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This empirical study explores the profound impact of management functions on the productivity of yard cargo handling equipment within container terminals.

By closely examining crucial management aspects such as planning, organizing, leading, and controlling, a comprehensive managerial behavior framework was developed through focus group studies (FGS) and focal interviews. These qualitative methods were complemented by the distribution of questionnaires to practitioners in Vietnam. To validate the concept of management functions and analyze their influence on effective management practices for equipment efficiency, a structural equation model (SEM) technique was employed using partial least-squares estimation (PLS).

The findings of this study demonstrate that planning (PL), organizing (OR), and controlling (CT) significantly contribute to the productivity of yard cargo handling equipment, while leading (LD) does not exhibit a direct positive impact.

Theoretically, this study contributes by providing clarity to the definition, purpose, and value of management functions in the field of cargo handling equipment management. Furthermore, these research findings offer valuable insights to terminal operators and managers, enabling them to optimize their management strategies and enhance productivity levels, ultimately resulting in improved operational outcomes.

Conventionally, shipping companies have invested in large ships to achieve economies of scale. More recently, high speed ships have been proposed as a means of achieving timely service for customers and improving shipping performance. Yet another solution offered here is to boost the cargo handling speed at port allowing for a higher number of annual round trips. Both the cost efficiency and timeliness of shipping service can be improved. The economic trade‐offs between the investments in cargo handling and ship propulsion technologies are formally analysed by taking the round trip frequency as the key to performance. The theoretical analyses as well as the practical cases studied indicate that investments in cargo handling technology, such as automation of container terminal operations and hatchless self‐loading ships, have indeed considerable profit‐making potential for shipping companies. Other technology investment opportunities appear less promising: ship propulsion due to energy consumption and environmental concerns; and larger ships due to low customer responsiveness and risks of low capital productivity.

Ports are a significant link in a global supply chain and an economic entity that contributes to the country's economy. India has around 200 ports along its coastline of about 8,000 Km, yet none of them perform at par with many Asian ports. In the Indian port system, cargo throughput and the turnaround time (TAT) of ships calling at ports constitute the most significant performance measures. These performance metrics do not integrate sustainability measures such as emission levels and energy consumed. The draft is a constraint in many ports and ships visit with less than full shipload cargo. The TAT for such vessels may be lower, but the emission per ton of cargo carried is higher compared to a ship with full shipload cargo. Many ports have old or poorly maintained equipment. This state of equipment increases pollution and consumption of energy. In this paper, an attempt has been made to address the issue of undesirable and right outputs simultaneously in an Indian port system. This paper proposes a framework to ensure zero defects in Indian port operations and a port-sustainability-index to measure sustainable services in Indian ports.

The authors used data envelopment analysis (DEA) to show that all private terminals did not perform efficiently and contradicted the notion of Indian policymakers that privatization will lead to an increase in performance levels. A literature review was carried out to identify the dimensions and factors that affect ports' performance. A case study of a major port in India and expert group discussion was done to ascertain the views of stakeholders on deficiencies in the system. The authors complemented this approach with sentiment analysis of opinions expressed by stakeholders over a while, using SentiStrength analysis software (Thelwell, 2010, 2012). The authors used the combined findings to develop the port-sustainability-index (PSI), identify the research question, and develop an ontology of the port system. The authors use the concepts of ontology-design-pattern (ODP) and logistics-service-map (Glöckner et al., 2014; Glöckner and Ludwig, 2016, 2017), opinion mining (Pang and Lee, 2008) and competency questions (Glöckner and Ludwig, 2017) to develop a port system map followed by the identification of critical elements; and the flows (physical and information flow) that gets disrupted due to defects in the system. The ontology led to the identification of competencies and capabilities a port needs to possess. Based on these identification process competency questions were drawn, and the authors identified the plausible defects that port may encounter. The authors suggested the sustainability metrics for monitoring port performance and policy changes based on the competency questions, defects, and mitigation plans.

The authors introduced four KPIs, namely, port-sustainability-index (PSI), load factor (l_x and l_y), draft ratio (d_r), and turnaround-time ratio (TATR). The authors suggested significant policy changes for Indian ports. These included –(1) Introduction of virtual arrival (VA) policy, reducing randomness in the system by pre-scheduling arrivals and activities. (2) Redefining economic life of equipment and machinery in terms of expenditure, income and desired levels of output. (3) Pricing port charges based on stakeholders’ ability and willingness to pay. The port needs to declare its productivity levels and frame their charges accordingly. (4) The ports need to frame an output-oriented privatization policy where it specifies the growth of the port. (5) Framing vessel pricing policy where a vessel may pay tax for the use of non-clean fuel or a get discount for bringing higher parcel load. (6) Levy lower port charges for the shipper for transporting cargo by rail and barges. (7) Introduce a differential pricing system where port levies lower charges for export cargo compared to import load.

The research work can be extended to develop a simulation model to carry out policy experimentations concerning the improvement of performance and carry out sustainable operations. Alternatively, researchers may develop a multi-criteria optimization model to determine the best course of action, keeping the objective function as minimization of PSI value.

This paper provides the means to the Indian ports to remain competitive, lower emission levels and energy consumption, and optimize emission per ton of cargo handled in the port.

Society significantly benefits from this study as it recommends ways to minimize pollution that has a significant impact on human lives. Besides, the measures suggested in the paper will lower the cost of exports and imports, enhancing the real income of consumers.

