Seaport Authorities Research Articles

Prevention and adaptation of intermodal interactive seaports and dry ports under asymmetric risk behavior

The port-hinterland system, encompassing seaports and dry ports, has evolved into the backbone of international trade. Due to their unique geographic locations and critical socioeconomic functions, ports are particularly susceptible to a range of risks. Port authorities (PAs) can address these challenges through targeted preventive efforts, which aims to reduce the probability of risk occurrence, and adaptive efforts, which seeks to mitigate potential damage. However, intermodal interactions and the asymmetric risk behaviors exhibited by ports under risk probability ambiguity present significant challenges for PAs making risk-responsive investments. This study develops a two-stage game model to examine the effects of asymmetric risk behavior and risk probability ambiguity on strategic investment decisions. Our analysis reveals that prevention are susceptible to free-rider effects, which are further exacerbated by risk behaviors and mitigated by investment strategy differentiation. Moreover, we demonstrate that, as a general guideline, seaport authorities should prioritize adaptation, while dry port authorities should focus on prevention, with adaptation being the primary strategy when the level of risk aversion is low. These findings provide valuable managerial insights for improving the risk management and resilience of the port-hinterland system.

Onshore power supply–trends in research studies

Restrictive regulations introduced by the European Parliament and the United Nations have forced the seaport authorities to reach net zero gas emissions by 2030. An important source of pollution emitted in ports involves exhaust gas emissions from ships powered by ship engines while they are berthed in seaports. One of the ways to reduce the level of pollution and nuisance caused by ship engines is to equip ships with Onshore Power Supply (OPS). Unfortunately, still few ports can boast this type of systems at their quays. There are many publications devoted to the analysis of this phenomenon in the technical and engineering terms, but a significant part also concerns the economic, financial, logistic and organizational aspects. The aim of this research is to identify the directions of development as for research into OPS, to organize the terminology devoted to OPS, and to define scientific disciplines of research in the field of OPS. This research was conducted on the basis of the data mining method using the Scopus, EBSCO and Web of Science databases, applying the multi-stage selection of criteria. The research results may provide an interesting material for scientists to identify the gaps of research regarding OPS.

Economic consequences of the COVID'19 pandemic for functioning of the cruise shipping industry in the Baltic Sea Region

Cruise line owners and insurance companies failed to predict the emergence of a global pandemic that would exclude the entire global cruise fleet from operation for several months. Cruise line owners, the related service suppliers, as well as employees of shipping corporations and, finally, the passengers themselves suffered huge losses. Unfortunately, the cruise line exclusion from the market for more than a year led to a significant drop in demand for sea voyages and, in some cases, the withdrawal of some routes from the cruise timetable or the route change. Even though all cruise line operators introduced appropriate sanitary restrictions, protocols and restrictions to protect against the risk of coronavirus infection in accordance with the recommendations of international institutions, and despite large-scale information campaigns, a significant part of potential passengers still hesitate to travel by sea. This article aims to identify the economic effects that affected the cruising market as a result of the decline in demand for sea voyages in the Baltic Sea Region. The studies involved a few qualitative analysis methods, i.e. secondary data mining, desk research and comparative analysis, as well as critical analysis and deduction. The research process consisted of eight stages according to a model developed by Bell et al. [6]. The results of research may provide interesting cognitive material for seaport authorities and cruise operators useful in planning their activities, to compensate for losses related to the potential threats that may arise in the future. It also identifies several solutions for policy makers to guarantee financial security and insurance cover for businesses and society in the event of other pandemic.

SEA PORT INDUSTRY OF UKRAINE: CURRENT STATE AND PROSPECTS FOR PORT DEVELOPMENT THROUGH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PORT-LANDLORD MANAGEMENT MODEL

