Network Of Ports Research Articles

The Smart Port Network

Embracing technology, from 5G to artificial intelligence, is helping to create a network of smart interconnected ports.

Heuristics for integrated blending optimisation in a mining supply chain

In a mining supply chain, products from mines are blended at port terminals to ensure that a set of blending targets (such as grade and qualities) are achieved. The production scheduling problem of each individual mine and the blending problem for a network of mines and ports constitute the integrated blending optimisation, which involves modelling of material flows from mine-side pits to port-side stockpiles. Due to the problem scale and the bilinear constraints for blending behaviours, the problem is computationally hard to solve by any available optimisers. This paper extends upon a decomposition-based algorithm in the literature, which was first to solve the blending problem for a network of multiple mines and ports over multiple time periods. In our paper, a prune routine is proposed to progressively update the mixed integer program of the production scheduling problem for each mine during a rolling-horizon heuristic. Experiments have shown that this extension produces solutions of higher quality than the original algorithm. Furthermore, a ranking-based topological sorting heuristic is presented for selecting units of mineral deposits, known as ’blocks’. Experiments have shown that the average computation time can be reduced by 75.97% when this heuristic is implemented. On top of these extensions, an adaptive algorithm is adopted from the decomposition-based algorithm, featuring faster convergence and higher solution quality at the same time. Comparing our results to the literature, our adaptive algorithm, on average, yields an improvement in solution quality by 12.67% while reducing computation time by 65.09%.

Globalización, conectividad interespacial y articulación territorial de los puertos mexicanos

Ante el crecimiento exponencial de la conectividad interespacial y la movilidad en la actual fase de globalización de la economía-mundo, se analizan las implicaciones geográficas y territoriales de los nuevos paradigmas del transporte internacional, que han impulsado la formación de una red global de puertos y transporte multimodal. Luego se aportan criterios de análisis para establecer los desafíos de conectividad logística, modal y territorial que tienen los puertos mexicanos en la actualidad; y se reflexiona sobre el papel fundamental que desempeñan los actores en la intensificación de la conectividad a diferentes escalas, articuladas a través de redes y corredores multimodales. Finalmente, se reflexiona sobre la posición que mantienen los principales puertos del país dentro de la red global; sobre su potencial de desarrollo como hubs regionales; y sobre la problemática de la articulación entre fragmentos territoriales distantes y dispersos, pero a la vez fuertemente integrados en procesos de producción, distribución y circulación globalizados.

Willingness to invest in peripheral ports: perceptions of Indonesian port and maritime industry stakeholders

The growth of containerisation and the increase in ship size have resulted in a greater need for transhipment hubs. Hence, some peripheral ports are upgrading to become secondary hub ports. However, it remains unclear why these ports would move towards this strategic direction. The aim of this study is to investigate stakeholders’ perceptions on the importance of peripherality, so as to understand their willingness to invest in secondary hub ports. Stakeholders from the Indonesian port and maritime industry were chosen as the focus of the present study, representing a connected network of peripheral and hub ports at a country level. The study used a mixed-methods approach. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 46 respondents, while quantitative data were collected through an online survey, involving 171 respondents. The data were subsequently analysed through exploratory factor analysis and correlation tests. Results show a pattern in stakeholder behaviour, explaining their reasoning, locational decisions, their perceptions on the importance of peripheral locations and their willingness to invest. It is believed that these findings will prove of value both for governments and the private sectors of international shipping and port operations.

