https://thesis.eur.nl/col/4349/ List of Publications en https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/33303/ Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT <div>Pena Hormaza, E. (Enrique)</div> Port congestion is a heavy burden international trade has to deal with. Delays and loss of time add unnecessary costs and inefficiencies to the supply chain. As a consequence such detrimental conditions, act as a trade barrier for the countries or regions involved. Such condition is more critical in developing countries where constraints budget and operational capacity is limited, depending further the problematic. Research on congestion, specifically on queue formations, allows researchers to understand better each specific scenario and to formulate solutions for the improvement of congested locations. The specific case of Colombia in South America is not an exception to the abovementioned situation. High trade volumes have been handled in this country over the last decade, increasing the traffic of vessels in and out of the ports. The particular cases of the three most important ports on the Colombian Caribbean coast Santa Marta, Barranquilla and Cartagena, are not an exception to the traffic condition. In some of the cases, high congestion scenarios occur, resulting on vessels queuing awaiting to be served by the ports. Time loss resulting from the queueing scenarios undermines the country’s capacity to become more competitive and efficient. This condition must be changed in order to improve its trade comparative advantage with respect to its neighbors. This research is focused on the analysis specific to congestion and queuing patterns at the abovementioned ports, specifically on the discharge of agricultural grain product bulk carriers. Such vessels are handled under specific operational conditions and berthing patterns at those ports, creating a unique scheme which is worth analyzing. The research is based on a model simulating different scenarios for each port, based on real cargo volume and vessel arrival data for the year 2008. The simulations allow understanding the operational constraints each port has at berth. Furthermore, an M/M/2 queuing model is used to test the scenarios in order to identify any problematic and reinforce the findings obtained from the operational analysis results. The study demonstrates that congestion is in fact a problem at some of the ports and that the most critical conditions occur when peaks in cargo volume are present. Such seasonal peaks in volume cannot be handled appropriately by some of the terminals, deepening the congestion situation further by increasing queue lengths and queuing times. On a final stage, a short term solution designed to reduce the impact of queues on ports and vessels is presented and tested. The solution in mention is based on the usage of barge convoys which are sent and positioned alongside the vessels queueing. Such maneuver is to be used to discharge partial lots of cargo on a ship-to-barge operation. By applying such alternative, queueing vessels are allowed to reduce time at port; therefore improving the flow of vessels in and out of the ports and reducing vessel delay times at port. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/33292/ Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT <div>Leenders, T. (Tijl)</div> The lack of foresight and reactivity by even the largest global companies at the first signs of the 2007-2009 financial crisis underlines the fact that corporate intelligence capabilities are still far from adequate. Intelligence, to be distinguished from industrial espionage, serves the dual purpose of sounding the alarm when a company‟s strategy is off course - as well as continually providing all important decision makers with the right information on the business environment to profitably execute company strategy. This research serves to fill a theoretical and practical gap in intelligence literature. The current state of scientific research on intelligence is incoherent, conflicting, too broad in scope, and inconsistent in terms of measurement and output value. It critically lacks reliability and validity and is not considered to be in line with what intelligence managers actually do. By taking a novel research approach, independent from prior literature and past empirical observations, this research uses the grounded theory approach to create a theoretically sound model of the intelligence process within Royal Vopak. The model, based upon the „best-practice‟ case at Royal Vopak, is substantially different from what has been generally accepted for over sixty years by scholars and practitioners alike. Firmly grounded in the data collected, the new model improves upon the „classical‟ or traditional model of intelligence in multiple ways. It is plausible that this model is equally suitable to interpret and guide 'world-class' intelligence capabilities within other organizational settings. