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No abstract available. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006

Global economic development has significantly increased the demand for container liner shipping which has led to its global restructuring. Under such a situation, hub-and-spoke liner shipping systems have become increasingly popular which cause more intense competition between major ports and thus transhipment traffic is perceived to play a more important role in deciding the competitive positions of ports. Although there was no shortage of studies investigating port competitiveness in the past decades, most of them had overlooked the necessity of theorising port competition while ignoring the importance of including less-readily quantifiable factors in the port competitiveness assessment process. Thus, a research gap clearly exists and through investigating the competitiveness of Antwerp, Bremerhaven, Felixstowe, Hamburg, Le Havre and Rotterdam acting as container transhipment hubs in North Europe, this thesis attempts to theorise port competition. Apart from providing a theoretical framework, Port Competitiveness Model, to future port research, this thesis also aims to identify the major factors affecting port attractiveness, to assess port choice behaviour, to investigate the current port competitiveness and to forecast their future prospects in the market. Research methodology involves various quantitative modelling techniques including generalized cost calculations (to assess port attractiveness), Multinomial Logit Model (to assess port choice behaviours of liners and the current competitive positions of ports) and Logistic Regression (to predict port competitiveness in the future), while data collection includes a questionnaire survey of major liners and various in-depth interviews with port and shipping experts in Europe. Findings indicate that money and time are not sufficient to explain the choices of liners and other less-quantifiable factors like geography, quality of services, values and perceptions, inertia, limitations of liners are also significant. Rotterdam is currently the overall market leader in the North European transhipment market but may be fragile in resisting challenges from competitors while Hamburg is a regional leader in the Scandinavia-Baltic market. On the other hand, Bremerhaven is currently an underachiever but possesses potential if it changes its current competitive strategies while Antwerp also possesses potential but faces different problems in its developments. For poor performing ports like Felixstowe and Le Havre, they need to improve significantly before they can really compete. Also, results suggest that ports should not only focus on expensive physical improvements (like infrastructure) but should also pay attention to software aspects in port operations e.g. management, marketing, etc. The key to achieve port competitiveness does not depend on port's administrative system but on how it executes the system and makes things work. In the foreseeable future, the author firmly believes that this thesis will become one of the theoretical 'pillars' in the theory of port competition.

An average of three to five billion tons of ballast water (BW) is transported globally per year; 79 million tons of which is released into U. S. waters. Ballast water is necessary for large ships to maintain balance and stability while loading and unloading cargo as well as during transit. As a ship unloads it’s cargo at a port, it takes on ballast water and then when it loads cargo at the next port, it discharges the ballast water, thus transferring water from port to port. Aquatic organisms are transported around the globe via ballast water. These organisms can potentially cause serious environmental and human health impacts. Historically, transfer of macro-organisms such as fish, snails, and vascular plants via ballast water have been the focus of ballast water research. More recently, microorganisms such as toxin producing dinoflagellates and diatoms i.e. ‘harmful algal blooms’ and pathogenic bacteria (e.g. Vibrio cholerae), have been found to survive in ballast tanks for several weeks. These organisms have moved to the forefront of ballast water management (BWM) trepidations because they compose serious threats to human health as well as Marine Protected Area (MPA) ecosystems such as coral reefs. Ballasting activities of ships calling at the Port of Houston were used as a model for other major ports in U.S. Gulf States. Ballast water management reports, submitted to the U.S. Coast Guard by all overseas vessels calling at the Port of Houston in 2010 were examined for the ballast management strategies utilized prior to docking. Currently, all “coastwise” ships are not required to conduct ballast water exchanges (BWE) if they do not transit beyond the 200nm EEZ. Close inspection of BW management report forms for “overseas” ships determined that the degree of completeness was variable. By comparing the frequency of vessels entering the Port of Houston, ballast water capacities, the management types utilized, and the locations of ballast water exchanges and discharges, it can be concluded that larger vessels present the highest risk of bacterial transfer to coral reefs. Five coral diseases were discovered to be prevalent throughout the ballast management areas their presence has significantly increased in these areas over the past thirty years. The combination of this disease growth along with an increase in shipping and ballast exchanges suggests that the vector at which pathogens are being displaced must lie within the shipping lanes.

Thesis (M.M.A.S.)--U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, 2007. / Cover title. AD-A475 516. Includes bibliographical references. Electronic version available on the Public STINET.

Thesis (M.S. in Operations Research)--Naval Postgraduate School, 2008. / Title from PDF title screen. "June 2008." NTIS no: ADA483494. Includes bibliographical references (p. 79-82). Also available online.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universidad de Santiago, 1987. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [23]-42).

Thesis (M.A.)--Naval Postgraduate School, 2003. / Cover title. "March 2003." AD-A414 654. Includes bibliographical references. Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Rutgers University, 2008. / "Graduate Program in Industrial and Systems Engineering." Includes bibliographical references (p. 391-401).

Thesis (doctoral)--Universidad de Santiago, 1987. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [23]-42).