The Impact of COVID-19 on the Strategic Belt and Road Initiative in the Light of Cultural Convergences and Divergences between Egypt and China: A Systematic Review

China unveiled a historical initiative named the “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI) launched in 2013, by the Chinese President “Xi Jinping” which will extend the Chinese influence to large regions of the world through a network of roads, ports and airports’ infrastructure projects. It represents China’s desire to revive the old Silk Road in order to reshape the world’s powers by the creation of a new balance in the International System. The MENA region is ranked as one of the highest areas in the era for Chinese investment. Egypt is considered as one of the top countries which will take part in this investment in the MENA region and Africa. The purpose of this study is to systematically review the Convergences and Divergences between Egypt and China from a cultural perspective using Hofstede and GLOBE Models and their impact on the strategic cooperation between both countries towards the Belt and Road Initiative and the impact of COVID-19 on this initiative. The methodology of this study is to review researches and studies conducted and published in the period from 2010 to 2019. More than 13 studies were identified for analysis and study. The study yields to three results in both Hofstede and GLOBE Models: 1) in LTO China scored higher than Egypt; 2) both China and Egypt were scored closer to collectivism; and 3) In PDI, China has scored higher than Egypt but not that much as the difference is only 10. However, in the GLOBE Model, the differences in PDI and IDV dimensions are not as great as in Hofstede Model.

Assortative Analysis of Bulk Trade Complex Network on Maritime Silk Road

Assortativity, one of the mixing patterns of complex networks, is characterized by measuring whether the nodes are preferentially connected to the nodes with a similar scale. While numerous studies have examined the assortative characteristics of various real-world networks, few studies have attempted to analyze the assortativity of networks in which the subject of trade is bulk. The novelty of this research is that, for the first time, the assortative coefficient method in physics is introduced into the bulk trade network, and the Automatic Identification System (AIS) data is used to explore the assortative mixing characteristics of the network. From the perspective of multi-scale (port and country) and multi-dimensional (node, link, and network) structure, this paper reveals the tendency of trade connection and explores the trade rules of bulk in networks. The results show that: (1) The trade network of bulk on the Maritime Silk Road is assortative. With the increase of spatial scale, the extent of assortativity is also gradually increasing; (2) In the bulk network of ports, trade cooperation shows the rule of distance attenuation; In the national bulk network, it shows the rule of preferential connection; (3) Ports with high out-degree will export bulk to the ports with high out-degree with broad market, while countries with high out-degree export to high in-degree countries with strong demand. The present study is expected to provide valuable references for port planning, national formulation of scientific bulk trade strategy, and promotion of coordinated development of bulk trade network along the Maritime Silk Road.

Examining demand and substitutability across terminals in a gateway port network: A discrete choice model of Irish ports

In many regions, capacity for port services is provided by a network of gateway ports. These gateway ports act as entry and exist nodes for a region to the wider freight transport system. Understanding existing drivers of port choice and the substitutability between nodes within the network is important for informing policy decisions regarding the allocation of often scarce resources in developing capacity. The objective of this research is therefore to examine demand for and substitutability between nodes in the Irish port network. A random utility maximisation framework is employed to examine the probability of routing a vessel, conditional on having chosen to run a service, through a given node based on identifiable port attributes. Using the output of the modelling exercise, several policy scenarios are simulated to examine substitutability across the port network. The model of port demand is created using a full sample of port calls for the year 2016 using automatic identification system (AIS) data sourced from Marine Traffic.

The maintenance, repair and construction of ships in the French Empire during the eighteenth century:

The history of maritime trade has been the subject of considerable research since the 1950s, but the technical artefacts of this trade have not received the attention they deserve. While historians have paid plenty attention to ships-their features, tonnage, etc.-and port infrastructure overseas, the issues relating to naval repair and construction in the Empires have rarely attracted interest. However, this is a key factor in understanding the dynamics of trade, which encompasses the interplay between economic history, social history and the history of technology. Drawing on the example of the French Empire, this article aims to provide a first approach to this economy of maintenance, repair and shipbuilding overseas. The first step is to identify the places where these complex tasks were carried out and to establish the temporality of equipment in overseas ports. Did the French Empire offer a network of ports equipped to maintain, repair and build ships? What equipment does this include? But while the question of infrastructure is crucial, insofar as it raises other issues related to the role of the State and its relationship with economic stakeholders, it is also essential to consider that a significant share of maintenance, repair and construction tasks were not associated with any specific infrastructure. The question of knowledge, know-how and their exchange within the Empires is also important and is the subject of the second part of this article. The aim is to demonstrate that the identification and breakdown of shipbuilding workers, the establishment of their occupational mobility and the technical discussions they engaged in with other Europeans, settlers or natives, provide challenging research opportunities that may help us to understand the maintenance, repair and construction of ships in the Empires.