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/33289/ Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT <div>Flanegin, G. (Gunther)</div> There are many expenses involved with the operation of a vessel including manning, fueling, and insurance and maintenance costs. In order to have a profitable ship operation the revenue generated should exceed these expenses. In recent years all of these expenses have increased mainly due to the high oil prices. However, the cost projections for a specialized vessel such as a semi-submersible crane vessel (SSCV) are not similar to other conventional vessels. This thesis concerned the economical operation of a SSCV based on the technical state of the vessel. The current project at Heerema Marine Contractors entailed the development of a model that predicts when the vessel, from a technical stand point, no longer can generate the Economic Value Added (EVA) target desired by the company. With this tool the management can make strategic and operational decisions in the short and long term. Moreover, valuable information can be obtained to help managers make decision on maintenance, life time extensions programs, impact on investments of the economic an technical state of the vessels, and most importantly the optimum Cessation of Operation (COO). To develop this model a Life Cycle Cost (LCC) method was performed from the economic stand point of the vessel. First data was collected and graphed over a period of time in order to establish the variables and parameters for the model. The technical model was made by a combination of Life Cycle Engineering and safety assessment of the vessel. The LCC analysis was then forecasted over a period of time and used to make an operating profit model. The technical stand of the vessel should be in accordance with the classification society and HMC own standards. The classification societies have a specific standard that the vessel should meet in order to stay sea worthy. However, HMC wants its vessels to stay above this limit. As soon as the vessels technical state declined the company invests in replacements. Adding the operational expenses to the capital expenses over a period of time and keeping the specific technical state constant the economical performance of the vessel was obtained. The operating profit model was made very simple in order to support future expansion. The operating profit model illustrates how the profits decrease when the repair and maintenance (R&M) expenses increase for a fixed revenue. The core model can support future expansion such as the amount of days worked, which makes the revenue generated per vessel dynamic over time; therefore, a better prediction of the EVA target can be obtained. The same model can also support the fixed and variable costs, which are correlated with the amount of days worked. At last the operating profit model can be further modified to find the EVA target over time. The application of LCC to the offshore industry is relatively new resulting in various challenges giving rise to new ideas. The first challenge was to filter all the cost data available that leads to the maintenance of the vessel. The data collected should reflect the condition of the vessel. The major challenge was to link the economic model with the technical model in a logical and understandable manner. By linking the model to each other a better prediction of the earning capacity of the vessel was obtained. These challenges have inspired new ideas. Ideas such as a LCC database which keeps all the cost data associated with maintenance of a vessel according to the specification of the classification society separately. Furthermore, the technical model should be updated whenever repairs and replacements occur on the vessel in order to predict the exact condition of the vessel more accurately. HMC can use these data to control all the costs related with the vessel till its cessation of operation. The thesis research produced numerous conclusions and recommendations. For instance, it was found that the amount of working days correlated with the operational cost of maintenance. This finding is very logical considering the more the vessel works the more it deteriorates. From 2006 till 2008 the vessel Hermod had 1000 days in operation, during this period the repair and maintenance cost where sufficiently high to link the amount of days work to the expenses. The cost drivers associated with the vessel were also identified and for all the three vessels the engine room, the hull and the cranes were the major cost drivers. Furthermore, the cost patterns were deduced and the forecast was executed based on this observation. In the end, the model is able to give an indication of the operational profit of the vessel over an extended period of time. The EVA target for HMC can also be calculated using this model. The preliminary results indicate that only the Balder will have a good economical performance towards the end of its COO which is approximately in 2021. The model indicates that before the Hermod is put out of commission in 2016 it will be loosing money on maintenance and repairs. The Thialf will also perform economically poor before its COO in 2031. The main reason for the vessel Hermod to perform poorly around the operation year 2014 is that the repair and maintenance expenses increase in order to maintain the vessel above the required technical conditions appointed by HMC. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/33302/ Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT <div>Muntzing, R.W. (Rickard)</div> This thesis seeks to explain the mutual form of the P&I club system as opposed to a one based on commercial underwriting, using an institutional perspective. Two very basic theoretical notions supply the basic structure, adverse selection in the ex ante phase of the transaction, and moral hazard, ex post. In overcoming the problem of asymmetric information ex ante, no particular advantages can be discerned in a mutual system. On the contrary, it requires more information to be exchanged due to the dual roles of the member, as insured and insurer. However, the present system has capacities and practices of spreading information informally. Significant levels of aggregate uncertainty at the systemic level favour a mutual type of governance. This is particularly true for legal