Topicality. The port industry acts as a link in the global transport services arena and is the basis for the development of the entire economy. The ability of ports to compete in the international transport market depends not least on how the government manages this sector, and therefore the need for a comprehensive study to implement the right (effective) management model and increase the level of economic development of seaports is becoming increasingly important.Aim and tasks. The purpose of this article is to reveal the essence of the operation of maritime economic complexes management models, to understand the current state of Ukrainian ports and develop recommendations for further development of port infrastructure, taking into account the experience of the most developed EU ports.Materials and Methods. To achieve this goal, the article uses general scientific research methods, namely: methods of system analysis, methods of comparison and logical generalisation. The information sources for this study are the scientific works of domestic and foreign scientists on the problems of implementing the model of management of the maritime economic complex, analytical data and data from open sources.Research results. In today's environment, when trade between countries is gaining significant momentum, it is important to improve the port sector and its components. This is a driver for development and change in the infrastructure, especially as shipping is one of the cheapest ways to transport goods. Ukraine's stable development as an importing and exporting country depends on the state's ability to create the necessary conditions for effective changes in this area. The article emphasises the need to change the model of port infrastructure management and briefly describes each of the port management models defined in accordance with the criteria set by the World Bank. The necessity of bringing port management closer to the port-landlord model was emphasized. It is emphasised that the transition to the port-landlord model is not about the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority (hereinafter - USPA) obtaining land ownership, but about transforming the USPA into a port authority with full powers and tools to increase the competitiveness of the Ukrainian port system.Conclusion. This work proposes a set of measures aimed at qualitatively bringing the Ukrainian model closer to the practice of port management in Northwest Europe.

Blue Seaports: The Smart, Sustainable and Electrified Ports of the Future

Seaports are at the forefront of global trade networks, serving as hubs for maritime logistics and the transportation of goods and people. To meet the requirements of such networks, seaport authorities are investing in advanced technologies to enhance the efficiency and reliability of port infrastructures. This can be achieved through the digitalization and automation of core systems, aimed at optimizing the management and handling of both goods and people. Furthermore, a significant effort is being made towards a green energy transition at seaports, which can be supported through marine renewable sources. This promotes energy-mix diversification and autonomy, whilst reducing the noteworthy environmental footprint of seaport activities. By analyzing these pertinent topics under the scope of a review of container-terminal case studies, and these ports’ respective contexts, this paper seeks to identify pioneering smart seaports in the fields of automation, real-time management, connectivity and accessibility control. To foster the sustainable development of seaports, from an energy perspective, the potential integration with marine renewable-energy systems is considered, as well as their capabilities for meeting, even if only partially, the energy demands of seaports. By combining these fields, we attempt to construct a holistic proposal for a “model port” representing the expected evolution towards the seaports of the future.

The Effects of Seaport-Inland Port Dyads on Container Seaport Hinterland Delimitation

The emerging seaport-inland port dyad contributes greatly to the development of seaport hinterlands. However, little research has examined its influence on container hinterland delimitation. This paper used an improved radiation model to study the effects of seaport-inland port dyads on the container seaport hinterland delimitation in the context of a Chinese multi-port system. The radiation of each seaport was estimated to track changes in the seaport superior hinterlands and hinterland ratings and discover the patterns of the effects. The results show that the formation of dyads expands the scope of superior hinterlands and improves the hinterland ratings of seaports. The provinces close to inland ports and far from seaports were significantly affected and the same inland port influenced seaports differently. These results demonstrate that establishing a seaport-inland port dyad is a good way to compete with other seaports for larger market shares. These different effects can serve as a guideline for seaport authorities to choose suitable dyads to achieve their hinterland targets.

Seaport Resilience Analysis and Throughput Forecast Using a Deep Learning Approach: A Case Study of Busan Port

The global nature of seaport operations makes shipping companies susceptible to potential impacts. Sustainability requires seaport authorities to understand the underlying mechanisms of resilience in a dynamic world, to ensure high performance under disruptions. This paper deals with data analytics for analysing port resilience and a new paradigm for productivity forecasting that utilize a hybrid deep learning method. Nonlinear analytical methods include Lyapunov exponent, entropy analysis, Hurst exponent, and historical event analysis, with statistical significance tests. These approaches have been utilised to show that throughput demand at Busan port (South Korea) exhibits complex behaviour due to business volatility. A new forecasting method based on long short-term memory (LSTM) and random forest (RF) has been applied to explore port throughput in realizing recovery policy. The LSTM networks have shown high effectiveness in time-series forecasting tasks; RF is proposed as a complementary method to mitigate residual errors from the LSTM scheme. Statistical significance tests have been conducted to comprehensively evaluate the introduced forecasting models. The results show that the hybrid method outperformed three benchmarked models in both the short- and long-term forecasting at a 95% confidence level, guaranteeing accuracy and robustness as well as suitability. As a seeking strategy for seaport competitiveness, novel resilience planning incorporates sustainability to prepare for disruptions such as a global pandemic.

