Cruise ship workers and cruise ship employment are commonly described in popular literature as the stories of either ‘perfect workers in a dream job’ or ‘exploited workers on sweatships’. However, these popular portrayals tend to overlook the social and economic complexities of the work and the diversity of subjective experiences amongst cruise sector seafarers. To address this gap, this study investigates the social representations of the working lives of seafarers on-board cruise ships. Using the case of Filipino seafarers, one of the nationalities with the largest proportion of workers in the cruise ship sector, this study explores how workers in a globalised industry make sense of their employment experiences in relation to their lives. Q-methodology, a systematic research approach combining quantitative and qualitative methods in studying perspectives, was used to identify shared viewpoints on the working lives of cruise ship employees. Participants were asked to rank-order a set of 48 statements, which represent a range of occupational, organisational and work-related issues that they faced throughout their employment experience, along a fixed grid of agreement/disagreement taking the shape of an inverted pyramid grid (Q-sorts). Participants were also interviewed to elicit the rationales and narratives behind their sorting decisions. Factor analysis of 99 completed Q-sorts yielded four factors which were interpreted as ‘work-views’ or shared and holistic viewpoints on working lives. The accounts of ‘Good-fit’, ‘Troubled’, ‘Professional’ and ‘Ambivalent’ workers capture a more nuanced social representation of the working lives of cruise ship employees than those commonly presented in popular literature. These accounts of the working lives of cruise sector seafarers are discussed, in terms of the concept of work orientation, to highlight the workers’ multiple motivations and expectations of cruise ship employment, and to illustrate the embeddedness of work attitudes in social relationships on-board and in the communities of origin.

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This thesis concerns the history of the General Steam Navigation Company from 1850to 1913, immediately prior to the First World War. Established as a joint-stock company in 1824, this London-based shipowner operated a range of steamship liner services on coastal and near-Continent routes and, from the 1880s, to the Mediterranean. The focus of the study, essentially a business history, is on the management by the directors of the Company's considerable financial, shipping and property assets and their ability to meet commitments to shareholders in terms of dividends and share values. Measures of financial governance, Profit and Loss Accounts and Balance Sheets are detailed throughout. These, together with information on trades and cargoes, including live animal imports, in an increasingly competitive environment, are recorded in a series of chapters each covering a period of the Company's development. The operation of the fleet of usually around fifty vessels of from 500 to 2,500 tons is considered against the background of constantly changing ship design and technology: the paddle wheel was replaced by screw propulsion, ever more efficient engines were introduced and cargo capacities greatly increased. In order to retain its prime position the Company was obliged to be to the forefront of these developments. The uncertain economic climate of the period of the study greatly affected British industry, particularly the years from 1873 to 1896, usually referred to as the 'great depression'. The cycles of expansion and recession in that time posed problems for all ship owners and for General Steam in particular. The effects of these and of other trade influences are explored. Particular emphasis is placed on the roles of two key Board chairmen, J. Herbert Tritton, appointed in 1874, and Richard White, 1902, in influencing the Company's fortunes. It is argued that, whereas the Company was well managed and profitable up to 1870 under a Board which still included connections with the original directors, overinvestment following substantial capital increases in 1874 and 1877 presented problems in the more challenging business environment of the late nineteenth century, leading to shareholder unrest and the near collapse of the Company. Financial restructuring in 1902/3, disadvantageous to shareholders, and a revision of the Company's operating policy under Chairman White led to a slow recovery prior to the First World War, in still difficult trading conditions. Appendices include the first full list of the many vessels owned by General Steam, with, in most cases, details of entry and exit from the Company's service, Balance Sheets and information on capital structure.