changes in the right to limit maritime liabilities. The presence of counterparty risk, which could develop into an aggregate shock to the insurance system, is another cause of mutuality, while lack of underwriting data is dismissed as motivation thereof. Turning to the ex post section, it is asserted that the mutual form is crucial as it provides legitimacy for loss prevention schemes, but it also brings with it a risk of overexploitation of a common resource, a tragedy of the commons. P&I clubs have the institutional form necessary to shoulder functions of self regulation, bringing advantages in terms of influence. In tackling the problem of weak underwriting discipline inherent in long tail liability insurance, mutuality is found to be a disadvantage, but the mutual system may also have a unique institutional capacity to remedy this problem. Furthermore, the mutual form can legitimize the presence of liability insurance from a societal perspective, and is consistent with the polluter-pays principle. Three agency theoretical hypotheses concerning mutuality are discussed, of which the risk sharing hypothesis has the highest degree of explanatory value, as it makes a correct prediction, and presents a plausible, but not universally prevailing, reason for the dominance of the mutual form. The managerial discretion hypothesis makes a prediction contrary to the actual market structure in P&I, but has the nice feature of shedding some light on the organisational set up of clubs. A limited degree of market segmentation is consistent with the maturity hypothesis. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/33344/ Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT <div>Xu, J. (Jian)</div> This thesis mainly focuses on the trend of consolidation in container terminal industry. Consolidation activities in container terminal industry have gathered pace during recent years. This thesis will first give a general introduction and analysis on the characteristics of the container terminal industry and then review the recent consolidation history in this field. The following chapters will illustrate reasons and impacts of the trend of consolidation, and then analyze the container terminal market and the whole maritime chain. Linear regression will be raised in order to underlie the internal factors behind the consolidation. After that several organizational options for consolidation will be shown, as well as a case study on DP world acquiring P&O Ports, which will help us to see how this activity occur in practice. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/33345/ Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT <div>Yun, H.S. (Hyeong)</div> As the dramatic market changes in the liner shipping business have continued, triggered by the increasing power of shippers, an unexpected world economic downturn, trade imbalance and the trend of trade multipolarization in the world, many liner companies have worried whether they would be able to survive in the current market or not. In this situation, many liner companies that are already participating in liner alliances, as well as those which were considering joining already existing alliances or organizing new alliances, have been confronted with new challenges. Generally, when liner companies are conducting strategic alliance, what is first required is the formulation of a clear process of alliance objective. Next there is the evaluation of partners, negotiation, and the selection process. However, in the liner shipping business, due to its own characteristics, there are also additional requirements that are indeed different from other business sectors. In this paper, I will begin by reviewing the previous literature and studies related to the liner shipping business and liner alliances. Next, I will focus on the historical changes in the liner business and the recent trends of massive and powerful collaborations and liner alliances. In this study, I propose 10 factors which can help in determining whether liners should participate under particular circumstances. I have used the survey method and by looking closely at the responses, the research hypotheses are verified. The aim of the thesis is to explore the implications of changes in liner alliance as well as to determine the main prospective trends of liner alliance in the future. Finally, I would like to present some concluding insights for the decision makers at liner companies to help them in determining their own strategies for the future liner shipping market. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/33280/ Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT <div>Demirel, B. (Baris)</div> The main objective of this paper is to investigate the possible impact of private sector involvement in container terminal operations on port (terminal) efficiency in Turkey in a regional perspective. The analysis of efficiency of the container terminals has included the most important container terminals in Turkey and in the Eastern Mediterranean region. The efficiency evaluations have been performed applying a non-parametric approach called Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), and the impact of the private sector involvement in container terminals has been assessed applying a Tobit regression model, with the inputs of DEA scores as independent variable, and some other possible factors which may influence the efficiency in port sector. Apart from private sector involvement, scale (throughput), hub or gateway function, nautical distance from trunk route, and efficiency and effectiveness of customs and other border procedures at country level have been set as the possible factors influencing the technical efficiency scores in the Tobit regression model. It has been found that the private sector involvement in container terminals is one of the statistically significant factors together with scale (throughput), so there is sufficient evidence at least not to reject the hypotheses that private sector involvement in the operation of container terminals and scale effect are associated with higher efficiency. It has also been found that private terminals in Turkey are almost 22 and 17 percent more efficient on average than public container terminals under CCR and BCC models, respectively. The hub status of the terminals, the nautical distance from East West route, and the efficiency and effectiveness of customs and other border procedures have been found statistically insignificant. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/33287/ Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT <div>Fisher, C.C. (Christopher)</div> This study addresses the question, are there leading indicators in the determination of successful Greenfield Seaport investment in Developing Nations? The findings show that there are several factors which would appear indicative of successful investment or at a minimum the creation of a climate which makes it attractive for investment in the Greenfield port sector. Among the most significant findings of this study include the determination that the most significant impact on the viability of Greenfield seaport investment is the particular host nations’ ability to facilitate business as gauged by the Ease of Doing Business rank and the Access to natural resources the country has at it’s disposal. Beyond that, the general ability of a nation to effectively tender Greenfield port projects dramatically increases the likelihood of success Greenfield investment. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/33293/ Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT <div>Mandebvu, T.P. (Tsungirirai)</div> The current recession has adversely affected every operator within the transportation value chain. However, in times of crisis there lie opportunities which carriers can restrategize and reposition themselves better within the industry. This thesis attempts to explore how carriers can utilize their distinctive competencies, to give them a competitive advantage over competitors within the transportation value chain. For the purpose of this thesis, the following are all strategic tools at the disposal of a liner shipping company: the resource based views, leverage theory, cross-subsidization, bundling, tying, vertical integration and global network economies. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/33296/ Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT <div>Mintilogliti, M. N. (Maria-Nefeli)</div> Every year, we observe extreme weather phenomena and changes in our climate. The wasteful use of energy and resources and the increasing transportation of products around the world affect the environment and in order to minimize the harm, further action must be taken. The European Commission, working towards the protection of the environment, has published several strategies examining the factors responsible for this situation and providing several solutions. In the thesis, these strategies are analyzed. The strategies concern mainly the air pollution and the protection of the environment but examine also the sustainable use of the marine environment, the protection of the fauna and flora and the importance of safety in the European seas. One of these papers, which pays special attention to the marine environment, is the Integrated Maritime Policy or else called, the Blue Paper. The paper recognizes the importance of using the seas and the oceans in a sustainable manner and promotes the cooperation between the European Countries. In the dissertation, the effects of the Integrated Maritime Policy to the Port of Rotterdam are examined. In the thesis, a brief history, important figures of the Port of Rotterdam and information on the Maasvlakte 2 project are provided at first. Additionally, the efforts of the Port Authority to create a port that is not only successful but also accessible and sustainable are analyzed. The current situation in the European Union and the Netherlands, as far as the air pollution is concerned, is examined and measures and actions taken by the European Countries in order to achieve a decrease in the emissions of greenhouse gases are also provided. Moreover, measures taken by the City of Rotterdam and the Port Authority to decrease the air pollution are examined. In the last part of the thesis, the effects of the Integrated Maritime Policy to the Port of Rotterdam are analyzed. These effects are mainly projects, in a testing phase or projects already used in other ports, which can lead to a decrease of the greenhouse gases’ emissions and can be useful tools to the Port Authority to handle effectively the increasing amount of cargo paying also attention to the environment. The conclusion of the thesis is that the Policy has overall a positive effect to the Port of Rotterdam. On the other hand, there are still difficulties which must be considered and problems to be resolved. