Structural Characteristics and Evolution of a Weighted Sino-US Container Shipping Network

This study selected the Sino-US route data from the top 30 global container liner companies between December 1,2019,and December 29,2019,as the data source utilizing the complex network research methodology.It constructs a Sino-US container shipping network through voyage weighting and analyzes the essential structural characteristics to explore the network’s complex structural fea-tures.The network’s evolution is examined from three perspectives,namely,time,space,and event influence,aiming to comprehens-ively explore the network’s evolution mechanism.The results revealed that:1)the weighted Sino-US container shipping network exhib-its small-world and scale-free properties.Key hub ports in the United States include NEW YORK NY,SAVANNAH GA,LOS ANGELES CA,and OAKLAND CA,whereas SHANGHAI serving as the hub port in China.The geographical distribution of these hub ports is uneven.2)Concerning the evolution of the weighted Sino-US container shipping network,from a temporal perspective,the evolution of the regional structure of the entire Sino-US region and the Inland United States is in a stage of radiative expansion and de-velopment,with a need for further enhancement in competitiveness and development speed.The evolution of the regional structure of southern China and Europe is transitioning from the stage of radiative expansion and development to an advanced equilibrium stage.The shipping development in Northern China,the Western and Eastern United States,and Asia is undergoing significant changes but faces challenges of fierce competition and imbalances.From a spatial perspective,the rationality and effectiveness of the improved weighted Barrat-Barthelemy-Vespignani(BBV)model are confirmed through theoretical derivation.The applicability of the improved evolution model is verified by simulating the evolution of the weighted Sino-US container shipping network.From an event impact per-spective,the Corona Virus Disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic has not fundamentally affected the spatial pattern of the weighted Sino-US container shipping network but has significantly impacted the network’s connectivity.The network lacks sufficient resilience and stability in emergency situations.3)Based on the analysis of the structural characteristics and evolution of the weighted Sino-US con-tainer shipping network,recommendations for network development are proposed from three aspects:emphasizing the development of hub ports,focusing on the balanced development of the network,and optimizing the layout of Chinese ports.

Corporate Social Responsibility and Shipping Supply Chain Risks

This study aims to investigate whether Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR)activities reduce supply chain disruptions by examining the impact of the Suez Canal obstruction on the Ever Given container ship in March 2021.This study conclude that the more responsible companies have higher returns and are less affected by this event than the less responsible companies;the less responsible companies have lower returns.The companies with better CSR have a lower impact on their supply chains when faced with disruptions in the supply chain.

Ship Size and Service Configuration in Container Shipping

This study analyzes the effect of ship size on the liner service configuration by establishing an economic model. The service configuration is characterized by the distance of service and the number of calling ports. A study ease is presented for illustration. At last such a conclusion is drawn that given a fixed profit, the ship size will change with the extension of service in the same direction, while the change rate of ship size is a little higher than that of the extension of service.

Model and algorithm for container ship stowage planning based on bin-packing problem

In a general case, container ship serves many different ports on each voyage. A stowage planning for container ship made at one port must take account of the influence on subsequent ports. So the complexity of stowage planning problem increases due to its multi-ports nature. This problem is NP-hard problem. In order to reduce the computational complexity, the problem is decomposed into two sub-problems in this paper. First, container ship stowage problem (CSSP) is regarded as 'packing problem', ship-bays on the board of vessel are regarded as bins, the number of slots at each bay are taken as capacities of bins, and containers with different characteristics (homogeneous containers group) are treated as items packed. At this stage, there are two objective functions, one is to minimize the number of bays packed by containers and the other is to minimize the number of overstows. Secondly, containers assigned to each bays at first stage are allocate to special slot, the objective functions are to minimize the metacentric height, heel and overstows.The taboo search heuristics algorithm are used to solve the subproblem. The main focus of this paper is on the first subproblem. A case certifies the feasibility of the model and algorithm.

Review of containership stowage plans for full routes

Containership stowage plans are a pivotal teaches in the system of container transportation.With the increasing containers shipping,planning containership stowage has become more and more complicated.So intelligent stowage planning for containerships is of great significance.An effective stowage plan may improve efficiency of transportation system.First,the progress of containership stowage plan at home and abroad is reviewed,including the latest developments,such as the application of various optimization methods and computer techniques to the problem.Then,the complexities of the problem are discussed and areas where investigations are still needed are pointed out.This will provide a reference for further research on the subject.