A large number of benefits achieved through the successful implementation of Six Sigma programmes in different industries have been documented. However, very little research has been conducted on their applications in the shipping sector, especially in the Onshore Service Functions (OSFs) of shipping companies. Literature shows that heavy human involvement in the service industries such as shipping leads to a high volume of uncertainties which are difficult to be correctly and effectively measured or managed by simply using the traditional data analysis and statistical methods in Six Sigma. The aim of this study is to develop new quantitative analytical methodologies to enable the application and implementation of Six Sigma to improve the service quality of OSFs in shipping companies. Intensive investigations on the feasibility and effectiveness of the developed new methods and models through case studies in world leading container ship lines and shipping management companies have been carried out to ensure the achievement of the aim. This study firstly reviews the evolvement of quality control and some typical methods in the area, the development of Six Sigma, its tools and current applications, especially in the service industries. It is followed by a new framework of the Six Sigma implementation in the OSFs of shipping companies which is supported by a few real process excellence projects carried out in a world-leading ship line. In the process of the framework development, various issues and challenges appear largely due to the existence of uncertainties in data such as ambiguity and incompleteness caused by extensive subjective judgements. Advanced methods and models are developed to tackle the above challenges as well as complement the traditional Six Sigma tools so that the new Six Sigma methodologies can be confidently applied in situations where uncertainties in data exist at different levels. A new fuzzy Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution ii(TOPSIS) method is developed by combining the traditional TOPSIS, fuzzy numbers and interval approximation sets to facilitate the effective selection of Six Sigma projects and achieve the optimal use of resources towards the company objectives. A revised Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) model is proposed in the “Analyse” step in Six Sigma to improve the capability of classical FMEA in failure identification in service industries. The new FMEA model uses the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Fuzzy Bayesian Reasoning (FBR) approaches to increase the accuracy of failure identification while not compromising the easiness and visibility of the Risk Priority Number (RPN) method. Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) and Analytical Network Process (ANP) methods are incorporated with Fuzzy logic and Evidential Reasoning (ER), for the very first time to generate a Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) management method where the weights of indicators are rationally assigned by considering the interdependency among the indicators. Incomplete and fuzzy evaluations of the KPIs are synthesised in a rational way to achieve a compatible and comparable result. It is concluded that the newly developed Six Sigma framework together with its supporting quantitative analytical models has made significant contribution to facilitate the quality control and process improvement in shipping companies. It has been strongly evidenced by the success of the applications of the new models in real cases. The financial gains and continuous benefits produced in the investigated shipping companies have attracted a wider range of interests from different service industries. It is therefore believed that this work will have a high potential to be tailored for a wide range of applications across sectors and industries when the uncertainties in data exceed the ability that the classical Six Sigma tools and methods possess.

In the last 100 years, vast technological and communicational changes have occurred in all modes of transportation, with momentous changes to the carriage of cargo by sea. In response, the shipping industry has attempted to codify, at the international level, regulations and standards with the aim of providing a safe environment at sea. In turn, the shipping industry’s regulations impact upon the way sea carriage is performed. The obligation of seaworthiness is no exception. The requisite standard of seaworthiness is also, to a limited extent, governed by the shipping indsutry’s regulations. It is notable that the shipping industry’s regulations cannot keep pace with technological developments and they therefore lag behind the latest inventions. This creates an imbalance in the risk borne between the parties to the contract of carriage. Accordingly, the current law on seaworthiness requires modification in order to keep up with the technological evolution in the shipping industry. For such reasons, the Rotterdam Rules and its provisions on seaworthiness, were agreed. This thesis focuses on the scope of the provisions that relate to the obligation of seaworthiness in the Rotterdam Rules as compared to the parallel obligation in the existing regime under the Hague/Hague-Visby Rules. In order to ascertain whether the new convention provides a sound system to govern the law relating to seaworthiness, it is necessary to deal with the carrier’s obligation of seaworthiness under the Rotterdam Rules as compared to the widely used regime of the Hague/Hague-Visby Rules. However, the Rotterdam Rules introduce additional changes to the regime governing the carriage of goods; for example, multimodal transport. These changes are also considered in this study. This thesis discusses the impact of multimodal carriage on the obligation and liability of seaworthiness. It proposes that a multimodality approach should not be used with particular types of sea carriage; for example, container carriage. Throughout the thesis, proposals for both regimes concerning changes to areas where the risk between the contracting parties is imbalanced are provided. This inevitably involves a detailed study on the provisions relating to the obligation of exercising due diligence (and related potential liabilities in case of breach) under the Hague/Hague-Visby Rules and the Rotterdam Rules.

