 10% (1.2 μg/m3) 7% (1.5 μg/m3) and 4% (0.16 μg/m3) respectively. To assess the effect of model choices on these results, this study also looked into the choice of simulation resolution and relations between meteorological parameters and NO2 concentrations. Following simulations with varying chemical transport model resolutions (1 × 1 km to 24 × 24 km), it is found that a decrease in ambient air pollutant concentrations away from localized emission sources is more pronounced at higher (1 × 1 km) model resolutions and source contributions are influenced more significantly than total concentrations. Considering meteorology, generally low wind speeds (1–2 m/s) lead to high NO2 concentration in city centres. For the cities where the port is much closer to the city centre (e.g., London, Le Havre, Hamburg and Antwerp) the absolute NO2 concentrations as well as the contributions from shipping emissions become highest for windless conditions. The high concentrations (>60 μg/m3 NO2) only occur when wind speeds fall below 6 m/s.

Optimizing container ports’ transportation and Distribution systems toward a low-carbon future: A Shenzhen port case study

Although the large throughput of China’s container ports signals positive progress on trade and economic growth, large Chinese container ports still heavily rely on high-emitting and heavy-polluting diesel trucks for transportation and distribution. The reliance on diesel HDTs is aggravating air pollution in ports’ surrounding areas, worsening traffic congestion, and preventing port cities from establishing ambitious carbon-emission reduction targets.

Low-Power-Consumption and Broadband 16-Channel Variable Optical Attenuator Array Based on Polymer/Silica Hybrid Waveguide

A variable optical attenuator (VOA) is a crucial component for optical communication, especially for a variable multiplexer (VMUX) and reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer (ROADM). With the capacity increasing dramatically, a large-port-count and low-power-consumption VOA array is urgent for an on-chip system. In this paper, we experimentally demonstrate a 16-channel VOA array based on a polymer/silica hybrid waveguide. The proposed array is able to work over C and L bands. The VOA array shows an average attenuation larger than 14.38 dB with a low power consumption of 15.53 mW. The low power consumption makes it possible to integrate silica-based passive devices with a large port count on-chip.

Predictive modelling reveals Australian continental risk hotspots for marine debris interactions with key threatened species.

Anthropogenic debris is a global threat that impacts threatened species through various lethal and sub-lethal consequences, as well as overall ecosystem health. This study used a database of over 24,000 beach surveys of marine debris collated by the Australian Marine Debris Initiative from 2012 to 2021, with two key objectives: (1) identify variables that most influence the occurrence of debris hotspots on a continental scale and (2) use these findings to identify likely hotspots of interaction between threatened species and marine debris. The number of particles found in each beach survey was modelled alongside fifteen biological, social, and physical spatial variables including land use, physical oceanography, population, rainfall, distance to waste facilities, ports, and mangroves to identify the significant drivers of debris deposition. The model of best fit for predicting debris particle abundance was calculated using a generalized additive model. Overall, debris was more abundant at sites near catchments with high annual rainfall (mm), intensive land use (km2), and that were nearer to ports (km) and mangroves (km). These results support previous studies which state that mangroves are a significant sink for marine debris, and that large ports and urbanized catchments are significant sources for marine debris. We illustrate the applicability of these models by quantifying significant overlap between debris hotspots and the distributions for four internationally listed threatened species that exhibit debris interactions; green turtle (26,868 km2), dugong (16,164 km2), Australian sea lion (2903 km2) and Flesh-footed Shearwater (2413 km2). This equates to less than 1% (Flesh-footed Shearwater, Australian sea lion), over 2% (green sea turtle) and over 5% (dugong) of their habitat being identified as areas of high risk for marine debris interactions. The results of this study hold practical value, informing decision-making processes, managing debris pollution at continental scales, as well as identifying gaps in species monitoring.

Cold ironing techno-economical study for a port with photovoltaic plants

According to European regulation 2023/1804/EU, all member states shall ensure the availability of cold ironing (CI) in large ports for at least 90 % of the total number of port calls of seagoing ships above 5000 gross tonnes, by the end of 2029. This is a measure expected to improve air quality, especially in the vicinity of the port's urban environment. Preliminary studies show that there are financial viability issues related to CI installations, under the current electricity pricing policies and the high investment cost for CI infrastructure. In this paper, the financial viability of the penetration of photovoltaic (PV) units optimized from spatial and power produced point of view is investigated. The proposed method is applied to various ship types, indicatively for the Thessaloniki Port, taking into consideration the connection with the Medium Voltage (MV) electricity distribution grid, as well as the construction, operation, and maintenance costs, under modified economic criterion of benefit-cost ratio (BCR).