Approximation Method for Flare Slamming Analysis of Large Container Ships in Parametric Rolling Conditions

Since the research of flare slamming prediction is seldom when parametric rolling happens, we present an efficient approximation method for flare slamming analysis of large container ships in parametric rolling conditions. We adopt a 6-DOF weakly nonlinear time domain model to predict the ship motions of parametric rolling conditions. Unlike previous flare slamming analysis, our proposed method takes roll motion into account to calculate the impact angle and relative vertical velocity between ship sections on the bow flare and wave surface. We use the Wagner model to analyze the slamming impact forces and the slamming occurrence probability. Through numerical simulations, we investigate the maximum flare slamming pressures of a container ship for different speeds and wave conditions. To further clarify the mechanism of flare slamming phenomena in parametric rolling conditions, we also conduct real-time simulations to determine the relationship between slamming pressure and 3-DOF motions, namely roll, pitch, and heave.

Practical Solutions for Reducing Container Ships' Waiting Times at Ports Using Simulation Model

The main challenge for container ports is the planning required for berthing container ships while docked in port.Growth of containerization is creating problems for ports and container terminals as they reach their capacity limits of various resources which increasingly leads to traffic and port congestion.Good planning and management of container terminal operations reduces waiting time for liner ships.Reducing the waiting time improves the terminal’s productivity and decreases the port difficulties.Two important keys to reducing waiting time with berth allocation are determining suitable access channel depths and increasing the number of berths which in this paper are studied and analyzed as practical solutions.Simulation based analysis is the only way to understand how various resources interact with each other and how they are affected in the berthing time of ships.We used the Enterprise Dynamics software to produce simulation models due to the complexity and nature of the problems.We further present case study for berth allocation simulation of the biggest container terminal in Iran and the optimum access channel depth and the number of berths are obtained from simulation results.The results show a significant reduction in the waiting time for container ships and can be useful for major functions in operations and development of container ship terminals.

Line of sight waypoint guidance for a container ship based on frequency domain identification of Nomoto model of vessel

CIFER software is used to identify steering and roll dynamics of a container ship. In this software, advanced features such as the Chirp-Z transform(CZT) and composite window optimization are applied to the time history of steering and roll dynamics to extract high quality frequency responses. From the extracted frequency responses, two linear transfer functions of Nomoto model are fitted for yaw and roll dynamics of the vessel. Based on the identified Nomoto model, a PID heading controller and a Kalman filter observer are constructed. The simulation results of heading controller for line of sight(LOS) waypoint guidance show excellent tracking of pilot inputs in the presence of wave induced motions and forces.

A Design of Information Teaching in Container Transport

The teaching design is based on the task of "Container Transport" in the course of"English for International Shipping Business", aiming to discuss Design of information teaching in Business English Class. MOSO TEACH, CFNET platform,Cartoon have been applied in the design. Informationalized teaching has brought the vividness and dramatic effect to the knowledgebased class.

Peripheral Challenge in Container Port System:A Case Study of Pearl River Delta

The growth of peripheral ports to dominant hubs has been well documented in North America and Europe,and has led to the elaboration of several theoretical models.However,although changes in containerization growth have been taking place in the South and East Asia in recent years,particularly in China,only a few studies have fo-cused on this region.The Pearl(Zhujiang) River Delta(PRD) has a typical port system with hub and peripheral ports,and provides an excellent case for studying the Peripheral Challenge.This paper introduces the theoretical evidence of the Hayuth model and analyzes the evolution of the container port system in the PRD with five phases:1) phase I:preconditions for change and phase II:initial container port development in the 1970s and early 1980s;2) phase III:diffusion,consolidation,and port concentration in the middle and late 1980s;3) phase IV:the load center in the 1990s;and(4) phase V:the Peripheral Challenge since the late 1990s.The results illustrate that the Shenzhen port presents mounting challenges to the Hong Kong port,descending from a transshipment hub of China to a regional load center of Southeast China.Furthermore,this paper explores five points that have led to the evolution of the port system in the PRD:1) competition in the regional port systems;2) different interested parties;3) shift of investment strategies of in-ternational terminal operators;4) integration of shipping networks and reorganization of carriers;and 5) cost-based competition.

