Merchant Fleet Research Articles

GREEK SHIPPING ON THE BLACK AND AZOV SEAS AT THE TURN OF THE 40s - 50s OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY (BASED ON THE MATERIALS OF THE AUSTRIAN CONSULAR REPORTS AND THE AUSTRIAN PRESS)

The article aims to examine the participation of the Greek merchant fleet in the navigation of the Black and Azov Seas in the mid-nineteenth century on the basis of a complex of Austrian sources that has been little studied in Ukrainian historiography. The latter included published reports from Austrian consular offices in Odesa, Berdiansk, Mariupol, Trebizond, and Galați. Materials from the Austrian press of the time are also used, primarily from the Austrian Ministry of Commerce's “Austria” newspaper, which was published as a daily newspaper from 1849 to 1856 and as a weekly from 1856. During the period under review, the Greek fleet was in a leading position in shipping in the Black and Azov Seas, successfully competing with the Austrian, British and Italian fleets. The success of the Greek merchant fleet was due, among other things, to the fact that seafaring was an ancient Greek craft, and in Ottoman times they were able to maintain the continuity of experience and tradition. In addition, this was facilitated by the developed network of Greek trading houses, which were widely represented in the main area of their fleet's navigation, in the Mediterranean Sea, especially its eastern part, and in the Black and Azov Seas. Therefore, the radical political and economic changes in the Black and Azov Seas regions did not take them and the Italians by surprise, and they were the first to take advantage of the rapid development of trade and transport traffic there. And despite increased competition in the mid-nineteenth century from the Austrians and the British, the Greeks continued to hold top positions in the shipping of the Black and Azov Seas. Moreover, unlike the Sardinians, they were gradually involved in long-distance voyages beyond Gibraltar, mainly to Great Britain. At the same time, the challenges for the traditionally sailing Greek merchant fleet from the emergence of steamship lines on the Black Sea were outlined. The first indicators were the activities of some of the Greeks' main competitors, the Austrians, in the Danube ports and on the Bulgarian coast, and the British, Austrians and Turks in the Anatolian ports.

OPTIMIZATION OF LOADING AND UNLOADING WORKS AND PLACEMENT OF TARED AND PIECE CARGOES IN VEHICLES AND WAREHOUSES USING THE METHODS OF ERGONOMICS AND THEORY OF SYSTEMS

Purpose. The tasks of optimizing the placement of tared and piece cargoes (or the task of loading) in a limited volume (capacity) are typical for cases of loading with tared and piece cargoes (mainly large-sized) of transport containers, car bodies, ship holds in the merchant fleet, transport aircraft, railway wagons, areas of the warehouse complex. At the same time, the safe and efficient performance of loading and unloading operations with tared and piece cargoes, including large-sized ones, in a limited space is directly related to taking into account the requirements and using ergonomic methods. The purpose of this paper is to develop a mathematical model for the optimization of the placement of tared and piece cargoes (or about loading) in a limited volume (capacity), which is used to select a subset of cargo units with the maximum relative utility, while observing the limit on the total volume (or mass) of cargo. Methods. The analysis of literary sources made it possible to establish that for modeling and solving the problem of optimizing the placement of cargo (or loading) in a limited volume (capacity), it is rational to use one of the exact solution methods (dynamic programming method), the number of stages of which is the number of types of cargo. The work uses the method of dynamic programming, methods of theory of systems, and linear optimization. Results. The article presents a mathematical model of the problem of optimal placement of tared and piece cargoes (or about loading) in a limited volume, and for the case of placing weapons, ammunition, weapons, it is proposed to maximize not the function of the total cost (value) of the cargo, but the function that would take into account the relative usefulness of each cargo. The relative usefulness of each cargo is proposed to be determined by expert methods of systems theory, for example, the Delphi method, which is well formalized and suitable for computer processing of results. Scientific novelty. The scientific novelty consists in the development of a mathematical model that allows solving the problem of optimal placement of container loads (or loading) in a limited volume, and the target function of the optimization model is proposed to be the total relative usefulness of the cargo. Practical significance. Defined ergonomic requirements for cargo operations with tared and piece cargoes in a limited space (vehicles, warehouses). A method of numerical calculation based on the model is proposed (the case of loading a car body with tared and piece cargoes). In further research, the obtained results will be used for computer simulation according to the developed model using the Solver tool of Microsoft Excel.