The maintenance, repair and construction of ships in the French Empire during the eighteenth century

The history of maritime trade has been the subject of considerable research since the 1950s, but the technical artefacts of this trade have not received the attention they deserve. While historians have paid plenty attention to ships – their features, tonnage, etc. – and port infrastructure overseas, the issues relating to naval repair and construction in the Empires have rarely attracted interest. However, this is a key factor in understanding the dynamics of trade, which encompasses the interplay between economic history, social history and the history of technology. Drawing on the example of the French Empire, this article aims to provide a first approach to this economy of maintenance, repair and shipbuilding overseas. The first step is to identify the places where these complex tasks were carried out and to establish the temporality of equipment in overseas ports. Did the French Empire offer a network of ports equipped to maintain, repair and build ships? What equipment does this include? But while the question of infrastructure is crucial, insofar as it raises other issues related to the role of the State and its relationship with economic stakeholders, it is also essential to consider that a significant share of maintenance, repair and construction tasks were not associated with any specific infrastructure. The question of knowledge, know-how and their exchange within the Empires is also important and is the subject of the second part of this article. The aim is to demonstrate that the identification and breakdown of shipbuilding workers, the establishment of their occupational mobility and the technical discussions they engaged in with other Europeans, settlers or natives, provide challenging research opportunities that may help us to understand the maintenance, repair and construction of ships in the Empires.

Developing a Green Route Model for Dry Port Selection in Vietnam

The dry port can smooth the movement of cargo and eliminate capacity pressure, natural restriction and externalities faced by seaports. A network of dry ports also can reduce the amount of pollution emitted from logistics activities by allowing the increasing share of environmentally friendly modes of transport. The paper suggests a green routing model for dry port selection to increases the percentage of using rail or inland waterway transportation in the journey through dry port, instead of road transportation. This model reduces the amount of emission from logistics activities, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), nitric oxides (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) with the minimum cost, considering both the emission charge and the shipping charge. A case study is conducted for Samsung Thai Nguyen factory in the North of Vietnam to validate the model application. The results indicate that the smallest total cost route saves up to 51% of CO2 and 36.5% of PM emission exhausted than unimodal road transportation. The research provides a useful guideline for new green transport policies of public agents as well as decision-making processes in private companies.

Multiscale core-periphery structure in a global liner shipping network

Maritime transport accounts for a majority of trades in volume, of which 70% in value is carried by container ships that transit regular routes on fixed schedules in the ocean. In the present paper, we analyse a data set of global liner shipping as a network of ports. In particular, we construct the network of the ports as the one-mode projection of a bipartite network composed of ports and ship routes. Like other transportation networks, global liner shipping networks may have core-periphery structure, where a core and a periphery are groups of densely and sparsely interconnected nodes, respectively. Core-periphery structure may have practical implications for understanding the robustness, efficiency and uneven development of international transportation systems. We develop an algorithm to detect core-periphery pairs in a network, which allows one to find core and peripheral nodes on different scales and uses a configuration model that accounts for the fact that the network is obtained by the one-mode projection of a bipartite network. We also found that most ports are core (as opposed to peripheral) ports and that ports in some countries in Europe, America and Asia belong to a global core-periphery pair across different scales, whereas ports in other countries do not.