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/33304/ Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT <div>Plousios, A. (Asteris)</div> One of the biggest issues in every industry, either in production or in service providing as terminals are, is the optimization of the maintenance policy. The share of maintenance costs in the total costs of every industry is very big and minimizing them has been a research objective since the beginning of mechanization in production. As the equipment got more complex and expensive, the need for effective maintenance appeared, and this can be shown in the three different stages in the evolution of maintenance concepts. The most modern concepts optimize age replacement times by taking into account several different failure distributions of equipment. Moreover, modern maintenance concepts like RCM and TPM have appeared and emphasize in the qualitative improvement. The innovation they propose is the involvement of all the levels and departments of a company and as they showed their effectiveness they are being adopted by an increasing number of companies nowadays. Furthermore, an important part of having effective maintenance is the synchronization of maintenance needs with the spare parts inventory. The inventory costs, another big cost center in many industries, compromise in a big part from holding costs for spare parts inventory. The optimal spares inventory management can relief a company from over-stocking and also minimize downtime due to shortage of a specific part. It is apparent thus, that cooperation with the maintenance department is of utmost importance in order for both departments to benefit. This thesis addresses the above issues in the terminal industry, where little research on maintenance has been made and tries to connect optimal maintenance policies with the spare parts inventory management. The real-life application on Europe’s largest container terminal, ECT in Rotterdam, gives important results on the importance of data input, organization and company mentality in the overall effectiveness of the proposed methods. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/33339/ Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT <div>Pollalis, A.P. (Apostolos)</div> The last decades, Third Party Ship Management Companies have started to play an important role in the shipping industry. Specially, right after the economic downturn and the decline of the freight rates, ship owners are trying to reduce their costs and run their vessels more efficiently. As a result more and more ship owners turn to the solution of a Third Party Ship Management Company running their vessels. However, the relationship between the ship manager and the ship owner is not always ideal. Disputes between them may arise, regarding claims from third parties, standards and the quality of the vessel, bad performance of the vessel, delayed payments, etc. The aim of this thesis is to define the duties and obligations of each of the two parties involved, what are the risks that are undertaken and how can they be covered reducing the risk of future disputes or claims. In order to come up with some useful outcomes, the contracts that are used by the parties for ship management agreements are investigated, additional to previous cases of disputes that have ended up in the courts of law. At the end of the research, an effort for meaningful suggestions and proposals regarding the legal relationship that should be bonding the parties involved in a ship management agreement is made. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/33343/ Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT <div>Beek, D.J. (Daniel) van der</div> In this thesis, I have made a study on hinterland connections. The emphasis is on the barging problem in the port of Rotterdam. Barging is one of the transportation modalities that is gaining share, and is expected to gain more due to its competitive advantage over the other modes and the fact that it is the preferred mode of the authorities in the Netherlands because of its environmentally clean characteristics and the fact that it does not clog up the transport infrastructure on roads and railways. Within the port however, there is quite some congestion due to barging. The reasons for this lie in the fact that the developments in barging over the Rhine are rooted in the history and the upcoming of the container trade by barge. Historically the way barging is organised does makes sense with respect to optimisation of freight consolidation in the hinterland, but in the port because of the grown volumes the situation is far from optimal. This congestion is harmful for all actors in the transportation chain, as extra costs are incurred as a result of the delays, and affects the overall competitive position of the port of Rotterdam. I have looked into different configurations that could solve the congestion in the port without affecting the hinterland haulage. Hereto six different models of barging have been proposed and analysed. The main difficulty encountered in the modelling consists of the trade off between extra costs involved and the gain of efficiency. This proves that the ideal solution is probably nowhere to be found. Although the modelling sounds quite straight forward on paper, I have found that the difference between theoretical and practical solutions can be large. A better solution will make all parties better off eventually, but it remains to be seen who will be willing to invest, and to be the first to change the current calling patterns. The implementation of the theoretical models can therefore not be used without further studies, but the urgency on the ground, if the container transport will pick up again might push the actors involved towards the adoption of a quick solution. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/33341/ Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT <div>Tousypanah, H. (Honey)</div> Shipping is an industry contributing to almost 90 per cent of the volume of world merchandise transportation trade. Globalization has been a major driver towards the immense growth of world trade followed by increasing integration of maritime transport in the world economy being the most reliable and economical transport mode. By continuous expansion of world seaborne trade it becomes more significant to improve the trend by increasing service coverage, productivity of ships and optimizing the port throughput, etc. Connecting to global shipping networks is the key for countries’ participation in globalized trade. Although it looks straightforward, the real connections are a complex network and optimizing this network to ensure best possible connections would mean great economies of scale and vast growth for the shipping industry in particular and the world trade as well as the world economy in general. An economic crisis is a long term economic state characterized by unemployment and low levels of trade and investment. The current global economic crisis which started from the United States was originally considered as a concern only for the US with minor short run impacts on countries with advanced economies. However by persisting and broadening the pressure it touched almost all countries, both developed and developing ones. The recent economic crisis caused great credit crunches and as a result high instability in prices followed by a harsh decline in demand. Loss of consumers’ confidence led to a dramatic slump of consumption, production and investment. The shipping industry being the main and cheapest mode of transport for world merchandise trade was not immune from this brunt and experienced a severe hit in an unexpected short period. Blend of cyclical nature of markets in shipping, rapid consequences of economic downturn and dynamics of oil prices caused notable imbalance in trade volume and fleet capacity and severe decline in freight rates. The aim of current research is to study economic impacts of liner shipping connectivity, as a significant element of port or country connectivity, and then to examine how the current economic crisis influences shipping in general and the liner shipping sector in particular. Further it will discuss how this affects countries’ incorporation into the liner shipping network and countries maritime connectivity in long run. For this research and analysis the author used the data on liner shipping connectivity for 162 countries from 2004 to 2009 from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) which is derived from Containerization International. The trend of growth for liner shipping connectivity for countries from 2004 is also highlighted when the data is available. The possible impacts of the economic slowdown on the contribution of liner shipping connectivity to economy as well as possible options for liner companies to cope with the current economic downturn have also been discussed. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/33274/ Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT <div>Buchi, D.V.K. (Daria)</div> Piracy poses multidimensional threats not only to the shipping industry but also to seaborne trade and human lives. Indonesia and the Strait of Malacca in Southeast Asia, a region in which most pirate attacks have been reported to have taken place in the last ten years, is considered to the first hotspot of modern maritime piracy. Recently, a new hotspot of piracy has emerged: the waters off Somalia and the Gulf of Aden. This thesis reveals that although piracy off the coast of Somalia differs distinctly in occurrence and characteristics from the attacks now taking place in Indonesia, a comparison of the factors and their respective indicators that seem to have enhanced piracy‘s prevalence in both regions shows that they match largely. This result validates the heuristic framework developed in this thesis; a tool to determine potential future piracy hotspots. In using that tool, the framework was applied to Nigeria to establish whether this area is prone to further developments of modern maritime piracy. Nigeria is already subject to piracy attacks, but the number of attacks in its waters so far is well below Somalia’s. Nevertheless, the analysis clearly reveals that although Nigeria is not yet considered a piracy hotspot, it is on the verge of becoming one; especially if more of the framework‘s factors and indicators are fulfilled. Following relationship table between thesis objectives and thesis structure guides the reader and indicates which sections are of particular importance for the research questions and which sections rather provide additional background information. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/33278/ Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT <div>Choi, B.C. (Byung Chull)</div> Globalization has been accelerating since the 1990s. Increased globalization has forced many companies in the supply chain industry to start to conduct business with distribution centres that are located near their business area in order to shorten the distance between manufacturers and customers, as well as to shorten lead-times and maintain tighter delivery windows. Thus, many companies have outsourced their logistics functions over the past 10 years, especially logistics function through a public distribution centre. Conducting business with a public distribution centre begins with signing a contract with the third party logistics providers. Thus, well defined processes and tools to determine optimal storage space have become indispensable techniques for their successful business. This thesis looks closely at how to decide the optimal contract storage space (ft²) for a firm in a public distribution centre while