Exploring the efficiency of a source-level model to predict hydrophone-based received noise levels of the St. Lawrence Estuary’s merchant fleet

The Enhancing Cetacean Habitat and Observation (ECHO) source-level model was statistically derived using nearly 10,000 vessel transits along Canada’s western coast. Before using this model in other areas, it is important to examine its efficiency in new environments and on other fleets. In this work, hydrophone-based acoustic recordings collected between August 3rd and September 16th of 2022 within the Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park were used to investigate the applicability of the ECHO source-level model to Canada’s eastern fleet. Opportunistic transits of 71 merchant ships near (i.e., ≲3 km) the hydrophone were obtained. As an attempt to reduce computing times in the context of agent-based modeling, the reliability of the proposed analytic seabed critical angle (SCA) method for propagation losses calculations was examined and compared to robust, although time-consuming, numerical methods. Results generally show that the combination of the ECHO source-level model and our best estimates for propagation losses calculations does allow to reliably predict the acoustic footprint of the radiated noise levels by merchant ships in the acoustic module of the Marine Mammal and Maritime Traffic Simulator (3MTSim). However, computational gains could be marginal at best due to the analytic SCA method quickly becoming inconsistent with the numerical approach in range-dependent scenarios that often translate into long-range encounters.

Перспектива застосування хімічних окислювачів для нейтралізації та дегазації фосфіну в морській фумігації вантажів

ABSTRACT. The transportation of grains, legumes and other regulated articles requires mandatory fumigation. Toxicological safety of fumigation team and crewmembers of the sea merchant fleet is a mandatory condition for fumigation. Hazardous waste is generated on board the ship during the work of the fumigation team. The development of a technique for phosphine residues degassing in containers, fumi-sleeves, etc. on board of a ship is an important scientific and applied task. Аim of the research. Study the possibility of application of well-known oxidizers (hydrogen peroxide, chloramine, ozone, potassium permanganate) for neutralizing and degassing of phosphine and phosphine-containing poison fumigants in marine cargo fumigation, conduct an analysis of redox reactions of degassers with phosphine and assess the toxicity of chemical reaction products. Materials and Мethods. The analysis of phosphine content was carried out by the method of stationary gas chromatography on the Tsvet-160 chromatograph, as well as by the method of electrochemical analysis using the Pac III – PH3, Accuro (Germany) and ToxyPro (USA) portable devices. An analytical review of the literature was performed, laboratory-experimental and field studies for degassing of phosphine and poisonous fumigants during marine fumigation of grain and fodder cargoes were conducted on ships of the bulk fleet and in the seaports of Odesa, Chornomorsk, and Yuzhne. The results. It is shown that, contrary to existing methods, water and its soap solutions do not have destructive and neutralizing properties in relation to phosphine and phosphine-containing preparations. Their use for phosphine degassing is impractical and dangerous. Conclusions. The application of aqueous solutions of typical oxidizers (chlorine, hydrogen peroxide, ozone, and potassium permanganate) for degassing used containers from phosphine-containing preparations and fumigants on board ships can be recommended for use in national and international practice of maritime fumigation of cargo. Keywords: maritime fumigation, poison fumigants, phosphine, chemical oxidizers, degassing of containers from fumigants, simultaneous extinguishing and degassing of fumi-sleeves from phosphine fumigants