Mathematical Programming Formulations for the Berth Allocation Problems in Container Seaport Terminals

Background: Improving the performance of marine terminals is one of the major concerns of both researchers and decision-makers in the maritime transportation sector. The problem of container storage planning and the berth allocation problem (BAP) are the two mainstays of optimizing port operations. Methods: In this work, we address these two issues, proposing two mathematical models that operate sequentially and are applicable to both static and dynamic cases. The first developed model is a mixed-integer linear problem model aimed at minimizing vessel traffic time in the port. The second model developed is a multi-objective optimization model based on goal programming (GP) to minimize both container transfer time and the number of storage areas (minimizing container dispersion). Results: The robustness of the proposed models has been proven through a benchmark with tests using data from the literature and real port data, based on the IBM ILOG CPLEX 12.5 solver. Conclusions: The two developed mathematical models allowed the both minimization of the transfer time and the number of used storage areas, whatever the number of operations handling companies (OHCs) operating in the seaport and for both static and dynamic cases. We propose, as prospects for this work, the development of a heuristic model to deal with the major instances relating to the case of large ports.

The Shore as a Politicized Space for Community Heritage: The Case of Pra’, Genoa

Changes in coastal and maritime environments, increasingly caused by the climate crisis and large infrastructural projects such as global port construction, significantly impact community identity. When a community’s terraqueous space – a space that transcends the land-sea binary distinction – suffers a shock, long-term sociability within the community and relationships with nature are altered. This article connects the challenges of coastal community spaces and the community’s cultural heritage by articulating a critical ontology of the shore. The connection is illustrated using the example of Pra’ in Genoa, where constructing a large port terminal has detached the local maritime community from the sea.

Efficiency analysis and benchmarking of container ports operating in lower-middle-income countries: a DEA approach

Container ports play a pivotal role in international trade, facilitating the movement of goods and fostering economic development. While much attention has been given to the efficiency of ports in high-income countries, container ports in lower-middle-income (LMI) countries have received less attention. This paper addresses this research gap by assessing container ports' operational efficiency across diverse LMI countries and determining ways for their efficiency enhancement and management optimization. The cross-sectional data for the year 2012 was collected for 53 container ports in LMI countries. This research utilizes data envelopment analysis, which offers the advantage of considering multiple inputs and outputs. The results show that the overall technical inefficiencies of LMI countries' container ports are mainly due to pure technical inefficiency rather than scale inefficiencies, and the most efficient ports have a combination of large and hub ports. They also reveal that larger ports (as measured by throughput) are not necessarily more efficient than ports with a small production scale. The results of this research can provide government authorities, port authorities, terminal operators, and investors with valuable insights into resource allocation, competitive advantage, and optimization of operating performance.

The Mediterranean Mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis (Mollusca: Bivalvia) in Chile: Distribution and Genetic Structure of a Recently Introduced Invasive Marine Species.

The genetic characteristics of invasive species have a significant impact on their ability to establish and spread. The blue mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis), native to the Mediterranean Sea, is a leading invasive species of intertidal coasts throughout much of the world. Here, we used mitochondrial DNA sequence data to investigate the genetic diversity and phylogeographic structure of invasive (M. galloprovincialis) versus native (Mytilus chilensis) populations of blue mussels in Chile. We evaluated whether genetic diversity in invasive populations could be explained by the genetic characteristics of the native sources from which they might be derived. A phylogenetic analysis confirmed two lineages of the invasive M. galloprovincialis, i.e., the NW Atlantic and the Mediterranean lineages. We found no evidence of genetic structure in the invasive range of M. galloprovincialis in Chile, most probably because of its recent arrival. We did, however, detect a spatial mixture of both M. galloprovincialis lineages at sampling locations along the Chilean coast, giving rise to higher levels of genetic diversity in some areas compared to the population of native M. chilensis. The coastal area of the invasion is still small in extent (~100 km on either side of two large ports), which supports the hypothesis of a recent introduction. Further expansion of the distribution range of M. galloprovincialis may be limited to the north by increasing water temperatures and to the south by a natural biogeographic break that may slow or perhaps stop its spread. The use of internal borders as a tool to minimise or prevent M. galloprovincialis spread is therefore a genuine management option in Chile but needs to be implemented rapidly.