minimizing the total cost. The objective of this research is to provide the practitioners in the supply chain industry with a decision tool for determining optimal contract storage space. In this research, we develop a formula and two mathematical models. The formula is used to compute the required storage space as basic demand information. The mathematical models are used to determine the optimal contract storage space with and without based on some of the candidate scenarios provided. In order to solve the mathematical models, solution methodologies are suggested. One suggestion is to simplify the model with new constant and the second suggestion is to linearize the model. Thus the model can be solved easily by Excel Solver. Finally, we have derived a number of conclusions from the numerical examples; the first, solution time by the Excel Solver program is quite fast by virtue of the linear programming model. In 1 second, the optimal solution is found. The second, optimal solution is determined when total cost is minimized. Total cost is the sum of the cost using the public distribution centres and overflow warehouse. The third, suggested optimal solution is not to use the overflow warehouse unless demand severely fluctuates. The fourth, shorter contract period is better than a longer one as far as the contract logistics market allows. It suggests that the model in the monthly contract period is a more optimal solution, than a solution on a yearly contract basis. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/33282/ Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT <div>Ellero, A.S. (Antonio)</div> The purpose of this thesis is to verify the feasibility of using tank container barge services for the European hinterland transport of orange juice, to reduce transport costs and to promote the opportunity to divert tanker truck traffic from the congested Port of Rotterdam area to waterborne travel as an alternative transport modal. The world orange juice trade market, industry structure, value and transport chain are discussed in order to help the understanding of this world industry, its products and quality specification which will determine the transport quality requirements and care of the product. The study investigated existing container barge services in established fairways along the river Rhine and the Mittellandkanal to supply customers in Germany, along the river Rhine to supply customers in France and along the Dutch province of Zeeland waterways‟ to supply customers in Belgium through information obtained from barge operators. The existing logistic infrastructure for inland waterway transport taking into consideration the studied corridors were also analyzed in order to determine their appropriateness to handle this new tank container service. The findings of the investigation conducted indicate that the tank container barge service is economically feasible; therefore, for some destinations, barging tank containers would allow avoiding the road tanker truck transport along the congested area of the Port of Rotterdam. Operation and capital costs were analyzed. The operating cost would vary according to the final destination and may result on transport cost reduction around 50% if compared to road transport mode. Capital cost, around € 11,000,000 is the bottleneck of the inland transport mode operation analyzed in the case study and it is represented by the acquisition of reefer tank containers to be deployed for the barge services to orange juice processing companies located in the Fruitport. The actual capital and operating costs would be determinate through a further detailed operations plan for the new service. A detailed operating plan should be developed to implement a start-up tank container service between the Port of Rotterdam‟s Fruitport and the orange juice packer located in Sarre Union, France. The tank container barge service would replace 18,500 tanker trucks per year from the congested area of the Port of Rotterdam with a decrease in 1.0 ton of CO2 emission per ton-mile per year only taking into consideration the orange juice transshipments done by the major companies located in Rotterdam's Fruitport. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/33285/ Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT <div>Festen-Purohit, K. (Kajal)</div> Natural gas is proven to be an environmentally friendly source for energy production compared to coal and oil. This has been one of the driving forces in increasing the gas demand. Europe is heavily dependent on Russia for the gas supplies to meet the ever increasing energy demand. However, the recent political situation is forcing EU members to look for alternative sources of gas supplies sighting the increase in the gas demand. As a result of the increased demand many regasification terminals are now under construction or are in the planning stage. Due to various reasons transporting gas over longer distances via pipeline is not feasible. Hence the gas is first liquefied and then shipped by special LNG vessels to various destinations. Traditionally LNG is exported by means of larger vessels (145,000m3+) carrying LNG from the exporting port to the importing port. These importing ports are typically situated at locations where the local pipelines can be easily accessed and thus the gas can be pumped into the pipeline grid as required after regasification. However, in regions where pipelines cannot be laid due to various reasons, such a transportation system is not suitable. In such cases the gas has not been used as a main energy source. In case the pipelines are already available for gas transport but the