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Maritime Transport System

Website: Hamburg Open Online University
Kurs: MoGoLo - Mobility of Goods and Logistics Systems
Buch: Maritime Transport System
Gedruckt von: Gast
Datum: Freitag, 18. Oktober 2024, 16:27

Beschreibung

In this section you will learn more about maritime transport and its elements: activities, goods, vessels, waterways and ports. As in the last sections, this section follows the structure of the conceptual system model of transport and traffic. 

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Introduction

In this section, you will learn more about the maritime transport system. You will get to know the activities that drive this system and the goods that are transported on waterways. You will then be introduced to the vessels used for transportation. In addition, the infrastructure of the waterways and its port facilities will be explained. Finally, the advantages and disadvantages of maritime transport will be highlighted.

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Maritime transport is often responsible for the main carriage of goods and therefore for the long distance transport and is a part of a multimodal transport chain.
Multimodal transport describes the carriage of goods by two or more modes of transport.
Is the movement of goods in one and the same loading unit, e.g. container, or a vehicle by successive modes of transport without handling of the goods themselves when changing modes, it is called intermodal transport.
Combined transport is an intermodal transport where the major part of the European journey is by rail, inland waterways or sea and any initial and/or final legs carried out by road are as short as possible.

The figure "Maritime transport" shows the leg of the maritime transport and the two ports with their hinterlands. 

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In order to overcome the long distance between two regions, maritime transport is used. As you can see in the figure above, maritime transport connects two ports and their hinterlands. In the hinterland, procurement, distribution and production of goods take place.
The different factories, warehouses or terminals in the hinterland transport their export goods to the port or pick up their import goods from the port. 

On the next page, the activities of the maritime transport system are presented to you.

Literature
Flämig, H., Sjöstedt, L., Hertel, C. (2002): Multimodal Transport: An Integrated Element for Last-Mile-Solutions? Proceedings, part 1; International Congress on Freight Transport Automation and Multimodality: Organisational and Technological Innovations. Delft, 23 & 24 May 2002.  (modification of Sjöstedt 1996)

Schönknecht, Axel (2009): Maritime Containerlogistik. Leistungsvergleich von Containerschiffen in intermodalen Transportketten. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg (VDI-Buch). 


2. Activities

On this page, the element "Activities" of the conceptual system model of transport and traffic will be presented to you. 


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Goods mobility only arises when demand is stimulated by activities. The two most important points that drive maritime freight are: 
• We as consumer drive the system.
• The order is the steering medium.

Literature
Flämig, H., Sjöstedt, L., Hertel, C. (2002): Multimodal Transport: An Integrated Element for Last-Mile-Solutions? Proceedings, part 1; International Congress on Freight Transport Automation and Multimodality: Organisational and Technological Innovations. Delft, 23 & 24 May 2002.  (modification of Sjöstedt 1996) 

3. Goods

The next element of the conceptual system model deals with the types of goods, being typically transported with the presented mode of transport. We will show you on this page, what types of goods are typically transported by maritime transport. 


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The following figure „Categories of goods“ shows the different kinds of cargos, that are or could be transported by water based transport systems. 
The goods can be divided into three categories:
  • bulk cargo, 
  • container cargo and 
  • roll on / roll off cargo. 

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For the transport of goods, the figure "Load carrying devices" shows, what different kinds of loading devices can be used. Those load carrying devices can be differentiated in the categories supporting, enclosing and locking. 

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Pallets and flats are examples for supporting devices while pallets with collars and containers are having an enclosing function. Examples for locking load carrying devices are inland containers, ISO-containers, air freight containers and swap bodies.
 
If the goods can‘t be transported directly on the vessels, locking devices like ISO-containers can be used to ease the transport of goods. The figure "Container types" shows the two different groups of containers.

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Containers can be divided into ground traffic containers and air traffic containers.  
For maritime transport, the ground traffic containers are the type of containers being used.  
In the group of the ground traffic containers, we differentiate between general cargo containers, special goods containers and tank containers.

For those ground traffic containers, the standard measure is in feet (1 foot = 0,3048 m). An ISO-container is 20‘ or 40‘ long. 
For container transport, the transport volume is usually measured in TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit). One 20‘ container is equivalent to 1 TEU. A 40‘ container is equivalent to 2 TEU.

