This paper analyses some of the implications of the emergence of dedicated container terminals (DCT) in the past 10 years. It presents a general overview of DCTs and stresses, through the use of a generalised port cost function, that one of the main factors that could explain this development is...

This paper investigates the role of consolidation strategies amongst crude carrier operators anxious to reduce costs and attract institutional capital. Could consolidation combat erratic tonnage demand, mounting regulatory pressure to provide quality service at reduced costs, rising costs of...

Shipping lines are under pressure to expand the geographical reach of their services and to invest in value added services. The former, addressed by a number of strategies including slot charters, alliances and mergers and acquisitions, has been quite widely treated in the literature. The ways...

This paper investigates whether there are accident vessel damage cost differentials among container, tanker and bulk vessels. Tobit estimates of accident vessel damage cost equations suggest that vessel damage cost differentials exist for container versus bulk and tanker versus bulk vessel...

There is a great deal of inconsistency in relation to port charging practices. Some port charges are of a discriminatory nature, and can serve to restrict the level of international trade. For example, in seaport charging there appears to be no relationship between the level of cargo dues and...