Green shipping management capability and firm performance in the container shipping industry

This study empirically identifies crucial green shipping management capability and examines its impact on firm performance using survey data collected from container shipping firms, including shipping companies and agencies. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis is performed to identify three critical green shipping management capability dimensions, namely, greener policy, greener ships, and greener suppliers. In this study, firm performance is categorized into environmental performance and financial performance. The results indicate that a greener policy has a direct and positive influence on both the greener ships and the greener suppliers factors. Greener ships and greener suppliers are found to have an indirect and positive influence on financial performance through environmental performance. Accordingly, this study suggests that container shipping managers could focus on organizational green shipping management capability, specifically regarding policies, ships, and suppliers, to improve their environmental and financial performance. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings for container shipping firms have been discussed.     

Environmental awareness and practice concerning maritime air emissions: the case of the Greek shipping industry

One of the most urgent environmental problems facing the shipping industry today is the reduction of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions from its operations and the possible cost-effective ways in which this reduction could be accomplished. Various technical and operational measures have been proposed as well as market-based instruments for the achievement of the compliance of marine industry with these measures. This paper investigates the levels of environmental awareness of the Greek shipping companies and their views and practices on the proposed policies for the reduction of GHG emissions from their ships. A survey was carried out using a questionnaire distributed to Greek shipping companies of different sizes, involved in different segments of the marine industry, so that the survey's results not only represent a large part of the Greek shipping industry but also reveal the different environmental attitudes and practices on maritime GHG emissions among the shipping companies. Given the size and the importance of the Greek shipping industry in the international maritime field, this paper's results present a special significance as they could be further analyzed and taken into account for the achievement of the compliance of marine industry with any future policy instrument for the reduction of maritime GHG emissions.     

护航中希海上“新丝路”

2010年10月2日,正在希腊访问的温家宝总理与希腊总理帕潘德里欧共同出席中国船级社(CCS)与希腊卡迪夫航运集团公司新造船入级检验服务协议签署仪式。期间,中国船级社总裁李科浚应邀参加了温家宝总理视察中希大型合作项目——比雷埃夫斯港集装箱码头的活动。10月22日,中国船级社地中海地区委员会2010年年会在北京召开。交通运输部部长李盛霖、副部长徐祖远分别出席相关活动,并亲切会见全体委员。短短20天时间里,我国政府总理、部长相继出席了中国船级社与希腊相关方的合作项目及活动。很显然,在进一步深化中希全面战略伙伴关系的背景下,中国船级社被寄予了更多期待。     

Ownership structure and operating performance: evidence from the European maritime industry

In this paper we examine the relation between ownership structure and operating performance for European maritime firms. Using a sample of 266 firm-year observations, during the period 2002–2004, we provide evidence that operating performance is positively related with foreign held shares and investment corporation held shares, indicating better investor protection from managerial opportunism. We also find no relation between operating performance and employee held shares, suggesting no relation between employee commitment and firms’ economic performance. Furthermore, we find no relation between operating performance and government held shares, indicating that government may not adequately protect shareholders’ interests from managerial opportunism. Finally, we do find a positive relation between operating performance and portfolio held shares for code law maritime firms but not for common law maritime firms. Results are robust after adjusting for various firm and country risk characteristics. Overall, our results on the importance of the ownership structure are new to this setting and add to a large body of evidence linking ownership characteristics to corporate performance.     

Ocean shipping deregulation restructures the liner shipping industry

Significant pro-competitive changes were made to the Shipping Act by the Ocean Shipping Reform Act (OSRA). The most notable of these was the shift away from public tariffs and publicly available contract rates to confidential rates using individually negotiated service contracts. The number of individual member service contracts has risen dramatically since OSRA went into effect in 1999. These statistics support the argument that OSRA was able to bring more competition to the industry. However, the theory and empirical evidence of the Act’s success in improving the performance of the liner industry serving the Transatlantic and Transpacific trade routes, which are two major trunk roads subject to the jurisdiction of the US, are not so compelling. This article employs the theory of joint product to assess the impact of OSRA on the shipping market structure and competition of two major east–west arteries after 1999. This article considers head haul and backhaul container shipments as joint products. Two simple statistical equations are derived to reinterpret Smith’s condition of joint product. The empirical results confirm that the market structure of Transatlantic and Transpacific trade lanes are competitive.     