Whilst container shipping has become increasingly important over the past few decades due to its obvious advantages, container shipping companies have faced various risks from different sources in their operations. Systematic academic studies on this topic are few; and in light of this, this study aims to systematically explore and analyse the risks in container shipping operations and to examine the applicable risk mitigation strategies in a logistics perspective, including information flow, physical flow, and payment flow. This thesis uses Taiwan container shipping industry as a case study, and borrows four steps of risk management as the main method, which includes risk identification, risk analysis, risk mitigation strategies identification, and strategies evaluation. In order to ensure the analysis is inclusive and systematic, risk factors and risk mitigation strategies are identified through a related literature review and are validated through a set of interviews. Risk analysis is conducted through using questionnaires, and then through risk ranking, risk matrix, risk mapping, and P-I graph. Risk mitigation strategies are evaluated through classic AHP and fuzzy AHP analysis. A number of significant findings have been obtained. Firstly, 35 risk factors are identified and classified into three categories: risks associated with information flow, risks associated with physical flow, and risks associated with payment flow. After collecting and analysing the risk-factor survey, the results indicate that the risk associated with physical flow has the more significant impact on shipping companies’ operation. However, one risk factor associated with information flow, “shippers hiding cargo information”, has the most significant impact among the 35 risk factors. Secondly, 20 risk mitigation strategies are identified and classified into three categories: intra-organisational strategies, intra-channel strategies, and inter-channel strategies. After collecting the AHP survey and analysing through classic AHP and fuzzy AHP, the result indicates that “slot exchange, slot charter, joint fleet, ship charter with other container shipping companies” is the most important strategy. The main contributions of this thesis include: (1) based on the literature review, there have been no research on risk management in the context of container shipping operation from a broad logistics perspective, and this thesis is the first attempt to fill this research gap; (2) this thesis uses Taiwan shipping industry as a case study to apply the framework, which generates useful managerial insights; (3) the conceptual model of risk management developed in this thesis can be applied to container shipping operations in other countries and regions; (4) compared with several studies using secondary data, this thesis uses empirical data to conduct the risk analysis, and make the results more close to the reality situation in container shipping; (5) in terms of risk analysis, this thesis ranks the total 35 risk factors rather than only identify the most important one, this can be used to be generalised to the whole container shipping companies in Taiwan, or even to the whole world; (6) in terms of risk management, the previous studies usually analyse only the importance of strategies. However, this thesis analyses the results of AHP from three different angles: reducing financial loss, reducing reputation loss, and reducing safety and security incident related loss. This can provide different angles for the managers who are considering different aspects.

This thesis investigates seafarers’ experiences of ill-treatment onboard ships. A sociological approach to ill-treatment is adopted, with a focus on characteristics of the work environment onboard which affect seafarers’ experiences of and responses to ill-treatment. A qualitative approach was employed to understand seafarers’ perceptions of ill-treatment. Semi-structured interviews based on the Negative Acts Questionnaire were conducted with seafarers and managerial personnel from one multinational and one Indian company. The seafarers were drawn from all ranks. Thematic analysis of the data revealed that seafarers’ perceptions, experiences and responses to ill-treatment were heavily influenced by characteristics of the work environment, including industry and company norms such as short-term contracts, the hierarchy, onboard, distance management and HR policies and training. Seafarers encountering ill-treatment can choose to exit their situation, raise their voice or remain silent. The findings showed that while support structures such as grievance procedures and union membership existed for seafarers experiencing ill-treatment, the majority of seafarers chose to remain silent because of complex interactions between a variety of workplace features. Fears included job insecurity, concern for career advancement, fear of blacklisting and personal financial concerns. Those seafarers that did choose to escape their situations found that there could be repercussions on their finances and their career ambitions, or that exercising their voice resulted in a reshuffle of seafarers but nothing of import changed. The professional socialisation process and culture onboard the ship are very important in influencing seafarers’ perceptions of ill-treatment, and play a role in the occurrence of preventative behaviour and use of coping mechanisms. In addition, the industry norms of short-term contracts, the purported manning crisis and a race to the bottom mentality force seafarers to be highly insecure in their jobs and encourage them to accept their situation until they can escape it.