Создание нового порта: фактор влияния на развитие транспортной логистики региона

The process of formation, construction and development of a new international port on a section of the river bank received from another country, which has direct access to the sea, is considered. The analysis of the advantageous location and favorable conditions for the creation of the port, including the conditions for entry into the port of sea and river vessels, the availability and accessibility of road, rail and air transport, is carried out. The created structure of the port is illustrated, as well as brief characteristics, capabilities and features of various port terminals for cargo transshipment and passenger transportation are considered. The organizational and technological experience in creating a logistics hub in the region was studied, taking into account the needs of producers, recipients and the characteristics of transport carriers, including the features of asset management. The analysis of indicators of the volume of transshipment of various cargoes was carried out, the main directions of the port's development in the near future were determined. In the process of studying the experience of creating port infrastructure, the created conditions for business development and investment attraction, the peculiarities of the tax and customs regime, as well as the distinctive features of the port's free economic zone from other similar territories are considered. Calculations of the availability of human resources in the port area and their attractiveness for transport companies are given. The process of development of the merchant fleet of the Republic of Moldova is analyzed, and the role of port infrastructure and transport logistics in the development of maritime activities of the state and the region as a whole is shown. A comparative analysis of the development of similar ports in the region was carried out according to the main indicators. Conclusions are drawn about the impact of the intensity of development of ports and transport logistics in the region on strengthening the state’s maritime potential, its infrastructure and trade.

Транспортная энергоэффективность и экономические принципы организации морского судоходства

Modern problems of ensuring energy efficiency and carbon intensity of marine vessels are considered, taking into account the achievement of profitability of flights. Since January 2023, such issues have been particularly acute for all maritime convention vessels engaged in international transport, taking into account the introduction of amendments to annex VI of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), developed within the framework of the IMO short-term strategy until 2030 to reduce emissions greenhouse gases from ships. The composition of the world merchant fleet by ship types and deadweight was analyzed, the work of the tram freight market and the features of achieving optimal economic operational speed of the vessel were evaluated, taking into account operational and technical conventional restrictions on carbon intensity. The transport work of the universal vessel Singularity over the past three years has been analyzed, taking into account changes in operational speed and the level of freight rates. An adequate mathematical model has been proposed for assigning an optimal average operating speed to a ship according to a carbon intensity rating. The proposed methodological materials can be used by shipping companies in the commercial and technical operation of the fleet by assigning an operational speed in preparation for the voyage and when carrying out corrective energy efficiency measures to achieve an acceptable level of carbon intensity ratings for marine vessels.

Identifying priority sites for whale shark ship collision management globally

The expansion of the world's merchant fleet poses a great threat to the ocean's biodiversity. Collisions between ships and marine megafauna can have population-level consequences for vulnerable species. The Endangered whale shark (Rhincodon typus) shares a circumglobal distribution with this expanding fleet and tracking of movement pathways has shown that large vessel collisions pose a major threat to the species. However, it is not yet known whether they are also at risk within aggregation sites, where up to 400 individuals can gather to feed on seasonal bursts of planktonic productivity. These “constellation” sites are of significant ecological, socio-economic and cultural value. Here, through expert elicitation, we gathered information from most known constellation sites for this species across the world (>50 constellations and >13,000 individual whale sharks). We defined the spatial boundaries of these sites and their overlap with shipping traffic. Sites were then ranked based on relative levels of potential collision danger posed to whale sharks in the area. Our results showed that researchers and resource managers may underestimate the threat posed by large ship collisions due to a lack of direct evidence, such as injuries or witness accounts, which are available for other, sub-lethal threat categories. We found that constellations in the Arabian Sea and adjacent waters, the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of California, and Southeast and East Asia, had the greatest level of collision threat. We also identified 39 sites where peaks in shipping activity coincided with peak seasonal occurrences of whale sharks, sometimes across several months. Simulated collision mitigation options estimated potentially minimal impact to industry, as most whale shark core habitat areas were small. Given the threat posed by vessel collisions, a coordinated, multi-national approach to mitigation is needed within priority whale shark habitats to ensure collision protection for the species.

Merchant Fleet Performance of Türkiye: A CRITIC-based TOPSIS Approach

The study focuses on assessing the merchant fleet performance of Türkiye, a country surrounded by seas on three sides and holding a pivotal position in global logistics networks. It considers mean age of vessels, total carrying capacity in dead weight tons, and the number of ships as indicators influencing Türkiye’s merchant fleet performance, with the importance weights of these indicators determined using the CRITIC method. Based on the determined weights, Türkiye’s merchant fleet performance for the years 2011-2023 is evaluated using the TOPSIS method. The findings reveal that mean age of vessels emerges as the indicator with the highest importance weight. The analysis indicates an improvement in Türkiye’s fleet performance between 2011 and 2013, followed by a subsequent decline from 2013 onwards. Notably, there is a significant shift observed in 2016 across all three indicators. Given Türkiye’s aging fleet, the study suggests a focus on acquiring young and high-capacity vessels to enhance fleet performance. This strategic approach can help Türkiye optimize its maritime trade capability and maintain competitiveness in the global shipping industry.