Top Class 24188 TEU Container Ship Delivered

The world's largest container ship"OOCLDENMARK",built by COSCO KHI Ship Engineering Co.,Ltd.(DACKS),was officially christened on June 25 and was delivered on June 26.So far,all 6 ships of the series built by DACKS for Orient Overseas Container Line(OOCL)have been completed.The project created a record for the container capacity of the Sino-foreign joint venture building a VLCS project,and further consolidated China's shipbuilding industry's position as the first tier in the global VLCS construction domain.

Study on the Impact of the Panama Canal Expansion on the Distribution of Container Liner Routes

The expansion of the Panama Canal will have a profound impact on the container shipping route network, port layout and ship structure, and promote the evolution of the global shipping pattern. However, most of the research on the expansion of the Panama Canal currently stays before its real expansion, and the quantitative analysis is less and the result is not accurate, because previous research used data that expanded before. Based on the actual data after the expansion of the Panama Canal, this paper uses the dual-target route distribution model to analyze the expansion of the Panama Canal. The changes in the liner shipping plan that have a greater impact on the shipping industry will provide the relevant theoretical basis for the relevant entities. The results show that after the expansion of the Panama Canal, the largest 15,000 TEU container ship is currently deployed on the route through the Panama Canal. 6500 TEU ship type is also deployed on the route through the Panama Canal. The 8500 TEU, 10,500 TEU, and 12,500 TEU ship types are mainly deployed through the Suez Canal. On the route, such a distribution plan can maximize the benefits for the shipping company.

Shipping Price Rises Nearly 50% to Reach the Export Warning Line

After the shipping giant European Maersk Group raised price at the beginning of this year, such companies as Cosco Container Lines Co., Ltd. and China Shipping

Parameters Estimation and Evaluation for the Probability Density Function of Structural Fatigue Stress of a Container Vessel

Fatigue stress measurement has been playing a significant role in the ship structural health monitoring and ship structural safety assessment. The PDF （probability density function） of the measured stress is one of the essentials for the further studyin this domain. This paper, based on the strain-stress data collected from a container ship, focuses on the spectrum feature of the ship structural fatigue stress. A general analysis procedure for ship hull health estimation was firstly demonstrated. With the guidance of this procedure, the estimation and test of the parameters for the PDF of the stress were conducted, which showed that the stress spectrums fit well with the Weibull distribution. To review the fatigue state, the PDF and distribution function of fatigue damage increment were further developed and examined. The structural healthy assessment of this vessel shown the daily relative fatigue damage increment obeys log-normal or Weibull distribution and the increment of the fatigue damage on steel box girders of the ship hull was very low. Finally, the analyzing results yielded that the girder structure of the ship hull had a very low failure probability, matching well with the actual relative low working load of the ship.

Freight Transport Using Short Sea Shipping

The increasing imbalance between road and maritime transport has led to saturation of the terrestrial infrastructures. For this reason, the development and analysis of an intermodal freight transport which is safe, reliable and sustainable is the first step to a more balanced growth of other transport options. In this sense, SSS （Short Sea Shipping） rises like a real and efficient alternative to the land road-based transport as well as integrated to a multimodal system door to door for the freight distribution. This paper aims to evaluate and identify all those parameters required to determine the characteristics ofa SSS service under a theoretical approach. The increasing growth of the transport market demands to the maritime transport an adaptation effort to the redistribution space processes of production centers and consumption and, as a result of it, of the logistic flows and transport. For this reason, a specific methodology has been developed to model all those phases integrated in the logistic chain of SSS. The final purpose is to determine costs and time of each one of them, for its later implementation in a heuristic algorithm of routing analysis. The main driving factors that determine under which conditions the SSS represents an effective and a feasible solution to road freight are also identified. Information regarding European Union programs to promote the SSS is also presented for a better understanding of the ways of funding sustainable freight transport projects. This investigation states an initial basis for evaluating the competitiveness of SSS concepts, and shows where market and environmental circumstances could be handled in order to enhance the competitiveness of SSS.