The following figure "Container equipment" shows different kind of ground traffic containers. The kind of goods being transported influences the decision about the container type being used.
Mostly standard containers or high-cube containers, which are a little bit higher than the standard containers, are used as standard equipment.
When the goods need to be cooled during transport, the chosen container type is a reefer container. These containers are connected to the power supply, cooling down the container to the desired temperature.


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In order to identify the container, a unique container number is placed on all outer walls and additionally on the inner side of the container wall.
 
This container number consists of 11 characters.
According to the ISO-Norm 6346, a container number consists of 4 elements with 11 characters in total.


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  • The first three letters are showing the owner of the container.
  • The fourth letter shows the product category, the U stands for container.
  • The first six numbers are the serial number of the container.
  • The last number is the check digit.

Containers can be provided by different stakeholders: 
  • shipowning company provides container
  • forwarding company provides rented container or
  • shippers own container (SOC)

In Maritime Transport, a differentiation is made between Full Container Load (FCL) and Less than Container Load (LCL).

FCL
  • volume of freight has sufficient volume for a complete container load
  • shipper organizes loading and securing
  • containerized transport at least to the port of destination 
 
LCL
  • volume of freight has insufficient volume for a complete container load
  • transport of container part load to Container freight station (CFS)
  • consolidation and transport to the port of destination
  • LCL service surcharges due to additional handling processes

The ISO-container is a good example for standardization. Advantages of standardization are for example, space utilization, easy handling and safety. 

A transport chain with containers has various value-adding roles:
  • uniformly unit load (standard size, reusable, stackable)
  • high velocity of transhipment process
  • internationalization
  • reduction of packaging
  • suitable for all means of transport
  • suitable for inland and overseas transport

If you are interested in the influence of containers on logistics strategies, transport systems and transport chains, feel free to check it here. 
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The total costs per TEU are shown in the figure "Total costs per TEU" and are composed of three different elements costs at sea, operating costs and capital costs and costs at the ports.

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The relation between goods and vessels is called transport. 


Transport

There are various operating models in maritime transport.

Liner service operators
A liner service consists of a fleet of vessels, under a common ownership or management, that provide fixed service between designated ports at regular intervals and offer to carry any cargo in the catchment area served by those ports and ready for transit by their sailing dates. A fixed itinerary, inclusion in regular service, and the obligation to accept cargo from all customers and to sail, whether filled or not, on the date fixed by a published schedule are what distinguished the liner from the tramp.

Charterer (Tramp Operator)
Tramp operators offer ships for rent and charter and are closely linked to the tramp vessel market.
They are very small organizations compared to liner service operators.
The charterer deals with:
  • operational business
  • maintenance/survey/storage/supply of vessels
  • accounting and market intelligence/viewing
  • retail and other business

When organizing container transport chains, different contractual responsibilities for pre-carriage and on-carriage are possible. 
 
Carrier’s haulage
  • Handling of door-to-door transport by carrier on behalf of client.
  • Approximately 2/3 of the worldwide transport.
 
Merchant’s haulage
  • Independent handling of pre- and subsequent-leg by shipper/recipient or by forwarder on behalf of shipper.
  • Normally only pier-to-pier transport.
  • The shippers/consignees themselves remain in control and subcontract all involved transport operators. If it's necessary also pier-to-door or door-to-pier transport is possible.

Carrier’s and Merchant’s haulage are shown in the next figure "Carrier's and merchant's haulage".
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The transport options differ in terms of transport legs included:  

Door-to-Door Transport (FCL):
empty container from container yard -> pre-leg from shipper -> Port of origin -> sea transport -> Port of destination -> subsequent-leg to recipient -> empty container to container yard

Door-to-Pier Transport:
FCL transport from shipper and deconsolidation at port of destination or container freight station (CFS) -> subsequent-leg to different recipients (very often in trading) 

Pier-to-Door Transport:
different suppliers transport to factories 

Pier-to-Pier Transport: 
consolidation at container freight station e.g. Integrator, e.g. parcel services

Partners in transportation business
For organizing and operating maritime transport, different stakeholders are necessary.
Some examples for the partners are:
  • forwarders
  • authorities
  • export companies
  • import companies
  • hauliers
  • stevedore companies
  • tally
  • agents

Literature
Biebig, P.; Althof, W.; Wagener, N. (2008): Seeverkehrswirtschaft: De Gruyter Oldenbourg.