This thesis examines the expansion of private maritime security provision, its regulation and implications for national and global security. The main research question addressed is: How are private maritime security companies (PMSCs) regulated in the context of the contemporary trend towards international security privatisation? However, further questions stem from this: Is the complex framework of the PMSCs’ business model adequately regulated? To what extent could the existing practices and regulatory framework affect international security in governance and policy, strategic, social and commercial terms? Qualitative research methods were used, strongly supported by empirical data collection – available due to extensive professional experience and personal engagement of the author with the private maritime security industry. Using a case study of PMSCs’ operations off Somalia from 2005-2013, and a plethora of selected data from primary sources and semi-structured interviews, the paper argues that there is need for more effective regulation of PMSCs and the establishment of international standards. Following an analysis of the current conceptual framework of private security, focussing particularly on maritime security, in the context of contemporary academic literature and professional practice, the paper provides a detailed theoretical justification for the selection of the methodology used. After broadening and deepening the analysis of the privatisation of security ashore, the concerns raised are then transferred to the maritime domain. The situation becomes even more complicated in the high seas due to inconsistencies between flag states’ regulations, the unregulated vastness of the oceans and the reluctance of any international body (such as the IMO) to undertake the essential task of regulating PMSCs. Building on this, an analytical framework that enables the integration of maritime security and contemporary piracy into the contemporary paradigm of global security is developed. An historical overview of piracy then demonstrates that modern piracy is an ancient phenomenon with contemporary local characteristics. The maritime crime’s causal factors remain more or less the same throughout human history and, the paper argues, PMSCs serve as a short term response to address the symptoms rather than the root causes. Given that PMSCs have so far been used primarily as measures against Somali piracy, activities in this specific region provide an appropriate case study. The development of a typology of piracy offers a deeper understanding of the regional distinctiveness of the phenomenon, which is essential to acquiring a holistic picture of the operational environment in which PMSCs are deployed. The above considerations are used as a basis for analysing the complexities of the PMSCs’ business model, in legal, operational and ethical terms. The questionable practices involved in these are not fully regulated by national states. Hence, their contract and deployment raise ethical, legal and operational concerns. In the penultimate chapter, these are further assessed in terms of the extent to which the existing regulatory framework and PMSCs’ practices affect international security in governance and policy, strategic, social and commercial terms. The research indicates that states are increasingly outsourcing the monopoly they have exercised in security provision - a trend that has also expanded the private sector’s activities and business at sea. However, the lack of international laws and the consequent unstandardized plethora of flag states’ regulations has meant that the burgeoning private security services are dependent on the global market to regulate themselves. States’ reluctance and/or inability to regulate these companies has allowed controversial practices to persist and the lack of an international body responsible for their regulation and vetting on a worldwide basis has inevitable consequences in terms of global security. The overall outcome of this thesis is an elucidation of the potential implications of the privatisation of maritime security - both positive and negative. Most significantly, it suggests this could present a significant threat to international security in the near future.

Container terminal capacity is a crucial issue for port and terminal operators nowadays as it is one of the key points for their success and increasing their competitive market position in the maritime industry. Therefore, researchers have tried to find solutions for the over capacity problem that faces many terminal operators. This research suggests dry ports as one of the most suitable solution for this problem through proposing a structured framework to adopt the right policy decisions for Dry Port location and capacity. To achieve the presented framework some areas were addressed in detail to have the full picture clear. The current status of the global container sector was assessed, also, the main capacity problems of container terminals with a view to reviewing the suggested solutions was investigated, hence the need for dry ports. In addition, policies for providing optimal location and capacity decisions for container terminals were identified. A technique that supports assessing container terminal location and capacity policy decisions with particular reference to dry ports were developed. Moreover, a case study on Alexandria International Container Terminal for validating the results was conducted. The current research was facilitated by experts from the maritime transport industry, through the application of the Delphi Technique. Applying such a technique enables collaborating experts to share experience modify statements and re-asking to reach a final exact answer that could be generalized. The consensus achieved will help build knowledge and understanding of potential Dry Ports’ policies of the maritime transport sector. This research seeks to make an original contribution to knowledge by developing a structured framework to identify policy decisions for location and capacity of Dry Ports using a Delphi technique as a support tool for terminal managers and operators, port planners, policy makers, and investors in deciding decisions relevant to Dry Port investment.