Stacking Sequence of Marine Container Minimizing Space in Container Terminals

Heavier marine containers should be loaded first into ships at container terminals so that ship stability can be maintained during transport. It is helpful for the container terminals if lighter containers arrive earlier than heavier containers, because the latter can be stacked on the former. Therefore, the heavier ones can be loaded into the ships first. Shippers of marine containers do not, however, care for the matters of ships. They follow their own time schedules of supply chains sending marine containers with no relation to container weight. In addition to the conflict explained above, a ship must accommodate numerous containers sent by many shippers. Consequently, marshalling containers at container terminals before loading them into ships is necessary, although it causes inefficiencies of time and cost of cargo handling. This paper presents a proposal of a simple sequence of stacking marine containers at container terminals, adapting to random arrival of the containers irrespective of their weight, but it naturally keeps heavier containers stacked higher together with the stacking space minimized. An algorithm related to this proposal is the following： First, weight-ranked stacking addresses are assigned initially in a block of space at a container terminal; Second, containers are accepted and stacked up in the first block as they arrive at the terminal; Third, a lighter ranked address is sought for the next container if the number of containers on the initially assigned address for the container has already reached the maximum, which depends on the height of cargo handling equipment such as transfer cranes; Fourth, such containers are stacked up on the lighter ranked address. The address is reassigned with the weight rank of the container; Fifth, a heavier ranked address is sought for the next container if no lighter ranked address can be found; Sixth, such containers are stacked up on the heavier ranked address; Seventh, change the block to the next one if either a lighter or heavier ranked address cannot be found; Eighth, repeat the sequence above. This paper demonstrates the algorithm run by a simulation model for which actual arrival records of marine containers to a container terminal of Port of Yokohama are applied. Six ships of different sailing routes are analyzed using the simulation model. All analysis results show that heavier containers are stacked higher with a minimum number of blocks. Therefore, no marshalling of containers is necessary for loading the containers into ships.

Global Container Crisis Impacts Economic Recovery of Africa

Global shipping has been impacted by unprecedented delays and increases in shipping costs,as ports around the world are unable to fast track the backlog of ships seeking to offload containers amid lockdowns in certain markets.

Ship Fuel and Carbon Emission Estimation Utilizing Artificial Neural Network and Data Fusion Techniques

Ship energy consumption and emission prediction are the main concern of the shipping industry for ship energy efficiency management and pollution gas emission control. And they are attracting more global attention and research interests because of the increase in global shipping trade volume. As the core of maritime transportation, a large volume of data is collected around ships such as voyage data. Due to the rapid development of computational power and the widely equipped AIS device on ships, the use of maritime big data for improving and monitoring ship’s energy efficiency is becoming possible. In this paper, a fuel consumption and carbon emission model using the artificial neural network (ANN) framework is proposed by using AIS, ship machinery, and weather data. The proposed work is a complete framework including data collection, data cleaning, data clustering and model-building methodology. To obtain the suitable parameters of the model, the number of neurons, data inputs and activate functions were tested on both AIS-based data and MRV-based data for comparison. The results show that the proposed method can provide a solid prediction of ship’s fuel consumption and carbon emissions under varying weather conditions.

江海直达集装箱船线型开发研究

以万吨级江海直达集装箱船为研究对象,针对其船型设计需求,结合计算流体动力学(CFD)方法开展了线型优化,优化线型首部采用低阻的隐形球首形式,尾部采用有利于螺旋桨推进效率的双尾鳍形式,经过优化形成了满足要求的优化线型。基于优化线型进行了快速性模型试验验证,模型试验结果表明,优化线型在设计吃水指定功率下航速可达13.55 kn,高于预期航速,进一步验证了该万吨级江海直达集装箱船线型开发满足设计需求。本文开发的万吨级江海直达集装箱船线型以及优化思路可为后续开展江海直达船线型优化设计提供借鉴与参考。

大型极地航行集装箱船船首结构局部优化分析

为研究船舶船首结构结构优化方案,根据一条极地区域航行集装箱船数据,在有限元软件中对其进行1∶1精准建模,构建满足均化弹塑性的本构层冰模型。与本船的有限元模型进行数值模拟,研究碰撞过程的船首变形情况与结构吸能变化,随后对于不同工况进行结果对比分析,研究不同优化结构下船冰碰撞对船首部的影响。结果显示,优化后加了套板的船首受力与变形大小相较于原本船首减少许多,套板吸走了碰撞后的部分能量,使得碰撞区域产生的力小部分被套板承受,且使层冰破裂,使得后面船体部分与碎冰碰撞,船首受到的力变小,损伤与变形也就更小。研究发现套板厚度越厚、内部结构越多,其吸收的能量就越多,从而对于船首的保护就越好。