The New Jersey of the South or Virginia’s Partner: Foreign Affairs and the Ratification of the Constitution in North Carolina

Abstract: Foreign affairs in the North Carolina ratification debates reveals a conflict between two states. The Antifederalists saw North Carolina's interests as those of a southern staple exporter with western holdings, similar to Virginia. The Federalists saw North Carolina as a small state, lacking a large port, with shipping sector. They, like New Jersey and Connecticut, favored a stronger central government that would free their trade from the control of larger neighbors. Tennessee switched sides. It initially saw the Constitution as a threat to its access to the Mississippi, but voted to ratify at the second convention, seeing the union, as its only safe option.

Exploration of intelligent monitoring technology for the operation status of large port loading and unloading machinery equipment

This article takes the large-scale loading and unloading machinery equipment and intelligent monitoring technology in ports as the research This article takes the large-scale loading and unloading machinery equipment and intelligent monitoring technology in ports as the research object, with the goal of rational use of intelligent detection technology. It conducts research from two dimensions of intelligent monitoring technology content and implementation, and elaborates on five technologies: Internet of Things, BP neural network, signal acquisition, data It conducts research from two dimensions of intelligent monitoring technology content and implementation and elaborates on five technologies: Internet of Things, BP neural network, signal acquisition, data transmission, and data processing; Based on the example exploration method and focusing on the operation status of equipment and actual monitoring Based on the example exploration method and focusing on the operation status of equipment and actual monitoring needs, the system development is completed using intelligent monitoring technology. The system structure and software composition are discussed. Finally, through testing and verification, the system can eliminate blind spots in equipment monitoring, realize the value of intelligent monitoring technology, and effectively improve the operability of the system. technology, and effectively improve the operability of intelligent monitoring technology for the operation status of large port loading and unloading machinery equipment. The system can eliminate blind spots in equipment monitoring, realize the value of intelligent monitoring technology, and effectively improve the operability of intelligent monitoring technology for the operation status of large port loading and unloading machinery equipment.

Evaluation of Korean methane emission sources with satellite retrievals by spatial correlation analysis

Methane is a significant greenhouse gas (GHG), and it is imperative to understand its spatiotemporal distribution and primary sources in areas with higher methane concentrations, as such insights are essential for informing effective mitigation policies. In this study, we employed TROPOMI satellite retrievals to analyze the spatiotemporal patterns of methane distributions and identify major emission sources in South Korea over the period from August 2018 to July 2019. Additionally, we examined the spatial correlations between satellite methane retrievals and emission sources to characterize regions with higher methane levels on an annual basis.Concerning spatial distributions, concentrations exceeding 1870 ppb were predominantly observed in western non-mountainous regions, particularly in rice paddy areas. Moreover, sporadic concentrations exceeding 1880 ppb were detected in large ports and industrial zones, primarily located in coastal regions of South Korea.Our spatial correlation analysis, conducted using the SDMSelect method, identified specific emissions contributing to regions with higher methane concentrations. There were some areas with relatively strong correlations between high XCH4 and emissions from the domestic livestock industry, fossil fuel utilization (specifically, the oil and gas sector), landfills, and rice paddies. This analysis, incorporating domestic emission inventories and satellite data, provides valuable insights into the characteristics of regional methane concentrations. In addition, this analysis can assess national methane emissions inventories, where there is limited information on the spatial distributions, offering critical information for the prioritization of domestic regional policies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Which ports differ in the copycat effectiveness of the hinterland strategy? Based on port-hinterland distance correlation

ABSTRACT With increasing cargo and intensifying competition, port differentiation needs to be considered for port expansion, investment and other decisions, as the effectiveness of the same strategies may be different for different ports. Under the concept of hinterland, this paper tries to distinguish large ports by the distance correlation with their hinterland. According to the evolution history of hinterland’s spatial structure, only the continent level or more advantaged port are uncorrelated with its continent level hinterland in distance. Following this idea, Granger causality test is applied to differentiate the ports. This paper uses Nighttime Light (NTL) data to represent the human activities of the hinterland for higher spatial accuracy and statistical consistency, rather than common economic indicators such as GDP. In the case of the European continent and surrounding ports, this paper has differentiated the container port by cargo throughput (TP) and liner shipping connectivity (LSC). In result, ports are divided by the presence and absence of port-hinterland distance correlation, and additionally these ports with port-hinterland correlations are divided into 4 groups. Ports can copycat strategies with each other only in same division, because the port-hinterland relationships among different divisions are not same.