The Nigerian shipping industry and indigenous shipping companies

The shipping industry in Nigeria since the early 1990s has been experiencing a continuous disastrous downturn. Nigerian shipping companies' participation in international shipping has continued to be very limited. Their presence and impact is hardly felt in the world's shipping industry. Both the national carriers (that is shipping companies with national carrier status) and other indigenous private shipping companies have vessel as well as management problems. These problems have led to the poor performance of the Nigerian shipping industry for over a decade now. The carriers in the industry are not attaining for the country the gains that are supposed to emanate from shipping. This paper points out the importance of shipping to a nation, identifies the problems the country's shipping companies are facing and proffers solutions that include merging of the companies to have strong financial standing and a competitive edge.     

2050 for the shipping industry

正On April 13,2018,London,United Kingdom,the 72nd Meeting of the IMO Maritime Environment Protection Committee(MEPC72)finally formed and adopted the first initial strategy in shipping industry history to reduce shipping CO_2 and greenhouse gas emissions.For the shipping industry emission reduction targets that are of particular concern to the industry,there are three main conclusions:First,to further implement and     

国际集装箱运输发展趋势及经营对策

1 我国市场迅速增长，成为全球举足轻重的集装箱货源生成地 自2001年我国正式加入WTO以来，随着全球产业分工、制造业转移，我国对外贸易快速发展。海关统计显示，2002--2007年我国对外贸易连续保持20％以上的高增长率，2007年我国外贸总额继续稳居全球第3位，其中出口跃居世界第2位。经贸强势推动我国班轮运输市场快速崛起，2007年全国主要港口集装箱吞吐量首次突破1亿TEU，达到1．12亿TEU，比上年增长22％，接近全球港口集装箱吞吐量的1／4（见图1）。     

德国海运业:政府有效支持

德国是当今世界主要海运国，也是我国船舶主要出口对象国之一。2002年中国船厂新承接的188艘、345.9万总吨出口船中，来自德国船东的达45艘、91.5万总吨,占总量的19.3％。而在同年新承接的29艘、268万总吨出口集装箱船中，出口德国的订单高达27艘26.2万总吨，占我国集装箱船出口量的98％，如按船舶出口额衡量我国出口船舶的五分之一是提供给德国船东的。剖析德国船舶市场状况，了解德国海运发展和大量订造新船的原因对于我国造船业界人士是非常必要的。     

中国经济拉动世界航运

当前,全球经济发展迟缓,各国政治龃龉不断,致使全球经济一体化进程减缓。而中国经济的持续升温,可谓一支强心剂,给世界经济和贸易注入了活力。据统计,2003年,中国进出口总额达到8512亿美元,跃居世界第四位。APL首席执行官RonWiddows更是一针见血地指出,航运业正逐渐认识到:中国已经成为主宰运输量增长的动力所在。     

从协同学看航运业的结构调整将世界航运市场重新"布局"

世界运输中心已经由西转移到东,航运业的结构调整将导致世界航运市场的重新布局.文章从协同学的两个最基本的观点"协同效应"和"自组织"原理出发 ,解释了这一现象发生的必然原因.     

Safety in Greek coastal shipping: The role and risk of human factor revisited

The comprehensive analysis presented in this paper investigates the links and comparative assets between human factor and other factors that are important determinants of maritime transport risk. In this outline, the identification of factors, such as age and ship size, that can be statistically linked (i.e. statistical significance) to whether an accident in a passenger vessel can be attributed to human factor or other causes is addressed accordingly. This way, the role of human factor in relation to safety of Greek coastal shipping is revealed and the spotlight is able to focus on the various aspects and points that manifest the importance of human element in the maritime industry. The risk assessment of the transportation with Greek passenger ships is being used in order for the safety level of Greek coastal shipping to be adequately estimated. Moreover, the comparison between the values of risk for accidents caused by human factor and those attributed to other causes is an established way to bring to the fore the unbroken relationship between the human factor and marine accidents’ consequences. The paper is concluded with interesting insights and comments drafted through the aforementioned tasks.     

