Search results

The purpose of this paper is to fit a logit model for dry bulkers transporting grains through the Panama Canal versus alternative routes destined to East Asia, originating on the US Gulf and East Coast. This is with the purpose of better understanding the attributes.

In this paper, grain transits both through the Panama Canal and alternative routes, which are examined, and a logit model is developed to explain the route decision from a carrier/vessel operator point of view.

Transit draft is the most important attribute in the route decision process for grains according to this study. Also, Panamax bulkers are the preferred vessel size into China, especially through the Cape of Good Hope route, impacting Panama Canal’s market share for grains.

This research used only a full year of grain traffic data approximating fiscal year 2018 (October 1, 2017 to September 30, 2018). Data will come mostly from the Panama Canal transit data and observations using IHS’s Market Intelligence Network (MINT).

This paper is highly dependent on visual observations of grains vessels through alternative routes using AIS data from MINT software.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the headlined eco-bulkers ordered in 2012 and 2013 are posing a threat to the less-efficient ships ordered at the end of the boom in 2008 and 2009.

This paper will first investigate the drivers for the interest in such low-emission, low-speed bulker as well as the more general history of bulker designs. This is followed by a study on the vessels delivered between 2005 and 2014, based on eight parameters representing fuel efficiency, speed and hydromechanics properties. Within these results, evidence is sought for a significant change in the qualities of the vessels delivered after the last boom.

The data showed that at least till present, no significant changes could be discovered between 2014 and the earlier years. This indicates that either because of the long delivery times at the end of the boom, such vessels are still to be delivered, or that they were not ordered in an amount large enough to change the trend. For the future, this fact and the changes in vessel design resulting from the introduction of the energy efficiency design index (EEDI) in 2017 and the large fluctuations in the fuel prices will be interesting to keep monitoring the developments in the eight studied parameters.

This paper extends (in time) and improves (number of variables studied) a number of earlier studies on average qualities of the world fleet. It studies both the composition and the changes in average properties of the ships produced each year. It allowed the author to discover and explain the trends that would not have been evident when studying ships as single units or as the result of a business opportunity optimisation. Most important of which is the fact that, on average, ships produced are optimised for the current economic conditions and are not taken into consideration for future trends and scenarios.

In the shipping industry, both sales and purchases of second-hand ships and freight transport services are prevalently tailormade and traded with intense bilateral negotiations. Price bargaining is the key step of this negotiation process and plays a crucial role in determining mutually agreed prices. Despite its cruciality and applicability, the price bargaining has yet received due conceptual and/or theoretical attention in the shipping literature. This paper attempts to conceptually examine the role of bargaining in shipping transaction prices and subsequently puts forward directions for future research. In doing so, the paper focuses on two types of transactions taking place in shipping markets: asset market trading of second-hand vessels and service market trading shipping freights.

The paper begins with a systematic literature review of price bargaining in the field of economics and management disciplines from a game-theoretic perspective. This approach does logically lead to the establishment of a conceptual framework for price bargaining in shipping sub-markets as a step toward having taken into consideration a variety of heterogeneities commonly present in trading activities and market dynamics.

A set of research areas has been consequently identified where price bargaining and mechanisms for the shipping freight and asset markets could be further explored and analyzed in a way to make better pricing decisions under a more tangible framework.

One of the critical challenges when using bargaining mechanisms to make a decision on pricing shipping services and assets is how to operationalize the study for empirical investigation as some of the factors are internal information of the players and are not adequately revealed to externals: that is, an imperfect information sharing case. The current study aims, however, not to conduct an empirical analysis but to initiate a conversation among maritime economists by bringing their attention to this not-yet fully explored and potentially impactful field of research and by asking them to treat bargaining from a perspective for pricing shipping assets and services. It is claimed that, by doing so, one could better understand price differences between individual contracts.

This study would be considered the first of its kind to provide a detailed survey of the bargaining theory and models from a game theoretical perspective as a theoretical lens to understand its importance and relevance in pricing shipping assets and services. It also provides a simplified operational case on utilizing bargaining in practically pricing freight services.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of shipyard and shipowner heterogeneity on the price formation for individual newbuilding contracts.

The model controls for the shipbuilding market cycle, input costs, firm size, yard experience and contract-specific variables and captures the impact of yard and owner heterogeneity in fixed-effects regressions. The data sample contains contract information on 3,759 tankers, bulkers and container vessels constructed at 77 shipyards between 1990 and 2014.

Although the newbuilding price benchmarks (market conditions) and gross domestic product per capita (salary costs) are influential covariates, the main conclusion is that shipyards and, particularly, shipowners play an influential role on the US$ per Compensated Gross Tonnage price level in individual contracts.

The paper represents the first study of the impact of buyer and seller heterogeneity at the micro level in the shipbuilding market.

This systematic literature review focuses on the following future advanced information and communication technologies (ICTs) applied in the maritime transport of cargo: Internet of Things (IoT), big data, cloud computing and autonomous ships/vessels (including unmanned ships/vessels). The review question is: “RQ: In what context and by means of what mechanism does the implementation of future advanced ICTs have disruptive impact on maritime transport?”.