Tax and Customs Revenues During the Kingdom of Aceh Darussalam

The Kingdom of Aceh Darussalam (ruled 1514 to 1903) was a famous Islamic kingdom in the history of the archipelago. The peak of its glory was reached during the time of Sultan Iskandar Muda (reigned 1607-1636). The glory and fame of this kingdom was created because of Sultan Iskandar Muda's ability to regulate political-economic policies, especially the tax and customs sectors as the main pillars of the kingdom's wealth income. This article discusses the income of royal wealth from the tax and customs sector, which includes tax and excise objects, the management of their collection and the sultan's policies in reviving the tax sector. Sultan Iskandar Muda has built the port of Bandar Aceh into a large port and concentrated the trade in pepper and commodities which have a high selling value on the world market only in this city. The impact is that Bandar Aceh is visited by merchant ships from the archipelago and abroad. Traders, foreign and local, are charged taxes and excise, such as adat stamp or adat lapik cap (the sultan's permission to land), adat wase kuala (fees for guarding parking and guarding ships entering and leaving the port), stall tax on merchandise/ trading place. Taxes are also collected from local traders who sell at the market. Apart from that, land tax is also levied (wase tanoh), farmers who receive irrigation are subject to the customary but umong tax, farmers who seek forest products are subject to wase gle tax), people who litigate in court are subject to the customary tuha tax, people who die but do not leaving his heirs his wealth to be put into the royal treasury, as well as foreign traders. Income from various types of taxes and excise is intended to build various facilities and infrastructure to strengthen and advance the kingdom

Mudskippers a good bioindicator for polluted soils in the mudflat region of southern Iraq

Mudskippers are good biological guide to marine pollution because they are endemic to the coastal areas of water that considered to be the original environment of life. Therefore, the area of Iraq's mudflats are affected by pollutants that reaching a narrow zone of Iraq and neighboring countries which regarded as oil activities area that directly affecting fishes due to increasing the likelihood of hydrocarbon accumulation. Besides, there are large ports of loading platforms nearby as well as this area regarded as a fishing ground. In the current study, hydrocarbons were analyzed using the mudskipper samples that were divided into three groups according on their length, which ranged from 11-16 cm, 17.5-19.5 cm and 20-23 cm, respectively, and the fishes were divided into three groups of weight; 7.13-17.33 g, 18.6-25.33 g and 26.7-36.6 g. Pollutant accumulation is a very reliable sign of environmental contamination. the ratio of Anthracene/(Anthracene+Phenanthrene) measured more than 0.1 (0.52, 0.62, 1.57) is in agreement with the combustion origin, Fluoranthene/(Fluoranthene +Pyrene) measured more than 0.35 which is in agreement with the prospect of petroleum input, and finally, the ratio of BaA/(BaA+Chry) measured about 0.16 in the third group which is attributable to cool combustion.

Cobb Syndrome, A Rare Disease – Case Report

Cobb syndrome is a rare genetic disorder characterized by dermatomal pattern, with corresponding muscular, osseous, paraspinal, and/or spinal vascular lesions occurring at the same body somite (metamere). It is also known as spinal arteriovenous metameric syndrome (SAMS) and cutaneous meningospinal angiomatosis. We present a case of a 36 years old male presented to OPD with Complain of progressive weakness of Right upper limb for 5 years. On examination, Patient had large cutaneous port wine stain on the right side of the chest, nape of neck, and along the whole right upper limb in a dermatomal distribution with ulnar claw hand wasting of thenar muscles on right side. MRI cervical spine with contrast showed aggressive vertebral hemangioma involving anterior and posterior arch of C1 vertebra, vertebral body of C2 to C5, right half of vertebral body of C2 and C6 and right pedicle of C2 to C5 vertebra. Abnormal thickened and T2WI /STIR hyperintense skin and subcutaneous tissue involving right half of scalp and right half of neck which showing post contrast enhancement, possibility of subcutaneous hemangioma. Cobb syndrome was diagnosed based on the dermatomal distribution of the cutaneous vascular lesions and the corresponding vertebral, epidural, and paraspinal vascular lesions occurring at the same metamere. Treatment decision is guided by the patient’s symptoms and imaging features.