Bloech, J. & Ihde, G. (1997): Vahlens großes Logistiklexikon. München: Beck.

Branch, A. (Hg.) (1996): Elements of Shipping. London.

DSV (2023): Break Bulk. URL: https://www.dsv.com/de-de/unsere-loesungen/transportarten/seefracht/breakbulk (last access: 08.05.2023)

Heidenblut V., Hompel M. (2011): Taschenlexikon Logistik

International Forwarding Association (2019): Types of Cargo Shipped by Sea Freight Transport. URL: https://ifa-forwarding.net/blog/sea-freight-in-europe/types-of-cargo-shipped-by-sea-freight-transport/ (last access: 08.05.2023)

ISO (1999): ISO 830:1999-09.  Beuth-Verlag, Berlin, 1999.

ISO (2013): DIN EN ISO 6346/A3:2013-03, ISO-Container-Kodierung, Identifizierung und Kennzeichnung.  Beuth-Verlag, Berlin, 2013.

Hapag Lloyd (2016): Container Specification. URL: https://www.hapag-lloyd.com/content/dam/website/downloads/press_and_media/publications/15211_Container_Specification_engl_Gesamt_web.pdf (last access: 30.03.2022).

Flämig, H., Sjöstedt, L., Hertel, C. (2002): Multimodal Transport: An Integrated Element for Last-Mile-Solutions? Proceedings, part 1; International Congress on Freight Transport Automation and Multimodality: Organisational and Technological Innovations. Delft, 23 & 24 May 2002.  (modification of Sjöstedt 1996)

Grig, R. (2012): Governance-Strukturen in der maritimen Transportkette. Agentenbasierte Modellierung des Akteursverhaltens im Extended Gate. Zugl.: Berlin, Techn. Univ., Diss., 2012. Berlin: Univ.-Verl. der Techn. Univ. Berlin (Schriftenreihe Logistik der Technischen Universität Berlin, 19).

Ihde, G. (2001): Transport, Verkehr, Logistik. Gesamtwirtschaftliche Aspekte und einzelwirtschaftliche Handhabung. 3., völlig überarb. und erw. Aufl. München: Vahlen (Vahlens Handbücher der Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften).

Jünemann, R. (1989): Materialfluss und Logistik. Systemtechnische Grundlagen mit Praxisbeispielen. Berlin, Heidelberg, New York, London, Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong: Springer (Logistik in Industrie, Handel und Dienstleistungen).

Pawlik, T. (1999): Seeverkehrswirtschaft. Internationale Containerlinienschifffahrt Eine betriebswirtschaftliche Einführung. Wiesbaden: Gabler Verlag (Springer eBook Collection Business and Economics).

Schönknecht, A. (2009): Maritime Containerlogistik. Leistungsvergleich von Containerschiffen in intermodalen Transportketten. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg (VDI-Buch).

Veenstra, A. (2005): Empty container reposition: the port of Rotterdam case. In: Simme Douwe P. Flapper, Jo A.E.E. van Nunen und Luk N. van Wassenhove (Hg.): Managing Closed-Loop Supply Chains. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, S. 65–76.

Voth, M. (Hg.) (2001): Speditionsbetriebslehre. Herne.

3.1. Quiz - Container sizes

You can check your knowledge of containers by answering the following question. 

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After the element goods, the next page deals with the different vessel types in maritime transport. 

4. Vessels

In the maritime transport system model, the movables are called "Vessels". These vessels are presented to you on this page. 

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The figure "Vessel types" shows a classification of different vessel types, that are used in maritime transport. Some of the vessels are presented to you in detail below.

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Container Ships
Container ships are used for long distance haulage and are operating intercontinental. As presented to you before, container ships are often having a time table and their precision is measured in days. 
Nowadays, the biggest containerships can carry up to 24.000 TEU (2021).
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Depending on their size, containerships can be divided in different classes. 

1.  Panamax Class
  • capacity: < 4.500 TEU
  • length: 250 m
  • width: < 32,20 m
  • depth: 12,5 m

Before the expansion of the Panama Canal, Panamax Vessels were popular because they were able to travel through the Panama Canal. The allowable size is limited by the width and length of the available lock chambers, by the depth of the water in the canal and by the height of the Bridge of America. Consequently, ships that did not fall within the panamax-sizes are called Post-Panamax.