The paper complies with the methodological requirements of systematic reviews. The information analysis and synthesis are based on the CIMO logic, referring to the context (C), intervention (I), mechanism (M) and outcome (O) of the implementation of future advanced ICTs in maritime transport.

The review identifies the contextual factors and components of the mechanism that lead to the disruptive impact of different types of future advanced ICT interventions on maritime transport.

The review approaches only the most important future advanced ICTs that will disrupt maritime transport.

The maritime transport organizations should consider: intended outcome as intervention trigger; increased efficiency and responsiveness; benchmarking.

For the first time, the CIMO logic is applied in a systematic review focused on future advanced ICTs in maritime transport. The CIMO-DMT model is elaborated as a basis for further research. Ten directions of study are recommended in a future research agenda.

This paper aims to identify the interplay of standard Capesize optimal speeds for time charter equivalent (TCE) maximization in the Australia–China iron ore route and the optimal speeds as an operational tool for compliance with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) carbon intensity indicator (CII).

The TCE at different speeds have been calculated for four standard Capesize specifications: (1) standard Capesize with ecoelectronic engine; (2) standard Capesize with non-eco engine (3) standard Capesize vessel with an eco-electronic engine fitted with scrubber and (4) standard Capesize with non-eco engine and no scrubber fitted.

Calculations imply that in a highly inflationary bunker price context, the dollar per ton freight rates equilibrates at levels that may push optimal speeds below the speeds required for minimum CII compliance (C Rating) in the Australia–China trade. The highest deviation of optimal speeds from those required for minimum CII compliance is observed for non-eco standard Capesize vessels without scrubbers. Increased non-eco Capesize deployment would see optimal speeds structurally lower at levels that could offer CII ratings improvements.

While most of the studies have covered the use of speed as a tool to improve efficiency and emissions in the maritime sector, few have been identified in the literature to have examined the interplay between the commercial and operational performance in the dry bulk sector stemming from the freight market equilibrium. The originality of this paper lies in examining the above relation and the resulting optimal speed selection in the Capesize sector against mandatory environmental targets.

A significant body of literature suggests that shipping companies operate in an extremely volatile and risky environment, relying on the effective use of information to remain competitive. However, decision-making in this market is demanding because of the high uncertainty, market competition and significant capital investments. Moreover, the rapid spread of COVID-19 renders information uncertainty a daunting challenge for companies engaged in global trade. Hence, this study aims to explore the information behavior of managers in a time of crisis seems compelling.

This study provides novel insights into the information behavior of senior managers by adopting a qualitative approach. Forty-nine semi-structured face-to-face interviews with individuals from Hellenic shipping companies were conducted. Moreover, this study explores the extant theory qualitatively, using the grounded theory methodology and shows that an unprecedented event (pandemic crisis) can redefine the information behavior of managers.

This study highlights the importance of information in decision-making. Moreover, the results show that, during a pandemic, managers resort to alternative information sources, adopt collaborative information behaviors and take advantage of digital technology.

There is limited research in exploring the information behavior of managers in times of pandemics. This research underscores the fact that during a crisis, managers seek information from digital information resources and decision-making assumes a more decentralized form. This study concludes with a discussion of the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.

The aim of this paper is to investigate the gap between cost-based and time-based revenue recognition schemes in the accounting of ship-owning corporations, and to propose cost-based revenue recognition (as in general accounting practice) in connection with the performance obligations.

For a comparative analysis of time-based (traditional approach) and cost-based schemes, a sample of dry bulk ships is selected and voyage estimations are performed by certified professional shipbrokers (Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers) (data collection and voyage estimation by practitioner). Performance obligations are also defined by certified shipbrokers (i.e. survey and expert opinion) and certified public accountant based on common shipping business practice and accounting practice in general.

Empirical results indicate the significant gap between two alternative schemes. Cost-based revenue recognition accelerates the revenue recognition (benefit of shipowner), and it enables comparability among other industries since cost-based allocation is the common practice in accounting (matching principle, Generally Accepted Accounting Principles).

It is obviously impossible to observe all kinds of freight market transactions for all different kinds of vessel particulars. The sample size does not undervalue the current study since the central idea of this paper is not the verification of the cost-based recognition in all possible transactions.

The proposed approach debiases the existing recognition practice as well as improving the speed of revenue recognition. In the existing practice, time-based recognition is still based on voyage estimations (time estimation). Voyage estimations conventionally answer two questions: “What is the cost of the voyage?” and “What is the duration of the voyage?” Therefore, the proposed approach does not require any additional work done. Common practice also clarifies the cost-based schedule for revenue recognition.

This paper addresses the unconventional accounting practice and its incomparability problem for the first time. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is also the first study on accounting economics of the shipping business. This paper proposes a practical solution to the debate raised by Financial Accounting Standards Board 2014-09 regulation on accounting standards by utilizing a staging approach and cost-based revenue allocation.