A Simulation-Based Dynamic Programming Method for Interchange Scheduling of Port Collecting and Distributing Network

As one of the effective methods to reduce congestion, grade intersection has already been changed to interchange in port collecting and distributing network (PCDN) of many Chinese ports, since the first interchange was built in the PCDN of Dalian port in 1924. Due to the growing demand for port freight transportation, congestion in PCDN is becoming one of the inevitable problems that need to be solved. This paper addresses the best interchange scheduling multistage decision problem in PCDN at a network level. The main challenges are how to estimate the delay time and cope with high uncertainties in port network and PCDN. Therefore, a simulation-based dynamic programming (DP) model is proposed with the purpose of minimizing total cost in lifetime period by combining a DP model and two nested simulation models together. Two simulation models are built to figure out the delay cost in the optimization model, which cannot be calculated by mathematical analysis due to complex vehicle travel patterns and irregular traffic volume caused by random events, such as the arrival pattern of ships’, natural conditions, and storage period of cargos. Finally, a real project in northern China is presented as a case study. The proposed method can be applied in similar cases and can help solve analogous complicated multistage problems.

Using a network of ports for shielding effectiveness optimization of an enclosure with arbitrary shape apertures

AbstractA network of ports will be used to determine the optimized locations and geometries for arbitrary shape apertures on a metallic enclosure. This approach benefits from S‐parameter analysis and circuit theory for the description of the shielding. An analytic discussion will show the validity of the new method, which is based on a recently published paper. The consistency of the results for case studies solved by this port network with both literature and 3‐D full‐wave computed results will show the practicality of the proposed method. The positive effect of symmetry is a major outcome of the case study discussed here. Although the method is theoretically verified here, it can be easily implemented as a simple and reliable shielding effectiveness measurement method. The proposed method obliterates the limits of the traditional simulation and experimental methods as it has no dimensional limits and no need for antennas, shielded rooms, reverberation chambers, etc.

Seaport Network based on Change of Korean Liner Service Pattern

ABSTRACT This paper evaluates ports from the network perspective and analyzes the network of Korean and Chinese ports based on the service pattern of Korean liner shipping companies. It uncovers their structural characteristics and centrality, and explores network centrality through the service pattern of shipping companies and port throughput in 2008 and 2015 using data from nine Korean shipping companies in the Korea–China route by using social network analysis. It reveals the impacts of port network centrality on port competitiveness. The results of analysis firstly indicate that the degree centrality in the throughput flow is changing from the Busan port in Korea to the Shanghai or Qingdao port in China. Second, the export volume of Korea is decreasing, whereas the trade volume of China is increasing. Third, as for the major ports in Korea and China, China may be in a favorable position compared to Korea owing to the increase in the number of service routes, fleets, and service liner shipping companies. Hence, the centrality of the Chinese port has been increasing because the liners intentionally design their service routes with focus on Shanghai port. By referring to the study's findings, port policymakers may better understand the dynamic Korea–China route port network changes to prepare the future port strategies.

The Plurality of Harbors at Caesarea: The Southern Anchorage in Late Antiquity

The engineering marvel of Sebastos, or Portus Augusti as it was called in Late Antiquity (284–638 CE), dominated Caesarea’s harbor center along modern Israel’s central coast but it was only one part of a larger maritime complex. The Southern Anchorage provides a case study as one portion of the Caesarea complex, as well as a node within the regional network of anchorages and small harbors. Ceramics recovered from here show a high percentage of locally, and provincially, produced storage jars engaged in maritime trade. The ceramic evidence points towards an intensified regional trade or cabotage rather than favouring long distance trade from large port to port. Working out of these small harbors, opportunities arose for greater flexibility in specialization of commodities and materials passing through the network of subsidiary ports, contributing to a more diversified market economy. This analysis provides another example in the growing focus on how these simple and semi-modified anchorages in the Eastern Mediterranean were often the predominant economic networks connecting hinterland and coastal trade.