2. Post Panamax Class
  • capacity: > 4.000 TEU < 8.500 TEU
  • length: 300 m
  • width: > 32,20 m < 43 m
  • depth: 13 m 

The limits of the canal have influenced those constructing cargo ships, giving clear parameters for ships destined to traverse the Panama Canal.
The Panama Canal will be presented to you in detail on the page “Waterways”.

Since the Expansion of the Panama Canal, ships up to a length of 366 m, a width of 49 m and a depth of 15,2 m can pass the canal. Those ships are called Neo Panamax Class.

3. Neo Panamax Class
  • capacity: < 12.500 TEU
  • length: 366 m
  • width: < 49 m
  • depth: 15,2 m
 
4. Very Large Container Ships (VLCS)
  • capacity: < 15.000 TEU
  • length: 397 m
  • width: < 56 m
  • depth: 15,5 m
 
5. Ultra Large Container Ships (ULCS)
  • capacity: < 21.000 TEU
  • length: 400 m
  • width: < 59 m
  • depth: 16 m
 
During the last years, the size of containerships is constantly rising. The biggest containerships belong to the Megamax Class and can carry up to 24.000 TEU. They are 400 m long, 61 m width and have a draught of 16 m.
 
6. Megamax Class
  •  capacity: > 21.000 TEU, < 24.000 TEU
  • length: 400 m
  • width: < 61 m
  • depth: 16 m
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The growth of the container ships has different advantages and disadvantages, which will be presented to you below.

Advantages of growth (Economies of Scale)

Cost of capital
  • required engine power increases with the power of 0.7
  • less material needed for the surface of bigger spaces
 
Cost of operation
  • crew size independent from the size of the vessel (for a capacity bigger than 2.000 TEU)
  • no correlation between administrative costs and vessel size

Bunker costs
  • bunker costs are related to the engine power, thus relative costs are declining with increasing size.

Freight acquisition
  • lower freight rates through economies of scale lead to strong market growth
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Disadvantages of growth in size (Diseconomies of Scale)

Lay days in harbour
  • bigger ships have to unload more containers at one location
  • many ports are not equipped to handle those amounts efficiently

Limited number of ports
  • limitations to the maximum draught
  • efficiency of hinterland logistics

Investment
  • liner services consist of 5-6 ships
  • financing can become quite problematic, as this means investments of up to one billion € per service

Feeder costs
  • increasing costs through additional handling operations
  • longer travel times for the feeders through additional handling operations

Cost of insurance 
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The total costs of costs in port and costs at sea are presented in the figure "Relationship between costs and ship size". 

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Ro-Ro Vessels

Ro-Ro Vessels (Roll-on Roll-off) vessels are used for the transport of movable goods. Those goods like cars, trucks or trains can roll on and roll off the vessels on their own. With the help of tractors or swap bodies standardized loading units can be transported with this vessel type as well. Those ships have decks with adaptable heights, allowing a flexible usage of the loading space. The vessels have side, bow or stern hatches so that the movables can be driven on board via ramps.

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Heavy Cargo Ships 
A heavy cargo ship is a vessel type that is used for the transport of particulary heavy goods. Those vessels have lifting equipment that can lift more than 1.000 tonnes.

Bulk Carrier 
Bulk Carriers are used for the transport of loose (non-liquid) mass goods like ore, coal, bauxite, phosphate, cement or grain.
Depending on their size, those vessels belong to different classes. Handysize is numerically the most common size of bulk carrier. Handysize ships are very flexible because their size allows them to enter smaller ports, and in most cases they are 'geared' - i.e. fitted with cranes - which means that they can load and discharge cargoes at ports which lack cranes or other cargo handling systems. Compared to larger bulk carriers, handysizes carry a wider variety of cargo types. These include steel products, grain, metal ores, phosphate, cement, logs or woodchips. Capesize ships are cargo ships originally too large to transit the Suez Canal or the Panama Canal. Capesize ships have to pass either the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn to travel through two oceans.

