Containerisation is making the world smaller since cargoes can go to most corners of the earth without incurring high freight cost (including transshipment cost). Thus, containerisation, together with custom tariff reduction, has contributed to phenomenal increases in world international trade volume during the past four decades. In ocean shipping/transportation networks, ports are nodes where cargoes can be stored, processed, and transferred. How to scientifically choose a port of call, especially a transshipment port of call, is always a great challenge to shipping management. At the same time, major port service providers (including port authorities, port operators) are keen to know what their customers' (i. e. ocean container carriers') main requirements are and what they really demand from them, since their customers' requirements appear endless their resources are limited. There is always a trade-off relationship between the cost and service quality in major container transshipment port services. How to find ocean container carriers' port of call selection determinants is thus very important and urgent from the port service providers' viewpoint. This research employed a two stage survey, a pilot survey carried out in Taiwan and a global survey carried out by post in the UK, to quantitatively determine the most influential service attributes for three container ports in Taiwan/six leading container ports worldwide, respectively, by eliciting their importance as perceived by their key customers (i. e. global ocean container carriers). Containers' terminal handling cost was globally recognised as the most important service attribute influencing global ocean container carriers' transshipment port selection decision, probably due to the increasing homogenisation of major transshipment ports' service quality. One of the two mechanisms Porter (2004) suggests to create value for their buyers is by lowering buyer cost. This mechanism was perceived important by both OCCs and PSPS. The second mechanism recommended by Porter (2004) is raising buyer performance which was found very difficult because of the increasing homogeneity of sellers' service quality. In summary, survey results indicated no major perception gaps regarding the importance of port service attributes between leading PSPs and global OCCs, suggesting buyers' and sellers' perception of value is the same in the container port service industry.

Purpose This study develops an index of maritime container transport costs, connectivity and risks for the UK. Data pertaining to the UK-China maritime container corridor was used as this corridor is typical of container flows in and out of the UK. The baseline year for the index was 2010. Research design A mixed method approach, across three phases, was used for the development of the index. A literature review revealed factors affecting costs, connectivity, risks and indices that exist in the maritime transport sector, while a content analysis yielded additional knowledge concerning the indices. In Phase 1 of the research, 26 face-to-face in-depth interviews were conducted for weights extraction. Those weights were used in Phase 2, combined with secondary data for each factor to compose the Prime Index. The index was validated by a focus group of academics in Phase 3a. Thereafter (Phase 3b), a Delphi survey was carried out to derive consensus regarding the factors used for the development of the index, the index weights, the overall index and the data sources used. In Phase 3c a focus group verified the overall index, while Phase 3d provided an assessment of the risk factors and sources via an in-depth face-to-face interview. Findings An index was generated comprising of 68 factors and grouped into three categories; cost, connectivity and risk. The overall index improved by 7.15 percent in 2011, compared with its baseline (2010). That finding aligns with experts’ observations that, in 2011, it was easier for them to move maritime containers in and out the UK than in 2010. Research implications/limitations The index will assist all stakeholders in the maritime container transport chain to better understand the impact of changes in services, costs and risks. Originality/value This research created an index of cost, connectivity and risk for the maritime container transport sector and also provides a framework for the creation of such an index. The ii index is the first such index developed to date which captures these factors. The framework can also be applied by stakeholders to other maritime transport sectors.

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The peak to through phase in the dry bulk shipping market between 2005 and 2010 is the rational background of this thesis. The concomitant speculative events unfolding on commodity markets raise the question of whether or not dry bulk shipping market is exposed to speculation, if these speculative behaviours can be transmitted to the dry bulk industry from other connected markets (i.e. commodities) and if this speculation influences investment decisions of ship-owners and the sustainable growth of port cities. Against this backdrop, this thesis represents a novelty and fosters the debate regarding the negative effects of speculation in the dry bulk industry. Additionally, it provides a comprehensive analysis of the key drivers of boom and bust cycles in the dry bulk industry and provides a conceptual framework to manage speculative risks. Given these objectives, first, this research demonstrates that the super cycle between 2005 and 2010 witnessed in the dry bulk industry was driven by speculative behaviours. Secondly, it proves that the dry bulk speculative cycle was related to recent speculative trends in commodities. Thirdly, the research shows how freight rates, commodity prices and port infrastructure influence each other and how speculation spreads to other important ship-owners' investment areas. Fourthly, it demonstrates that maritime speculation can be transmitted from port activities to the regional real estate market. The findings emphasise that speculation modifies the investment decisions in the dry bulk shipping market. Additionally, the final results prove that dry bulk is affected by periods of boom and bust cycles leaving the entire industry prone to instability and excessive investment exuberance. Ultimately, the thesis contributes in the understanding of boom and bust periods to effectively manage speculative risks in the dry bulk industry.