La Bretagne (et en particulier le Finistère) est, depuis les années 1920, une importante région d’importations maritime et de consommation de vins d’Algérie. Au lendemain de la Seconde Guerre mondiale, le passage du transport maritime en fûts au transport en vrac bouleverse les conditions de transport et de distribution. Les vins sont transportés dans des navires-citernes, débarqués par pompage dans des chais portuaires modernes et livrés par poids-lourds. Cette évolution préfigure l’essor de l’organisation du transport de marchandises en chaîne logistique. Elle reconfigure les hiérarchies portuaires et permet à de nouveaux acteurs de s’établir sur ce marché de l’importation des vins d’Algérie. La recherche est fondée sur l’exploitation d’un fonds d’archives original, le fonds Hervé Nader fondateur en 1951 d’une entreprise d’importations de vins d’Algérie au port du Corniguel à Quimper et d’exportation de produits bretons vers l’Afrique du Nord. Il fonde aussi un armement maritime et exploite trois navires-citernes. Au début des années 1960, Quimper devient le premier port d’entrée de vins d’Algérie de Bretagne, et l’un des plus importants du littoral atlantique. Après l’indépendance de l’Algérie, l’activité s’étend à l’ensemble du bassin méditerranéen, jusqu’à la vente de l’entreprise en 1973. Les archives de Nader, sont composées de sa correspondance commerciale, des documents relatifs à l’exploitation des navires (journaux de bord, manifestes de chargements), mais aussi de correspondances privées et à caractère politiques. Elles ont permis l’étude des trajectoires de l’entrepreneur et de l’entreprise, dans le contexte des mutations économiques et de l’émergence d’un modèle industriel en Bretagne, caractérisé par le rôle des PME familiales et l’importance du commerce agro-alimentaire dans les systèmes productifs locaux. La recherche participe aussi à l’histoire des évolutions de la marine marchande, et à celle des enjeux politique et symboliques des vins d’Algérie. / By the 1920’s Brittany, and especially Finistère, had grown to become an important hub for maritime imports and a significant market for Algerian wine. After WWII, the shift operated from transporting wine in barrels to bulk shipping in tanker ships upsets the transport and distribution environment. Wine is now transported in wine tankers, pumped ashore to modern port wineries and delivered by truck. This evolution announces the development of transport and distribution as a supply chain. It causes a reshuffling in the maritime pecking order and allows new players to enter the Algerian wine import business. The research is based on the exploitation of original archives, those kept by Hervé Nader who founded an Algerian wine import business at the Port du Corniguel in Quimper along with a company dedicated to the export of Breton goods to North Africa. He also founds a shipping company and operates three tanker ships. In the early 1960’s, Quimper becomes the first port of entry of Algerian wine in Brittany and one of the most important on the Atlantic coast. After Algeria gained its independence, his activities develop over the entire Mediterranean basin until the sale of the company in 1973. Nader’s archives include his commercial correspondance, documents pertaining to the operation of the ships (log books, load manifests), but also private correspondance and letters of a more political nature. These archives have allowed to study the career path of an entrepreneur and the development of his business in a context of economic change and the rise of a Breton industrial model characterized by the role of family-run small businesses and the early developments of agribusiness in local productive systems. This research also offers historical perspective on the evolution merchant shipping as wells the political and symbolical aspects associated with Algerian wine.