1. Handy Size Bulk Carrier
  • capacity: up to 40.000 dwt (Deadweight tonnage)
 
2. Handy Max Bulk Carrier
  • capacity: up to 45.000 dwt

3. Panamax Bulk Carrier
  • capacity: up to 99.999 dwt
  • width: < 32,20 m 

4. Capesize Bulk Carrier
  • capacity: over 100.000 dwt

Tanker 
Tanker vessels are used for the transport of crude oil. The ships can be grouped by their size.

1. Handysize Tanker
  • capacity: 50.000 dwt

2. Panamax Tanker
  • capacity: 65.000 – 80.000 dwt

3. Suezmax Tanker
  • capacity: 120.000 - 180.000 dwt

4. Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC)
  • capacity: 200.000 – 320.000 dwt

5. Ultra Large Crude Carrier (ULCC)
  • capacity: >320.000 dwt

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Multi Purpose Ship
Multi Purpose Ships are able to carry different kind of goods like containers, bulk goods or general conventional cargo. 
As the multi purpose ships are often not calling at big ports, multi purpose ships are having loading gears (cranes) on board so that they are independent from the existing infrastructure at the ports.

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The relation between vessels and waterways is called traffic. 


Traffic

The main trade routes are between Asia and Europe and Asia and North America, with the volume from Asia to the industrialised countries twice as high as the other way around. 
As there is an imbalance of trade especially between Far East and Europe and Far East and the USA, maritime traffic is not in a balance. In maritime container traffic, for example, this trade imbalance necessitates the repositioning of empty containers.
In order to save fuel and reduce emissions in maritime traffic, vessels are reducing their speed. As a rule of thumb, a ship’s engine load is related to the third power of its speed. Numerically, a 10% speed reduction results in a 27% engine load reduction.
The main maritime traffic routes and dimension of the traffic volume, which is visualized by the arrow thickness, are shown in the figure "Maritime traffic routes". 

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As a telematic support, in maritime traffic a Vessel Traffic Management and Information System (VTMIS) is used, which incorporates different telematic systems: 
  • port management system,
  • systems dedicated to port security,
  • support systems and management of pilotage,
  • load management systems and overall property,
  • docking planning,
  • systems for collecting port taxes,
  • quarantine control,
  • customs control, and
  • support for Coast Guard operations such as repression of illicit acts on ships, smuggling, drug trafficking, etc.

For maritime traffic it is necessary to use the waterways, which will be presented to you on the next page.

Literature
Faber, J.; Nelissen, D.; Hon, G.; Wang, H.; Tsimplis, M. (Hg.) (2012): Regulated Slow Steaming in Maritime Transport. An Assessment of Options, Costs and Benefits.

Flämig, H., Sjöstedt, L., Hertel, C. (2002): Multimodal Transport: An Integrated Element for Last-Mile-Solutions? Proceedings, part 1; International Congress on Freight Transport Automation and Multimodality: Organisational and Technological Innovations. Delft, 23 & 24 May 2002.  (modification of Sjöstedt 1996)

Jansson, J. O.; Shneerson, D. (1987): Liner Shipping Economics. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands.

Marvest GmbH (2021): Massengutfrachter. URL: https://www.marvest.de/magazin/schiffe/massengutfrachter/ (last access: 30.03.2022).

Rodrigue, J. (2020): The geography of transport systems. Fifth edition. London, New York: Routledge.

Schönknecht, A. (2009): Maritime Containerlogistik. Leistungsvergleich von Containerschiffen in intermodalen Transportketten. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg (VDI-Buch).

Shelter Training Academy (2021): Vessel Traffic Management Information System (VTMIS). URL: https://sheltermar.com/vts/vtmis/ (last access: 30.03.2022).

Transway Internationale Spedition GmbH (2021): Informationen zu Schwergutfrachter. URL: https://spedition-seefracht.de/de/lexikon/schwergutfrachter (last access: 30.03.2022).

Transway Internationale Spedition GmbH (2021): Ro/Ro. URL: https://spedition-seefracht.de/de/lexikon/ro-ro (last access: 30.03.2022).

5. Waterways

The next element of the conceptual system model is called infrastructure. In case of the maritime transport system, the infrastructure is called "Waterways".



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Waterways are the infrastructure, the vessels are using to travel from Port A to Port B. There are approximately 200 narrow bodies of water connecting two larger bodies of water (straits) or canals around the world. A handful of them are known as chokepoints, which means, this waterway could be blocked and stop the maritime transport by accidents or political reasons. 
The following figure shows the 11 major ocean routes for global trade. On these routes, there are 8 primary chokepoints, which could limit maritime transport. 