Application of the system approach to the development of the project of a safety management system for navigation in Ukraine

The maritime transport industry of Ukraine has an extensive network of navigable routes, sea ports and river terminals, developed infrastructure and interacts with other types of transport in Ukraine. The State Service of Ukraine for Transport Security (Ukrtranssafety) is the central executive body implementing a national policy on security issues in land transport and security in maritime and river transport. The main shortcoming in the implementation of Ukrtranssafety is the lack of comprehensive methodological support for formation of the level of transport security, depending on the impact of technical and technological, organizational and management, environmental and anti-terrorist factors of impact. To solve the problem of ensuring maritime and river safety, the implementation of a specialized safety management system for shipping is required. The basis of the development of a safety management system for navigation, a system model is used, which has been tested in the theory and practice of project management. The proposed system model is a methodological tool for the generation and system design of an integrated safety management system for shipping that can be used at all stages of its development, including: – conceptual design; – design of functional and providing parts; – design of the communication and documentation system; – development of elements: models, methods, algorithms, programs and regulatory support (user guidance, corporate and system standards, methodologies, instructions). The conducted study shows the main causes of the increase in accidents in the marine and river fleet. The construction of a safety management system for navigation will reduce the level of accidents and damage on the maritime and river transport.

Introduction

Introduction Jessica Keough (bio) In 2013, China's president Xi Jinping announced an initiative that would set the course for much of China's foreign policy toward its Eurasian neighbors. Consisting of two parts—an overland "belt" connecting China with Central Asia, Russia, South Asia, and Europe and a maritime "road" linking Chinese ports with those in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Europe—the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) envisions a vast network of railways, highways, ports, pipelines, and communication infrastructure spanning the Eurasian continent and facilitating trade, investment, and people-to-people exchange (see Figure 1). In 2015, Beijing announced a plan to develop six economic corridors to advance this initiative (see Figure 2). China's leadership has rallied behind BRI, pledging substantial investment, creating new financial institutions such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the New Silk Road Fund, and making diplomatic commitments to countries along the proposed routes. To many observers, BRI appears to be an outline of China's ambitious new grand strategy, 1 but what do states in the region think of this initiative? The seven contributors to this Asia Policy roundtable seek to answer this question by examining how Asian states along this new Silk Road view BRI and its potential implications. Michael Clarke begins the roundtable with an essay that analyzes China's motivations and objectives. He concludes that BRI is motivated by Beijing's desire to resolve long-term domestic, economic, and geopolitical challenges by strengthening states in China's frontier regions, exporting Chinese capital and labor, and establishing an alternative to the current international order. BRI integrates these objectives into a strategy that furthers China's goal of returning to great-power status without provoking strong counterreactions. Andrew Small seeks to understand Pakistan's role in BRI through an examination of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Despite Pakistan and China's long history of an "all-weather friendship," previous joint infrastructure and economic projects have generally failed to deliver [End Page 66] Click for larger view View full resolution Figure 1. China's Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Source: "West China Seeks Fortune on Modern Silk Road," Xinhua, May 15, 2016 ≈ http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-05/15/c_135360904.htm. Originally published in Chinese in Xinhua, 2014. Reprinted with minor changes from Nadège Rolland, China's Eurasia Century? Political and Strategic Implications of the Belt and Road Initiative (Seattle: National Bureau of Asian Research, 2017), 49. [End Page 67] Click for larger view View full resolution Figure 2. The Six Economic Corridors of the Belt and Road Initiative Source: Hong Kong Trade Development Council Head Office, "The Belt and Road Initiative," January 21, 2016 ≈ http://china-trade-research.hktdc.com/business-news/article/The-Belt-and-Road-Initiative/The-Belt-and-Road-Initiative-More-Information/obor/en/1/1X3CGF6L/1X0A36H1.htm. Reprinted from Rolland, China's Eurasia Century? 73. [End Page 68] on their rhetoric. Although both sides clearly stand to gain from CPEC and some progress has been made, long-standing challenges in Pakistan provide reason for skepticism that the project will in fact meet Beijing's goals. While not on board with BRI, India is closely watching the initiative, particularly CPEC. Harsh Pant and Ritika Passi argue in their essay that pressure is mounting on New Delhi to decide whether to remain on the sidelines. India is wary of the security implications of BRI, particularly for the contested area of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and for Indian Ocean ports and sea lanes; however, China's infrastructure development projects could be a boon that increases the region's economic interdependence and gives India leverage to shape the initiative from within. India thus faces challenging decisions as BRI unfolds. Russia, by contrast, has moved from caution to an embrace of BRI, at least for now. The initiative will expand China's presence not only in Central Asia, Russia's traditional sphere of influence, but also further westward in Turkey, the Middle East, and Europe. While Moscow recognizes this dilution of its own influence, Sebastien Peyrouse argues that Russia's economic crisis and the effects of Western sanctions have left...