The history of the soviet innovation of purchase foreign vessels and the prospect of using bareboat charter as way for replenishing the fleet in current circumstances

The anniversary date, 50 years since the beginning of the grandiose project on chartering foreign vessels with the right to buy them, which became the history of the formation of the shipping company «Sovcomflot», gives an additional reason to consider its details. The analysis of the successful experience of off-budget replenishment of the merchant fleet implemented in the Soviet period is given. It will allow us to come to the conclusion that the financial schemes developed and applied at that time to attract foreign capital through shipping companies specially created in a foreign jurisdiction, acquiring a fleet using tax and other benefits provided for by national legislation for subsequent bareboat charter and compensating for all the expenses by income from transportation of Russian foreign trade cargoes, are fully relevant today to replenish the fleet of domestic shipping companies. Also, the advantages of acquiring a merchant fleet using leasing in combination with bareboat charter already considered in the article in modern conditions have shown that this is the optimal mechanism for both preferential leasing and commercial financing schemes. The disadvantage of bareboat charter, which limits its use in modern conditions, is associated with its narrow specialization, both legal and commercial. As appropriate as possible to the traditions and peculiarities of world commercial shipping, it meets the interests of shipping companies, but is little understood by financial institutions. In this regard, it is of particular importance to develop or adapt the available methodological support for assessing the key indicators of the financial scheme for chartering a vessel without a crew (bareboat charter) on the terms of a financial lease (leasing).

Fishing Vessel Bulbous Bow Hydrodynamics—A Numerical Reverse Design Approach

Naval hydrodynamics typically focus on reducing ship resistance, which can be achieved by incorporating a bulbous bow. This feature is commonly used in the merchant fleet and smaller vessels, such as fishing boats, to minimize wave-making resistance. However, it is important to note that the use of a bulbous bow may not always be necessary or effective in all ship designs. In some cases, fishing ship designs may include a bulbous bow that is not optimized due to the use of procedures and methods intended for larger merchant ships or based on past experience. This study examines the effect of different bow designs, including the bulbous bow, on ship resistance in calm water, with a focus on a typical Argentinian trawler fishing vessel. The objective of this research is to assess the hydrodynamics of various designs for a particular ship by modifying its vessel lines. Firstly, the bulbous bow is removed, and then the reduction in ship resistance achieved by the bulbous bow under different load conditions and speeds is evaluated by comparing the vessel with and without the bulbous bow. The numerical analysis is performed using OpenFOAM, and the results are validated through towing tank experiments. This research indicates that the performance of the bulbous bow varies under different conditions. Therefore, it is recommended to conduct an initial study and a full evaluation of the design and operation alternatives.

Entropy model for determining the necessary information in the diagnostics of maritime transportation

The main problem of diagnostics and management of traffic flows under conditions of uncertainty of the impact of the external environment is to obtain the required amount of high-quality information, since in the case of its small values the accuracy of forecasts decreases, and in the case of its redundancy the possibility of its use is hampered. The information-entropy model, which is the substantiation of diagnostics and the required amount of input information in the context of environmental fluctuations is presented in this paper. On the example of studying maritime transportation under conditions of variable conjuncture, the consequences of pandemic and military interventions and other manifestations of environmental impact, the entropy of different values of a priori and a posteriori information is estimated. The main factors of the merchant marine fleet development are the volume of international shipping, the annual growth rate of the merchant fleet, the average age of the fleet, and tariff rates in container transportation. The main trends in the modern development of the world’s maritime fleet are identified. The algorithm for determining the required amount of information with regard to uncertainty is constructed. The experimental verification is carried out taking into account the dynamics of the main indicators of the world merchant fleet. It is shown that entropy is a quantitative measure of input information for managing and diagnosing transport processes under conditions of uncertainty.

