Cascading feeder vessels and the rationalisation of small container ports

Dados Bibliográficos

ID12296262
AutoresJason Monios (0000-0002-4916-9718, Edinburgh Napier University, autor correspondente)
Ano2017
Volume59
Páginas88-99
Data de publicação2017-02-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoJournal of Transport Geography (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0966-6923 • E-ISSN: 1873-1236
EditoraElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2017.02.001
OpenAlexW2289814492
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas1
Referências citadas21

Small container ports rely on feeder services from hub ports to provide access to unitised trade flows for their hinterlands. They generally possess limited water depth and handling facilities, as investments required to handle larger vessels are not justified by their low container throughput. This paper questions the future of small ports due to larger vessels cascading down as a result of ever-larger vessels on the major trade lanes. The paper uses vessel call data to identify all world ports currently served by sub-1000 TEU vessels. Data on the dimensions of the vessel fleet and order book are analysed in conjunction with accessibility constraints at these small ports. Results show that with 15% of the sub-1000 TEU fleet currently laid up and very few on order, larger feeders with deeper drafts seem certain to serve at least some of these routes. But with 90 container ports (21%) having berth depth of less than 9.1 m and the need to accommodate design drafts of at least 8.7 m, larger vessels will threaten the viability of these ports unless they commit significant investment. A geographical analysis is also conducted, mapping the distribution of small ports across the globe and classifying coastal, estuary, river and island locations, as well as identifying clusters of small ports that could in future be served by second-tier hubs, such as Southeast Asia and the Baltic Sea. Findings suggest that, just as container ports at the larger end of the scale were rationalised as flows concentrated at major hubs, several drivers exist for the same process to occur at small ports. Consequently, the paper asks how small ports and local shippers will cope, whether such ports lose their connections entirely, if local shippers must pay for an additional handling cost to tranship a second time from large feeder to small feeder, or whether they rely on overland transport links

Business · Container (type theory · Geography · Marine engineering · Order (exchange · Port (circuit theory · Rationalisation · Scale (ratio · Transport engineering · Cruise Tourism Development and Management · Engineering · Law, logistics, and international trade · Maritime Ports and Logistics