Monitoring Energy Efficiency and Environmental Ship Index by Cruise Seaports in Northern Europe

Environmental organizations have alerted that rapid weather phenomena have intensified in recent years, such as floods, hurricanes, whirlwinds, droughts, fires and storms, caused by the deteriorating condition of the natural environment. Carbon emissions, which are the main cause of the deteriorating environment condition and dramatic climate change, are largely caused by the use of heavy fuel by shipping companies and generate large quantities of sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. These compounds exert a strong negative impact on the environment and human health. Care for improving the marine environment and coastal areas has become the subject of interest of many international institutions, such as the International Maritime Organization, Organization of United Nations, European Sea Port Organization, European Commission and others, which introduce restrictive regulations and guidelines on the level of permissible harmful emissions into the environment as a result of ship operations in ports and at sea. In addition, they propose to monitor the level of pollution through the use of indicators, such as the Energy Efficient Design Index (EEDI), Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP) and Environmental Ship Index (ESI), among others. The aim of this paper is to assess the Northern Europe seaports’ commitment to monitor the level of pollutants emitted by cruise ships in their ports. This article may constitute a subject of interest for seaport authorities and cruise ship operators.

Sustainability Performance Assessment Framework for Major Seaports in India

In performing seaport operations, triple bottom dimensions and its related key performance indicators play a significant role in improving overall aspects of seaport sustainability. This research paper intends to examine key seaport practices that form sustainable seaport development in the Indian major seaports context from stakeholder collaboration and seaport internal sustainable management decision framework. Firstly, the key practices of sustainable seaport development were examined through a broad literature review considering sustainable seaport development and related management and stakeholder-based theories. Sustainability thematic analysis is carried out based on the identification of various dimensions and key performance indicators from various literary works. Based on the theoretical framework seaport sustainability conceptual model was developed. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 87 seaport professionals and FAHP was performed on an input basis by 23 seaport authorities to analyze the prominence of the proposed sustainable seaport development dimensions. This study also indicated that the economic dimension is the most important, while the social dimension is the least vital dimension perceived by Indian seaport managers. This research paper will conclude with a few policy insights for seaport managers in sustainable development decisions to discover areas for improvements in maritime sustainability and enhance the seaport competitiveness.

Business Process Re-engineering in Public Administration: The case study of Western Ligurian Sea Port Authority

Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) is a technique based on a radical redesign of the structure of an organization to improve its efficiency by optimizing processes and reducing costs. It has been proven effective over a plethora of private applications however, not many studies based on the public sector have been reported even though it is known to be inefficient. This is mainly due to an overall smaller market exposure of public administrations compared to private companies. However, nowadays, in the age of digitalization, the growing global competition is requiring PA to improve the efficiency of their processes. This paper offers a real case-study of an application of BPR in a PA namely the Genoa Port in Italy, one of the biggest ports in Europe. The following analysis has been carried out through an AS IS / TO BE approach and the outcome of the re-engineering process has been validated through Discrete Event Simulation. The results show how BPR can improve the efficiency of PAs and, particularly, how the port environment can drastically turn into an efficient and optimized system.

Legislative Regulation for Hoisting Ownerless Objects Sunk within Seaports

Creating a legislative algorithm needed to regulate hoisting of sunken ownerless property is an illustration of existing gaps in national legislation. Legal relations regulated for objects sunk within seaports is touched upon in the Federal Law On Seaports and in the Merchant Shipping Code, but vague wording, lack of an exact algorithm in federal legislation and by-laws creates conditions allowing seaport authorities to stand still and ‘shift’ responsibility on someone else for resolving an issue of ownerless property. The author proposes a clear regulatory algorithm for recognizing objects sunk within seaports as ownerless, holding responsible for hoisting the said objects and mitigating environmental hazards on economic entities operating in seaports.