FUNCTIONAL SPECIFICITY OF THE ENGLISH SHIPBUILDING TERMINOLOGY

The article is focused on the study of the English terminology in the sphere of shipbuilding, being the part of the marine vocabulary. The paper points out that formation of this terminological system was primarily conditioned by the presence of merchant and military fleet in Britain and was later accelerated by the development of active trade and economic relations leading to import-export exchange of strategic goods to the countries around the world. The authors give their definition of the notion “marine terminology”, which comprises industries of maritime affairs (shipbuilding, ship repair, electromechanical equipment, related computer technologies, port networking) as well as marine terms themselves denoting concepts and phenomena of the sphere (e.g., names of ships and vessels, special units of measurement and marine standards, port and coastline facilities, maritime law). It was found out that the shipbuilding terminology has a narrower specificity and is related to the industrial sector, namely: mechanical engineering, metallurgy, engineering. From the standpoint of semantic and structural properties, the terms are singled out into motivated composites, semi-motivated composites, and unmotivated composites. It was found out that their structure comprises two, three, four and five components, the terms denoting ship objects (e.g., parts of the ship’s hull, elements of the ship, ship structure, ship design and its testing) being of the highest productivity. The analysis has also revealed a high frequency of abbreviations employed in the system of shipbuilding terminology primarily used for language economy and lapidary expression of the idea. The registered types of abbreviations include complex shortened abbreviations; complex abbreviations with shortened initial elements of the original word combination; initial abbreviations, predominantly being two- and three-component acronyms). It is concluded that the shipbuilding lexical system reflects the development of the shipbuilding industry and serves to perform an important communicative function among the specialists in this field.

Особливості трансформаційних процесів на світовому ринку морської торгівлі

The benefits of sustainable functioning are among the most important characteristics of any socio-economic structure. It predetermines the rationality of the formation of results at normalized costs. But sustainability is of particular importance to systems that predetermine the optimization of the state of other participants in market relations. In this aspect, the activities of maritime transport are particularly highlighted, ensuring the rationality of the international division of labor. All subsystems that form cargo flows are interested in the sustainable operation of maritime transport, which provides up to 80 percent of foreign trade. However, the periodic instability of the world merchant fleet is determined by three aspects: the cyclical nature of the world economy, the competitive situation within the global maritime trade market and alternative approaches of opposing economic strategies. Therefore, to achieve transport security and sustainable positioning of national or union economies, it is important to monitor and recognize unwanted crisis situations. In accordance with the characteristics of external influences, response strategies are selected to meet the requirements of ensuring sustainability. Therefore, a specific approach to ensuring risk management is being formed.

Морской транспортный флот и техническая оснащенность портов СССР в период экстенсивного экономического роста (1956–1972 гг.)

The dynamics of the number, deadweight, average age and average deadweight of the ships of the sea transport fleet of the USSR in 1956-1972 is studied. Comparison with similar indicators of previous periods and indicators of the world transport fleet is made. The reasons for the increase in the tonnage of the marine fleet and changes in its structure are formulated. The provision of coastal and foreign trade transportation with Soviet tonnage has been studied. The number and deadweight of the ships of the transport fleet of the USSR are analyzed by types of ships and countries of construction. The average annual growth rates of tonnage, the average annual growth rates of transportation volumes by MMF ships and the volumes of transportation of the world transport fleet are compared. It is concluded that a significant increase in the tonnage of the Soviet merchant fleet compensated for the increase in the volume of traffic and did not compensate for the increase in their range. The reasons and the conclusion are stated about the lag in the development of the USSR sea trade ports when compared with the development of the transport fleet. The influence of natural conditions on the development of seaports and the characteristics of transport ships is determined. The level of technical equipment of the Soviet seaports is studied, it is compared with the level of technical equipment in previous periods and with the equipment of the largest seaports of the world. The dynamics of the availability of transport equipment and the level of integrated mechanization in the ports of the USSR are studied. The factors influencing the specialization of ports in the command-administrative and market economies are formulated. The dynamics of container cargo transshipment volumes in the seaports of the Soviet Union is studied. Comparison was made with the container cargo transshipment volumes of Great Britain ports are compared with those of Japan, the Netherlands, Belgium, West Germany and the USA.