The area of sustainable port operations has previously been under-researched in the Indian context. Authors contribute to the sustainable port operation literature by suggesting a port-sustainability-index, a framework to assess the defects in port operation and development of a port-ontology for further research in the area of a port system.

Competition among seaports is rapidly increasing due to various factors such as the global recession, resurgence of COVID-19, tight environmental regulations of IMO, sharp rise in ocean freight charges, increasing global uncertainties and growth in ship sizes. It is essential to have precise knowledge of shipping companies' port selection factors to secure the competitive advantage of seaports. This study aims to empirically analyze recent changes in the importance of port selection factors.

By employing a longitudinal study, this study conducted the t-test analysis. The first survey was conducted from January 2005 to April 2005. Then, the second survey was conducted in May 2021.

First, the importance of port facilities (berth length and the number of berths, shed and terminal areas, possession of adequate equipment and maximum berth size) increased significantly. Second, while ship and cargo safety were the critical port service factors in previous studies, speed, flexibility and reliability for handling cargo and berthing schedule were found to be crucial in this study. Third, the importance of ship arrival/departure frequency, route diversity and ship arrival/departure information systems increased when shipping companies selected the port.

This study has academic significance in that it reveals the changing importance of port selection factors in the 2020s and has taken the form of a longitudinal study on the importance of port selection factors from 2005 to 2021, moving beyond the cross-sectional approach. This study can provide valuable insights into and implications for port policymakers and managers when developing and formulating port policies and strategies.

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Kolkata Port (KoPT) had achieved a turnaround from having made a loss of Rs 7.5 crores (cr) in the year 2000–01 to a net surplus of Rs 465.1 cr in the year 2006–07. A variety of initiatives had been taken during the intervening years with a focus on tariff rationalization, revenues from alternate sources, infrastructure development and productivity improvements. While these had yielded results, there was a fundamental issue of operational complexity and inability to compete due to the locational disadvantage. KoPT was a riverine port with two locations, 232 kms and 115 kms upstream on the Hooghly with draft limitations.

Two significant studies having implications for future strategies of KoPT had recently been submitted in March and November 2007. The top management of the port, including the Chairman who was responsible for driving many of the initiatives, was concerned that it may not be possible to achieve long term sustainable growth continuing with the strategies used so far. A well thought out future roadmap, breaking away from the present thinking, was essential sustained growth.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a risk assessment of port-centric threats that may have adverse effects on supply chain continuity from the perspectives of port operators and port users, thereby determining the significance of these threats to supply chain disruptions.

Drawing on literature review and reported cases, 19 port-centric disruptive events were identified. Subsequently, surveys were conducted to collect data from 102 port operators and 123 port users worldwide on the frequencies and consequences of the identified port-centric disruptive events. Risk matrices were then generated to compare the perspectives of port operators and port users.

The results show that threats related to the planning of port resources require the highest level of attention. This highlights important areas for port managers seeking to improve port resilience and supply chain continuity through a more prudent management of risks.

The results help port managers understand where they should establish strategic capability to increase port resilience and enhance sustainability to benefit port users. However, the study could be further enhanced by evaluating the threats based on different regions of ports and port users and making recommendations for port operators to undertake.

The findings of this paper are significant as they provide an analysis of data gathered from international port operators and port users. Risk matrices have been widely applied in many industries, yet no studies have been conducted to develop a portfolio of port-centric risks at a scale as large as this paper.

In Industry 4.0 era, many existing port logistics systems are inconsistent, old and ineffective and it restricts the effective operations of port logistics. The study aims to understand the issues faced by the players/actors of port logistics in the Industry 4.0 era for emerging economies and to develop a conceptual framework for managing the port logistics issues associated with it and by providing their possible solutions.

The study is divided into two parts, first part deals with identifying the major port logistics issues in Industry 4.0 era for emerging economies. It is achieved by conducting a semi-structured interview during the field visit to one of the major container handling ports in India. Second, the study adopts Soft System Methodology (SSM) to understand the issues and challenges faced by various actors of port logistics in the Industry 4.0 era and uses CATWOE analysis to identify the root causes.

Issues related to loading/unloading, transit, storage (warehouse), customs clearance, regulatory authorities, port management unit and inland transport connection providers are considered in the study and using SSM a final implementable model has been developed. This study focuses on analyzing and understanding the complete communication and organization structure of the port logistics system. The study identifies the major issues, various inefficiencies and root causes faced by various actors of port logistics during information sharing, cargo movement, the arrangement of the cargo shipments, etc. Further, the study develops a final implementable model by combining the delivery system, criteria system and Industry 4.0-enabled system.

The study enables concerned authorities like state government, central government and policymakers to have a profound understanding of the issues faced by the actors of the port logistics system. The study brings out valuable insights that help managers and stakeholders to make informed decisions for managing the port logistics issues and develop necessary policies aimed to deliver the cargoes in right place at right time. The current study also has some limitations because of sensitivity associated with concerned areas, due to its confidentiality, lack of availability of complete data and the nonsharing attitude of respondents. Further, the study was conducted only for private container shipping terminals and public container terminals were not included.

This research analyzes the port logistics sector as a whole system through SSM to identify issues and challenges faced by various actors of port logistics for emerging economies in the Industry 4.0 era. The study develops a comprehensive and integrated framework for reducing the unpredictability of costs and time for key processes. Further, the framework creates a transparent platform and helps in bringing standardization to ports.