A Decomposition-Based Algorithm for the Scheduling of Open-Pit Networks Over Multiple Time Periods

We consider the multiple-time-period, short-term production scheduling problem for a network of multiple open-pit mines and ports. Ore produced at each mine, in each period, is transported by rail to a set of ports and blended into products for shipping. Each port forms these blends to a specification, as stipulated in contracts with downstream customers. This problem belongs to a class of multiple producer/consumer scheduling problems in which producers are able to generate a range of products, a combination of which are required by consumers to meet specified demands. In practice, short-term schedules are formed independently at each mine, tasked with achieving a grade and quality target outlined in a medium-term plan. Because of uncertainty in the data available to a medium-term planner and the dynamics of the mining environment, such targets may not be feasible in the short term. In this paper, we present an algorithm in which the grade and quality targets assigned to each mine are iteratively adapted, ensuring the satisfaction of blending constraints at each port while generating schedules for each mine that maximise resource utilisation. This paper was accepted by Yinyu Ye, optimization.

Weather impact on containership routing in closed seas: A chance-constraint optimization approach

Weather conditions have a strong effect on the operation of vessels and unavoidably influence total time at sea and associated transportation costs. The velocity and direction of the wind in particular may considerably affect travel speed of vessels and therefore the reliability of scheduled maritime services. This paper considers weather effects in containership routing; a stochastic model is developed for determining optimal routes for a homogeneous fleet performing pick-ups and deliveries of containers between a hub and several spoke ports, while incorporating travel time uncertainties attributed to the weather. The problem is originally formulated as a chance-constrained variant of the vehicle routing problem with simultaneous pick-ups and deliveries and time constraints and solved using a genetic algorithm. The model is implemented to a network of island ports of the Aegean Sea. Results on the application of algorithm reveal that a small fleet is sufficient enough to serve network’s islands, under the influence of minor delays. A sensitivity analysis based on alternative scenarios in the problem’s parameters, leads to encouraging conclusions with respect to the efficiency and robustness of the algorithm.

American grand strategy in the Mediterranean during World War II. By Andrew Buchanan

The theme of Andrew Buchanan's book is clearly stated in his introduction, where he writes: ‘Viewed in the light of America's modest and often inconsistent prewar aspirations in the region, its emergence barely five years later as the predominant power in the Mediterranean stands out in sharp relief. By the end of World War II, the United States had replaced Britain as the major power in the region with its influence resting on its wartime operational experience, on the continuing presence of American arms, and on its residual network of airbases, ports and military depots. Behind this lay the largely invisible but always critical networks of contacts forged by American diplomats, businessmen, aid workers, technical advisers, intelligence operatives, and military officers … which make international relations—and great power hegemony—work … This book is a study of this dramatic transformation’ (p. 5). This is a worthy theme and, on the basis of American and British archives plus secondary literature, the author has written a workmanlike volume. The chapters on Spain and French North Africa, the account of the activities of and rivalries between the various American agencies, such as the State Department, the Office of Strategic Services and the Foreign Economic Administration, and the emphasis upon the personal role of President Roosevelt, are particularly illuminating.