Ship recycling perspective on environmental impacts - A case study for the ships in service

Reducing the environmental impacts of maritime activities should involve the shipbuilding, operations, and recycling sectors. The measures taken within the sector should be determined independently for each subsector. To reduce and prevent environmental impacts, it is necessary to be able to measure the relevant impact prior to its occurrence. This study evaluates the Turkish merchant marine fleet's older than 30-year-old ships from a recycling standpoint. As an alternative cutting method, the calculated perspective and water jet cutting method scenarios are compared. The study's findings are presented in eleven categories of environmental impact. When the existing cutting method, oxy-fuel cutting method, and water jet cutting method are compared, the impact of global warming can be decreased by 40 %. In the oxy-fuel cutting method, the effect of oxygen consumption on the global warming potential has been calculated to exceed 60 %. The collected data indicate the environmental impact load of ship-cutting procedures on ships that will soon be recycled. This study will give statistics to guide the improvement processes of ship recycling industrialists, decision-makers, and other stakeholders by evaluating the environmental implications that will result from the recycling of ships older than 30 years.

Optimization of Ship’s Navigational Parameters to Improve the Stowage and Securing Criteria of Non-Standardized Cargo in Ships

General cargo ships are the most numerous in the merchant fleet. In these vessels, the stowage and securing of non-standardized cargo must be designed prior to being shipped. Furthermore, during sea navigation, the shipmaster must be confident that the secured cargo is safe in any weather conditions. One of the goals of the present research is to provide helpful guides to ship operators about the optimal navigational parameters. Despite different criteria being followed by the shipping industry to calculate the rolling motion accelerations, relevant accidents and losses related to an inadequate securing arrangement still occur. Firstly, this paper analyzes and compares the IMO’s and classification societies’ criteria, obtaining relevant results about the different safety levels along the ship’s dimensions. Secondly, it obtains a novel mathematical model of angular transverse acceleration, considering the sea state conditions and navigational parameters. For this reason, it investigates the combinations of optimization of these parameters. Finally, it proposes novel 3D surface graphs as being easy, useful, and quick to be interpreted by shipmasters when sailing in certain sea state conditions, to know if the limits of the maximum securing arrangement are exceeded and predict the ship’s optimal speed and heading in order to set out.

Analysis of COVID-19 Pandemic Effect on Ship Dismantling and Recycling Industry: An Assessment on Türkiye

_ The average age of the global merchant fleet has been declining with the increasing number of new ship constructions and dismantled ships. Although a noteworthy part of ship dismantling and recycling (SDR) facilities have been performed in Asian countries, such as India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, SDR facilities have also been increasing in Türkiye. SDR facilities provide substantial economic income and employment opportunities. However, SDR facilities should have been performed in a certain systematic framework by taking necessary precautions since toxic substances from dismantled ships affect the environment and employees’ health. That’s why maritime authorities make an effort to sustain the SDR facilities in the best way in the sense of safety, health, and environment through the European Union (EU) Ship Recycling Regulation (SRR), Basel Convention, and Hong Kong Convention (HKC). In this paper, the global SDR facilities have been evaluated in terms of ship types and their gross tonnages (GTs) over the past 5 years among the leading countries. The number, type, economic life span, steel weight, and light displacement tonnage (LDT) of dismantled ships have been analyzed in Türkiye, especially throughout the COVID-19 pandemic process. To determine the most effective year in terms of SDR, the weighted aggregated sum product assessment (WASPAS) method has been utilized based on scrap steel price, LDT, economic life span, number of dismantled ships, and steel structure weight coefficient of the ship by maritime experts. The year 2017 has been highlighted as the most effective year with a .909 rank value in the last 5 years. In addition to analysis results, the largest amount of scrap steel has been acquired from dry cargo ships, which is the most dismantled ship type under data getting from the SDR facilities in Türkiye. Temporary bans on cruises due to the COVID-19 pandemic have caused more than triple increments in the number of passenger ships (PS) dismantling. This paper will be a quite notable resource for experts, academics, and industry stakeholders in order to explore and compare the SDR process. Keywords ship dismantling; ship recycling; COVID-19; scrap steel; passenger ships