Identifying Actions to Prepare Electricity Infrastructure in Seaports for Future Power Supplying Cruise Ships with Energy from Land

Cruise ships are unfortunately at the infamous forefront of the means of maritime transport emitting the largest amounts of harmful substances into the atmosphere and aquatic environment. At the initiative of IMO and the European Union, formal restrictions were introduced regarding the level of harmful emissions on the high seas and in ports generated by seagoing vessels. To meet these challenges, shipowners have invested in various technological solutions on their ships to reduce the number of harmful emissions, and by ordering new vessels; they promote the use of pro-ecological solutions related to energy saving and eliminate environmental harm. However, despite the actions taken by shipowners, seaports unfortunately lag behind the challenges and expectations of the market and are still not prepared, for example, to power the ships moored in ports with shore-side energy to reduce the environmental pollution when the ships are at berth. The aim of this paper is to identify actions taken by seaport authorities to prepare electricity infrastructure in seaports to power vessels with energy from the land. Key legal restrictions concerning reduction in pollutions emitted from ships in the ports are also described and analyzed. The results of the study also show the approach of seaports to the issue of Onshore Energy Supply for cruise ships. The research was conducted among the selected ports in the Baltic Sea Region where cruise ships are accepted. The following research questions were formulated: (1) What legal regulations oblige seaports and shipowners to reduce the level of pollutions emitted into the environment? (2) Do the ports use a benchmark to assess the level of harmful emissions when defining the amount of port fees for cruise shipowners? (3) How are cruise ships powered in the port? (4) What investments are planned in the port regarding the infrastructure related to the diversification of shore-side electricity for the ships? The studies were conducted by using a few research methods, i.e., the desk research method, the exploration method, and the CAWI Computer Assisted Web Interview. The results of this research can provide an interesting source of information both for cruise ship owners and cruise seaport authorities, but also potentially for shipyards where new vessels are constructed.

Congestion at Chittagong Seaport: Causes and Consequences. A case study in Malaysia

Purpose of the study: This study aims to examine the causes of seaport congestion at Chittagong seaport. Seaports are vital instruments of international trade and a key to the economic growth of any country. Seaport congestion is a significant issue faced by most of the seaport. Shipping lines carry the cargo from one seaport to another; seaport congestion faced at the one port has a detrimental effect on the economy and trade of the country. Methodology: This study used the survey-based data collected design through convenience sampling from the port employees. The collected data were analysed with SmartPLS 3.2.1. Main Findings: The results of importance-performance matrix analysis (IPMA) reveals that the three most important factors causing the congestion at seaport are information technology, equipment, and time. Research implications: The study findings advocate that seaport authorities need to improve the information technology use at the seaport as well as the equipment utilised for handling the cargo. However, congestion issues can only be resolved by taking a holistic approach and involving all the stakeholders to improve the Chittagong port efficiency as well as bringing trade growth for the country. The novelty of the study: Current work is that the data was collected from one seaport only but the analysis supported the arguments that the seaport equipment, labour, and customs significantly contributing to the seaport congestion. However, the impact of the infrastructure and information technology is insignificant on the seaport congestion as perceived by the study respondents.

Container throughput analysis and seaport operations management using nonlinear control synthesis

This paper is to explore the dynamical analysis and active control synthesis for improving seaport operations through system optimization. First, the multi-dimensional system of the fractional Lotka-Volterra model is utilized to investigate its underlying dynamics of port competition and cooperation for container throughput. The nonlinear dynamical behaviors are intensely examined by using eigenvalue evaluation, bifurcation analysis and time series analysis to illustrate the stability of the competition and collaboration model. With the system theory based on fractional order calculus, various dynamic properties of ports system have been discovered. Based on the dynamical analysis, adaptive fractional-order sliding mode control with artificial neural network algorithm has been realized for port growth rate improvement against disruptions. Furthermore, the proposed approach is successfully validated by the case study of major Korean seaports for improving port operations through neural network prediction. The decision making policies implemented by control algorithms are guaranteed to improve the port growth rate against disruptions. Specifically, the novel management strategy is to provide managerial insights and innovative solutions for seaport authorities who can make more efficient strategic planning for handling risk management in maritime logistics.