Maritime liner shipping and the stevedoring industry: market structure and competition strategies

Globalization, liberalization, competition and spatial interaction are significant factors affecting the transformation of manufacturing industries worldwide. In the transportation and logistics industry, however, cooperation is becoming even more critical than competition in determining firms' efficiency. Cooperation has always characterized the liner sector in which strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions have generated twin effects: notable increases in ship size and falls in freight rates. Meanwhile, the stevedoring industry is undergoing privatization-driven consolidation and the emergence of global pure terminal operators. This article focuses on vertical integration between global carriers and terminal operators. We address the following key current issues:

• dedicated terminals as a strategy for cutting costs and controlling integrated transport chains;
• the struggle for supply chain control, involving global carriers versus global terminal operators, driven by financial power and technical and managerial capability.

We close analysing one of the core problems of the market, namely the evolving role of the dedicated terminals. For the pure stevedores they represent an opportunity to secure a cargo, while in the hands of the liners they enable cost stability and the possibility to put pressure on pure terminal operators.     

Strategic alliances in the container shipping industry: a global perspective

This paper examines developments in container shipping in light of the formation of strategic alliances by many of the leading companies. It focuses on three features: the transformation of services, the evolution of the fleet, and the adjustments made to the ports of call. These elements are analysed on a global basis for 3 years: 1989, 1994 and 1999. Some of the changes wrought by the alliances are identified, including the spread and intensification of services, and the deployment of the largest vessels on alliance routes. While the individual companies that have come together in alliances are serving many more ports than before, it is also demonstrated that the total number of ports served by the industry has remained constant. The results are interpreted in the context of globalization that is tending to impose greater standardization on the container shipping industry.     

Strategic alliances in the container shipping industry: a global perspective

This paper examines developments in container shipping in light of the formation of strategic alliances by many of the leading companies. It focuses on three features: the transformation of services, the evolution of the fleet, and the adjustments made to the ports of call. These elements are analysed on a global basis for 3 years: 1989, 1994 and 1999. Some of the changes wrought by the alliances are identified, including the spread and intensification of services, and the deployment of the largest vessels on alliance routes. While the individual companies that have come together in alliances are serving many more ports than before, it is also demonstrated that the total number of ports served by the industry has remained constant. The results are interpreted in the context of globalization that is tending to impose greater standardization on the container shipping industry.     

加快两岸交流与合作促进两岸航运业互利双赢

2005年4月26日,全世界目光都聚焦在时任国民党中央主席连战先生率领国民党大陆访问团开始的"和平之旅".此间,中共中央总书记胡锦涛和连战先生进行了会面.     

通向航运业可持续发展的明天

挪威船级社（DNV）日前在上海召开了有关CSR（企业社会责任）的研讨会，DNV工业部大中国区总经理徐帅军先生以“企业社会责任战略规划”为报告主题，在概要描述了如何干组织内部实施CSR后，向航运界介绍了公司如何才能通过企业社会责任报告来披露公司的可持续发展情况，并强调可持续性发展将构成未来航运业的核心驱动力量。     

Cultural diversity, manning strategies and management practices in Greek shipping

The present paper examines the way Greek shipping companies and Greek seafarers perceive culture, and how this affects their approach to crew management and operation of the ships. The analysis focuses on the manning strategies employed by the companies, on the operational problems that might occur on-board, and on any possible disturbance of the relation between the ship, the office at shore and third parties. Finally, a number of management practices which, when implemented, help to overcome these problems is also examined. The research methodology includes a review of the existing literature and interviews conducted by means of questionnaires filled in by crew managers and seafarers. Results show that some of the predominant problems encountered aboard, as far as communication with multicultural crews is concerned, are rooted in cultural and linguistic incompatibility, as well as in inadequate and inappropriate training. Furthermore, crew managers and seafarers lack both a clear perception of culture, and share opinions on the implementation of manning strategies. The present paper concludes that culture management can enhance crew team cohesion, upgrade communication at all levels, and, finally, improve the quality of the working environment, the safety of the workplace and the overall performance of the team.