draft at the port is low, bringing in such a large LNG vessel is almost impossible. This raises a need to find a solution to bring the gas in smaller vessels to meet the draft and volume requirements. Typically these import terminals are for larger volumes and the jetty is equipped to handle the largest possible ship that can call this port. Similar to the container shipping where the new terminals are built to handle Emma Maersk type vessels, a vessel that can carry around 15,000 containers onboard. The economies of scale in this industry is clear as these large vessels carry containers to a port that can handle such large volumes and then reload the containers onto smaller carriers. This is called the Hub-and-Spoke principle. The main objective of this paper was to assess the feasibility of applying the Hub-and-Spoke principle to four European ports that have potential to import LNG in larger volumes and ship it further on in smaller vessels to various parts of Scandinavia. The paper concludes that it is feasible to apply the Hub-and-Spoke principle in LNG shipping, provided that the economies of scale can be achieved at the hub ports. In particular, for terminals like Gate terminal and Zeebrugge, where additional throughput can be achieved through the tanks with only limited incremental cost, the Hub-and-Spoke concept could present an attractive additional revenue stream. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/33291/ Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT <div>Kefalas, A. (Anastasios)</div> Five years after the liberalization of maritime transport in the majority of the Greek domestic routes (removal of cabotage) and the abolition of the age limit applying to vessels, the Greek ferry transport system is characterized by several major problems. These problems do not concern only important issues that deal with the functioning of the state and its interventions, such as port infrastructure problems, institutional issues, structure of the network design, but also issues concerning the offering services by the shipping companies such as malfunctions of the fleet, unjustified high tariffs and fares and non service of certain isolated routes and islands. The Thesis examines these problems by presenting the Aegean ferry system and the Adriatic ferry system. The difference between these two systems will emphasize the necessity for individual approach of these two cases. Also we will examine the implementation of an Essential Terms Agreement through a case study in a very popular Greek route of the Aegean Sea. The main target of this case study will be to identify the needs of the islandic areas and to defend the main research issue that an individual technical consideration is required for developing transportation Service Level Agreement. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/33266/ Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:00:01 GMT <div>Parra Jimenez, M.F. (Maria)</div> The main objective of this thesis was to find the root causes of accidents that have resulted in damages. In order to find the root causes, the Root Cause Analysis methodology was applied on the information supplied by the business unit of SMIT Transport & Heavy Lift Europe. When applying the RCA, it was realized that the quality of the data available did not permit the full application of the RCA, since the result was either a repetition of several types of generic causes or a wide variety of types of causes, making the correlation of causes to the incidents a difficult challenge. As such it was decided by mutual consent with SMIT to search for the direct cause and to apply a more practical classification in the form of operation, administrative, technical, external or environmental factor. As a result it was brought to the attention that roughly fifty percent of the events are directly caused by operational factor. Apart from finding the direct causes, this thesis researched the monetary effects that the damages had on the business unit under investigation. This effect was measured by using the available Hull & Machinery insurance information and analyzing the proportion of damages that could be legally claimable and the quantity of events that were actually claimed. The result is that during the period of time been analyzed, only 3% of all the damages were claimed from the insurance company, and the remaining 97% of the damages had a value lower than the standard premium. Finally by using the rest of the information available, it was possible to confirm that damages are not influenced by only one variable, but instead, they are triggered by many external and internal variables making it an unexpected event. Also in this particular case, the market of the business unit studied is driven by many other markets like dredging, wind energy technology and infrastructure, all of which can rely either on government funding or on private investment, making it difficult to correlate the amount of damages suffered with the business cycle. Thus, the occupancy rate of the vessels, defined by SMIT as the amount of days per period of time that the vessel is productive, could give more insight on whether the amount of damages are related to the business cycle. Besides the above, some assumptions could be made by analyzing the database. Between others, it was noted that the amount of damages reported can be influenced by the following variables: i) seasons, ii) dry-dock period that allow to discover damages and thus large numbers of events are reported in a short period of time, and iii) that the crew mentality plays an important role on the number of incidents that are actually reported.