Eco-Trends in Energy Solutions on Cruise Ships

Today the world’s largest cruise ships can take on board more than 6000 passengers and almost 3000 crew members. Managing a significant number of people and all equipment and operations on ships requires the delivery of tens of thousands of kilowatts, which poses a huge challenge for both cruise ship builders and ports supporting these ships as well as for ship owners themselves, as the costs involved represent the largest share in the structure of expenditure in cruise shipping companies. In recent years, various communities and institutions, including the International Maritime Organisation and the European Union, exert pressure on cruise ship owners to use green renewable energy solutions. For these reasons, cruise ship owners are constantly looking for cost-effective and environmentally responsible solutions regarding new energy sources for ships. The aim of this paper is to identify modern solutions applied on cruise ships in the field of energy generation and to indicate benefits for the environment and ship owners in this respect. The following research questions were formulated: (1) What factors force cruise ship owners to introduce modern energy policy solutions? (2) What kind of green energy solutions are currently used on cruise ships? (3) What kind of renewable energy solutions do cruise ship owners use to reduce energy consumption on board cruise ships? The research was conducted by applying a few research methods, i.e., desk research method and exploration method, critical and comparative analysis, and also inductive and deductive reasoning. The results of this research can provide an interesting source of information for cruise ship owners, cruise seaport authorities, and shipyards involved in the construction of new vessels.

Developing and testing a methodology to assess the economic sustainability of a seaport operator

Subject. The article addresses the problem of economic sustainability of seaport operators. Objectives. The purpose is to develop and test a methodology for assessing the economic sustainability of a seaport operator. Methods. The study draws on methods of systems, structural, functional, positive, normative, comparative, and statistical analysis, the weights method, pairwise comparison, expert assessment, etc. Results. We developed a five-stage algorithm for integrated assessment of economic sustainability of a port operator based on the main functional components, i.e. production, resource-and-technology, investment, finance, and business sustainability. We tested our methodology, using the case of AO Novoroslesexport, the leading stevedore of the Azov-Black Sea Basin. The methodology can be used for port operators of other sea basins; its results may be helpful for company management, shareholders, banks, service consumers, seaport authorities, regional authorities, and other interested parties. Conclusions. Our methodology may become an effective tool to manage a port operator and determine its intra- and inter-port competitive ability. It enables to track threats affecting the economic stability and take timely action to eliminate them. It creates information base for making management decisions and strategic plans for a stevedoring company.

Формування системи ключових показників вимірювання ефективності діяльності портів

Introduction. Recently, the role of ports in Ukraine has been transformed from a physically strategic gateway to a participant in integrated global supply chains, accompanied by competition in the quality of services. This requires a comprehensive improvement in the performance of the organizational system of ports, in particular, to assess the effectiveness of its activities.Problem Statement. Key performance indicators (KPIs) in the port industry of Ukraine have been developed with changes in the paradigm of ports. The last transformation began with a fundamental transition of the cargo processing process from labor-intensive to capital-intensive, and the growth of world trade and increased inter-port competition have led to a reduction in port monopolies. Increased investment needs and competitive behavior have led to increased private sector participation in the provision of cargo handling services and the subsequent transition from purely state ports to lessor ports (landlord model). For landlord ports, the quality of services determines their competitive position vis-à-vis other ports and intermodal alternatives. Such ports contribute to the quality of services directly through land and water access infrastructure, as well as by providing land suitable for modern loading and unloading operations, regulating the movement of ships and land transport within the port; as well as due to charged port fees and tariffs, including private service providers. This necessitates the expansion of the system of key indicators for measuring port performance (KPI).Purpose. Scientific and methodological substantiation of KPIs system of seaports and development of proposals for their monitoring and reporting (on the example of the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority (hereinafter — SE «USPA»), taking into account international experience in this field.Materials and methods. The theoretical and methodological basis of the work is a set of methods and techniques of scientific research: logical generalization—determining the content of the assessment of the effectiveness of ports; analysis and synthesis - to study the peculiarities of these enterprises, to identify trends in their development in the context of determining the criteria for forming a system of indicators for evaluation; system approach — in determining the elements of the KPI system; statistical methods – to analyze the financial and economic condition of economic entities.Results. The study proposes scientific and methodological principles of forming a system of key indicators for measuring the efficiency of ports of Ukraine, which include: substantiation of criteria, definition of the list of KPIs; determining the stages of the process of their monitoring and reporting (on the example of the activities of USPA, taking into account international experience in this field.Conclusions. The proposed scientific and methodological recommendations for assessing the efficiency of ports with the help of the developed KPI system and the procedure for their application at the enterprise can be applied at state enterprises of the transport and infrastructure sector. The development of communication tools between system developers and those responsible for their implementation in order to increase the efficiency of ports is the subject of further research.Keywords: key perfomance indicators, KPI, criteria, seaport, transport infrastructure