The letter of indemnity has become a very common tool used by shipowners, sellers, buyers and their bankers. Shippers, receivers and carriers are usually motivated to use a letter of indemnity by their desire to fulfil their contractual obligations. Nowadays, the type of letter of indemnity most frequently used is that used to collect cargo without the production of a bill of lading. This practice is in violation of the presentation rule but enables buyers to collect goods at the port of destination without incurring demurrage and other costs at that port. Other typical situations in which letters of indemnity are commonly used include where a letter of indemnity is offered to the carrier in exchange for a clean bill of lading, and where a letter of indemnity is offered to the carrier in order for the carrier to change the destination of the goods carried by sea after a bill of lading has been issued. Letters of indemnity are often used by sellers, buyers, carriers and banks in ignorance of the relevant legal principles and the legal risks they are taking. This is not entirely surprising since the legal implications of the use of the letter of indemnity are still being explored. Sometimes, the enforceability of the letter of indemnity is questioned by shipping operators. At other times, making use of letters of indemnity brings unexpected results. The use of letters of indemnity is closely linked to the use of the bill of lading in the context of shipping and international trade. While the bill of lading remains an essential document for international trade and finance of goods, its functions often impose restrictions on and cause complications for sellers, buyers, carriers and banks, which force them to utilize alternative methods to perform their contractual obligations. The aim of this thesis is, therefore, to explore thoroughly the implications of the letter of indemnity for all parties involved in shipping. This exploration will demonstrate that letters of indemnity, in this context, fulfil a useful purpose and that the real question is how best to control their use. Thus, in this thesis, the author's aim will be to reach a conclusion, in respect of each type of letter of indemnity, as to where the line should be drawn between the use of the letter of indemnity which should be supported by the law, and use where the letter of indemnity should be unenforceable.

This thesis describes twenty-seven near-miss experiences by ten merchant marine officers on the U.S. Great Lakes. The experiences are related in the first person and include actions by self, other bridge watch members, and other vessels. The focus of the work is on the relationship between the near-miss experience and the organizational implications related to those experiences. The survey of the literature defines the near-miss experience and two major previous efforts to obtain and record maritime near-misses. The conceptual context places the near-miss in the traditional maritime organization which is defined through analysis of boundary and environment, horizontal and vertical differentiation, integration, conflict resolution, information generation, and reward structures. The conceptual context also describes three alternative perspectives of organization; systemic, social-political and architectural. The thesis is exploratory in nature: how and why the near-miss occurred and remained a near-miss rather than becoming an accident. Five propositions relating to anticipated changes in the organization structure are used as the basis for case-study analysis. These propositions relate to the changing of the organization structure by one or more persons on the bridge watch. The propositions are supported by about one-fifth of the related experiences. An additional proposition is also supported by about one-fifth of the related experiences. Recommendations include the continued collection and codification of near-miss experiences, experimentation using full-mission simulation, and research into the potential for near-misses under the one-person bridge organization structure.

This thesis tracks the rise of some British tramp shipowners and their experiences during the period c.1870-1939. Three case studies have been chosen to bring focus to the investigation - those being the tramp shipping companies owned and managed by Joseph Robinson (Stag Line), Walter Runciman (Moor Line) and James Knott (Prince Line). This thesis follows a chronological structure and is split into three divisions. Part I: Local (c.1870-1890), places the shipowners within their local communities, touching on topics such as religion (specifically Wesleyan Methodism), the construction of technology, the familial business of ship owning and the importance of trust. Part II: Local to National (c.1890-1914), explores public spectacles, aggrandisement, credibility, publicity and political associations in order to understand these shipowners' transition to the national 'public stage'. Part III: National (1914-1939), looks at the First World War and the interwar period, times that saw these shipowners firmly established in the national sphere. The social networks, expertise, growing authority and increased control of tramp shipowners are central to the analysis, in accordance with the approach drawn on from the historian of technology Thomas Hughes. Research questions relating to the shipowner's rise, his distinctiveness and his desire to control his environments are answered throughout this thesis. I reveal the direction, influences, aims and ambitions of these shipowners, in the context -of the broader themes of the changing makeup of British society in this period. I conclude that these shipowners did take control of their environments in local, national and even global contexts. Moreover, they engineered their elevation from local to national stages and they were a distinctive group of individuals. This thesis contributes to the scholarship on British history, maritime history and the cultural history of technology by placing the tramp shipowner at the heart of the analysis, rather than subsuming him behind company economics or ship specifications.

The shipping industry represents a large sector with a wide range and significant scale of impacts. This underlines the need for sustainable decision making, which ensures the economic viability of operations in the long term, whilst reducing environmental impacts and health and safety risks. The demand for integrated tools that enable decision makers to integrate a holistic set of sustainability measures has already been pointed out in the literature, ideally considering the whole life cycle. In this Thesis, a multi-criteria decision support framework has been developed to evaluate the implementation of different material options on a life cycle basis. This comprises an evaluation of Life Cycle Costs (LCC), Environmental Impacts (EI) and Risk Assessment (RA) alongside each other, explicitly accounting for uncertainties in the inputs. Subsequently, all these aspects are integrated through a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) approach, allowing to account for different perspectives and priorities of the decision maker. The framework was used to evaluate High-Strength Low-Alloy steel (HSLA) and advanced composites to replace conventional steel in ship structures. Results show the potential of these materials, indicating significant financial and emission savings over the life cycle, despite their higher initial costs. However, currently uncertainties and consequently risks are present and the approach shows how to account for these depending on the priorities of the decision maker. It is demonstrated that the approach provides structured decision support for sustainable material choices. The novelty lies in integrating different sustainability aspects in one coherent framework, taking a life cycle perspective. By doing this it is possible to integrate different types of data and explicitly account for different stakeholder perspectives and decision maker priorities. Another key feature is the clear visualisation of results, facilitating transparent communication to support the decision making process. Whilst the contribution of the research presented is demonstrated for the shipping sector, the potential of applying the framework and the methodology in other industrial applications is highlighted.