The use of Ctrl+Z in ship design: removing a bulbous bow

A bulbous bow is a widely employed feature to enhance the hydrodynamic resistance of ships. More than 95% of the merchant fleet incorporates various types of bulbous bows to reduce wave-making resistance and wave breaking. Bulbous bow is also utilized in smaller vessels like fishing vessels. In certain cases, the initial ship design includes the addition of a bulbous bow by default. In this study, which focuses on a typical Argentinian trawler fishing vessel, we investigate the impact of the bulbous bow on resistance. Taking a reverse approach, we modify the fishing vessel by removing the bulbous bow and we evaluate its hydrodynamics. This research aims to assess the reduction in ship resistance achieved by the bulbous bow under different load conditions and speeds, comparing the vessel with and without the bulbous bow. The numerical analysis uses OpenFOAM, and the results are validated through towing tank experiments. The research demonstrates that the performance of the bulbous bow varies across different conditions, indicating that not always the vessel with a bulbous bow is better.

The Suez Canal As a Maritime Trade Strategic Point And Its Impact Upon The Adriatic Ports

This paper investigates and analyzes the strategic role of the Suez Canal in the development of international maritime trade. The development of international trade by selected years in the period from 1970 to 2021 is analyzed, in particular the state of the world merchant fleet by the ship type in recent years. Among other things, this paper examines and analysis the turnover of ships and cargoes through the Suez Canal in the last nine years. Following the basic idea and the possibility of connecting Europe and Asia through the Suez Canal, the possibility of developing and functioning of the main logistics strategies was realized, that represent the basis for successful international trade and transport logistics of today. As part of the impact of the Suez Canal on maritime transport, special attention is paid to the impact of the Suez Canal on the ports of the northern Adriatic, which are well sheltered in the highly indented European mainland from the south and have thus ensured high competitiveness in Europe and the world. One of the main goals of this paper is to emphasize the fact that the Suez Canal and the gravitational hinterland of the northern Adriatic ports with their land traffic routes are the key elements in determining the development and operation of the northern Adriatic ports.

Seafarer market structure analysis of Korean merchant shipping in COVID-19

COVID-19 pandemic clearly demonstrates that seafarers are essential for sustaining world shipping services and global supply chain. Understanding the characteristics of supply and demand in seafarer market will be a solution for the bottleneck issues of seafarer change and shipping services. This paper explores the supply and demand of seafarer market in Korea and evaluates the effects of COVID-19 on both supply and demand sides of Korean seafarers by adopting regression models with panel data for the supply and time series data for the demand. First, this paper finds that the effects of COVID-19 are negative in the demand of Korean seafarer market even with the wider increase of tonnage of the Korean flagged ships in 2020. The demand shock seems to be resulted by the traveling restriction and stricter immigration measures to travellers after the announcement of COVID-19 pandemic. Second, supply in the regression models of panel data is affected negatively after declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic may trigger the hesitation of seafaring due to the travelling restriction and bottlenecks from seafarer changes onboard. Besides these findings, the correlation coefficients between the number of Korean seafarers of merchant ships and merchant fleet illustrate a diverse relationship between the two. The expansion of Korean ocean-going fleet is accompanied by the decrease of Korean seafarers on the Korean flag. The employment of foreign seafarers since 1992 has resulted in the continual decrease of ratings employment in the Korean flagged ships. The inflow of foreign deck officers in the Korean flagged ships after 2005 could lessen the officer deficiency caused by high separation rate of Korean deck officers. This inflow implies that seafarer market in a country not only affects global seafarer market in the world through the changes of seafarer supply and demand in the country, but is affected by the global market. The dual markets of Korean seafarers in ocean-going and coastal shipping present the following phenomena: severe aging of seafarers in coastal shipping and wider difference in welfare level of seafarers between the two. Further research on wage and career advancement of Korean seafarers would widen and deepen our understanding on seafarer market both for Korea and the rest of the world.