«GOOD GOVERNANCE» PRINCIPLE IN THE REFORM OF PORT FORMALITIES IN UKRAINE

The article is dedicated to the identification of opportunities and directions for improving the legal and organizational support for the implementation of administrative formalities in the seaports of Ukraine. The urgency of the research issue is due to the need to build an updated concept of port formalities and the lack of modern legal research in the field of improving the clearing mechanisms of ships in Ukraine. The purpose of the article is to determine the possibilities of applying the principle of ‘good governance’ for the formation of an updated organizational and legal means for the registration of ships in seaports of Ukraine. The methodological basis of the research is formed by a system of general scientific and special legal methods of scientific knowledge (historical, dialectical, analysis and synthesis, scientific abstraction, forecasting). In the article, the legal and regulatory framework for simplification of port procedures in Ukraine is analyzed and the importance of quality organization of its implementation is emphasized. The general terms of the ‘good governance’ principle and the possibility of its application in the port industry of Ukraine are outlined. It is noted that establishing an effective dialogue between governmental authorities, businesses and the public in order to constitute an updated concept of port formalities is currently a leading task for the Ministry of Infrastructure, the Maritime Administration and the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority. It is concluded that nowadays the ‘good governance’ principle is gradually and mostly declaratively introduced into the sphere of organizational and legal support of port formalities in Ukraine. Some single steps have been taken to simplify the clearance of ships in seaports, but good initiatives are usually overdue, expensive and inadequate, and the principle of good governance still awaits implementation not only in legislation and law enforcement, but also in the minds of politicians and civil servants.

Decision-making instruments for container seaport sustainable development: management platform and system dynamics model

Global seaborne container trade accounts for approximately 60% of all world seaborne trade. A container seaport is a key node in maritime transport, where (un)loading operations produce GHG emissions. Therefore, the effective emissions reduction decisions should be taken by the container seaport executives on operational, tactical and strategic levels. This research contributes in developing the decision-making instruments for emissions reduction at a container seaport, namely: (1) a management platform (based on three management levels); (2) a system dynamics model (with the variables that reflect the main sources of emissions from container seaport activities). A management platform consequently leads the executives through the process of emissions estimation and three-level decision-making to reduce the emissions. A system dynamics model serves as the instrument to evaluate the decisions taken and to analyze the container seaport system environmental performance over the defined period. The representation of a seaport as a system, the system dynamics modeling and the case study methods were used in the research. Four “what if” scenarios of emissions reduction decisions were performed using the case study method. The suggested management platform and the system dynamics model can serve as the decision-making instruments for the container seaport authorities on operational, tactical and strategic management levels when they develop the container seaport environmental programs.

Location of river cargo ports on the Odra Waterway - the results of the analyzes Szczecin and Świnoujście Seaports Authority

Studies on the location of river ports along the Odra Waterway (ODW), the Silesian Canal and the Polish section of the Danube-Odra-Elbe Canal (DOL) have been completed. The multi-criteria analysis of the transport and economic potential of the ODW allowed to determine the location of transport nodes and river ports and to define their categories. The indicated river ports should constitute future concentration points for transport and logistics services. This is especially important in the context of the update of the European TEN-T network, which is planned for 2023. Hence, the key recommendations relate to nine new international transport nodes and trimodal ports located therein. Keywords: River ports; Transport nodes; Cargo port