Models and Solutions Algorithms for Improving Operations in Marine Transportation

International seaborne trade rose significantly during the past decades. This created the need to improve efficiency of liner shipping services and marine container terminal operations to meet the growing demand. The objective of this dissertation is to develop simulation and mathematical models that may enhance operations of liner shipping services and marine container terminals, taking into account the main goals of liner shipping companies (e.g., reduce fuel consumption and vessel emissions, ensure on-time arrival to each port of call, provide vessel scheduling strategies that capture sailing time variability, consider variable port handling times, increase profit, etc.) and terminal operators (e.g., decrease turnaround time of vessels, improve terminal productivity without significant capital investments, reduce possible vessel delays and associated penalties, ensure fast recovery in case of natural and man-made disasters, make the terminal competitive, maximize revenues, etc.). This dissertation proposes and models two alternatives for improving operations of marine container terminals: 1) a floaterm concept and 2) a new contractual agreement between terminal operators. The main difference between floaterm and conventional marine container terminals is that in the former case some of import and/or transshipment containers are handled by off-shore quay cranes and placed on container barges, which are further towed by push boats to assigned feeder vessels or floating yard. According to the new collaborative agreement, a dedicated marine container terminal operator can divert some of its vessels for the service at a multi-user terminal during specific time windows. Another part of dissertation focuses on enhancing operations of liner shipping services by introducing the following: 1) a new collaborative agreement between a liner shipping company and terminal operators and 2) a new framework for modeling uncertainty in liner shipping. A new collaborative mechanism assumes that each terminal operator is able to offer a set of handling rates to a liner shipping company, which may result in a substantial total route service cost reduction. The suggested framework for modeling uncertainty is expected to assist liner shipping companies in designing robust vessel schedules

Investigation of empty container shortage based on SWARA-ARAS methods in the COVID-19 era

A shortage of empty containers has become a global crisis with more devastating effects than during previous periods when combined with various problems arising from the COVID-19, such as an increase in an imbalance of global trade between supply and demand, a decrease in the workforce, and restrictions by countries or regional quarantine practices. The absence of empty containers in regions where they are needed slows down industrial activities and locks the global supply networks, necessitating the use of alternative methods that are inefficient. Although this shortage causes many disruptions in global trade, solutions to the issue have not been studied in detail. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the issues caused by the shortage of empty containers and to rank the appropriate solutions. Four main criteria and sixteen subcategories used to define the issues, as well as a multi criteria decision model comprising five criteria for the solutions, were proposed based on information from the literature, sectorial publications, and expert opinions. The issues’ weighted order of importance in our proposed model was calculated using the SWARA (Step-wise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis) method; solutions were ranked using the ARAS (Additive Ratio Assessment) method. The results of the study revealed that the issues were ranked in importance as cost increases, uncertainty in the supply chain, volume loss, and increases in blank sailing announcements. Appropriate solutions were ranked as booking guarantee applications and information communication technologies, using shipper-owned containers, inducement calls, and E2E (end to end) delivery services

INCOTERMS and the legal regime of loading and unloading particular study of traffic in the Black Sea

The scope of this thesis is to searching the potential ofthe maritime traffic in the Black Sea, the good application of the INCOTERMS in this region and the opportunities of maritime transport with the others seas. The research project conducted in this thesis uses qualitative methods: interviews with people that working in the maritime transport in the Black Sea that were made through e-mail to get a practical view on the topic, statistics and studies makes by me in the practice. The results indicate that there are no outstanding obstacles for the development of the commercial maritime traffic in the Black Sea and that the maritime companies of the world are very interested to start a large process to export and import in this region, ofcourse applying correct the INCOTERMS. Also, we analyze in this study the im portance of the Bosporus Strait that connecting the Black Sea with the Mediterrean Sea and offers big opportunities to the global maritime transport. The studies in this field of maritime traffic conducted us to find out what are the standards in the maritime trade in the Black Sea but also in comparison with the Mediterrean Sea, Baltic Sea and Caspian Sea. The Black Sea basin presents various challenges and offers numerous opportunities. Ps a result, its development requires special consideration by policy makers. The central question of this paper is given the difference in legal and political systems in the presence, more geo strategically considerations, building on the commercial development from existing business practices. Mercantile custom plays an important role in international commercial law, whether that is as a source of or merelyas an element of the new law merchant. Trade usages and practices tend to be linked to a specific location, trade or port in which they are used. Es pecially in the context of trade term s, differences in interpretation detract from their harmonization function. The latest edition of the ICC INCOTERMS was carried out in 2010 when the INCOTERMS. Two major innovations are the num ber of rules and their classification. Under previous INCOTERM revis ions, term s were grouped in order of increasing responsibilityon the seller, now were classified according to the mode of trans port. There are 11 rules instead of13.INCOTERMS 2010 includes two new rules, Delivered atTerminal (DAT) and Delivered at Place (DAP), and eliminates the Delivered at Frontier (DAF), Delivered Ex-Ship (DES), Delivered Ex-Quay (DEQ) and Delivered Duty Unpaid (DDU) designations. DAT replaces the current DEQ, while DAP replaces DAF, DES and DDU. The option of applying one or another INCOTERM of the delivery conditions or practices known worldwide should consider a number of criteria, such as the following: the ratio of currency and foreign currency contract for payment of transportation, insurance and other charges related to delivery; market situation and the charges of air and land transport, participation in international conventions on transport, which involves preferential rates oftransport, customs outlets in markets or supplies. In the case of a saturated market, where there is a strong competition, the exporter can earn a segment of this market, providing certain favorable conditions to the importer within the meaning of risk and minimal costs that the latter must bear. Delivery condition is one of the essential terms are agreed between international contract partners, thereby regulating the transfer actually goods and the seller to the buyer risks, including legal consequences and general economic. Since the implementation ofthe each entry in the various delivery methods, costs, which can't be neglected, their enrollment contract specifications require is especially importantto establish who and what pays any omission of this view mayor cancel benefits buying or selling expected at closing. We hope that this thesis may be able to help the future importers and exporters in the global maritime traffic

Optimización de flotas de portacontenedores para rutas multimodales en la costa atlántica europea

Programa Oficial de Doutoramento en Enxeñaría Naval e Industrial. 5015V01[Resumen] El objetivo general de esta tesis es desarrollar una metodología para la optimización de una flota de buques portacontenedores de pequeño tamaño para el transporte multimodal, que combina tramo por carretera y tramo por mar, es decir, tráfico marítimo de corta distancia. Para dicha optimización se consideran una serie de factores como son los flujos de mercancía contenerizada entre regiones, las rutas más probables para esos flujos y las frecuencias requeridas para satisfacerlos, así como la interacción buque-puerto