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The 8 chokepoints are
  • Panama Canal
  • Suez Canal
  • Cape of Good Hope
  • Gibraltar
  • Bosporus
  • Strait of Hormuz
  • Bab el-Mandab
  • Strait of Malacca
 
The first two of them are canals that limit vessel sizes for passage. These limitations and important information about the two canals will be presented below.

Suez Canal
Opened in 1869, the Suez Canal links the Red Sea at Suez with the Mediterranean at port Saïd, providing a much shorter route between the North of Atlantic and the Indian Ocean than the alternative route around the Cape of Good Hope.
It can accommodate vessels with beams up to 77.52 meters and draft up to 9.14 meters or beam up to 56.24 meters and draft up to 17.88 meters.
The transit takes 11-12 hours and tolls are charged in US dollars with separate rates for laden and ballast voyages.

The following table shows the saved distance by using the Suez Canal instead of the route around the Cape of Good Hope.


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Panama Canal
The Panama Canal was opened in 1914 and shortens the distance from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It runs 80 km from the Atlantic at Cristobal to the Pacific at Balboa and has a transit time of 8 – 10 hours.
The old Panama Canal has a nominal draft restriction of 12.04 meters for vessels transiting the Panamax locks.
In 2007, the construction of an extension of the Panama Canal started. Since the 26th June 2016, vessels up to 15.24 meters draft can transit the Neopanamax locks.
The transit charges for the Panama Canal are based on a fixed tariff per net ton vessels transiting laden and in ballast.

The relation between waterways and ports is called land use. 

Land use 

Land use is the location of facilities at specific sites and is the combined result of public planning and complex market mechanisms. It may be seen as an interaction between a planned facility and infrastructure in its widest sense. This results in giving the facility a permanent address.
 
Seaports can be situated either directly at the sea coast but also in the inland and are accessible via rivers or seas.

Literature
Flämig, H., Sjöstedt, L., Hertel, C. (2002): Multimodal Transport: An Integrated Element for Last-Mile-Solutions? Proceedings, part 1; International Congress on Freight Transport Automation and Multimodality: Organisational and Technological Innovations. Delft, 23 & 24 May 2002.  (modification of Sjöstedt 1996)

Panama Canal Authority (2022): How does it work. URL: https://pancanal.com/en/history-of-the-panama-canal/#howdoesitwork (last access: 30.03.2022).

Rodrigue, J. (2020): The geography of transport systems. Fifth edition. London, New York: Routledge.

Stopford, Martin (2008): Maritime economics. Third edition. London, New York: Routledge.

Suez Canal Authority (2015): Rules of Navigation.

5.1. Quiz - Chokepoints of maritime waterways


To check your knowledge about the maritime waterways, feel free to answer the following question before moving on to the element ports. 


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6. Ports

The facilities in the maritime transport system are called ports and will be presented to you on the following page.


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Ports are the transportation chain interfaces in the maritime transport system and are often multifunctional hubs, as they not only realize the modal shift but often also provide cargo handling and storage functions.

There are several logistics requirements on seaports which are shown in the figure "Logistics requirements on seaports". 


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For the export of goods, seaports are handling the goods from the trucks, trains and inland waterways which are arriving at different times. They have a collecting and buffering function, as they store the goods until the vessel is arriving. After the arrival of the vessel, the terminals are loading those goods to the vessel as mass transportation medium. 
For the import of goods, the terminals are unloading the vessel and store the goods, until the means of transport for the last leg is picking up the goods from the seaport.

There are different port types, which can be differentiated depending on the responsible stakeholder for the port management, ownership management, ownership suprastructure and service provision. The four port types service port, tool port, landlord port and private port are described in the figure "Different kind of ports". 


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In Northwestern Europe, the most common port type is the Landlord Port. In a Landlord port, the Port Authority is responsible for the port management and the Public (government) is the owner of the infrastructure. This infrastructure is leased to private companies. The suprastructure, e.g. cranes, is owned by private companies or the public while the provision of services is carried out by private companies.

Container Terminal 
A container terminal is a terminal specialised in the loading and unloading of container vessels. 
The following figure "Container terminal layout" shows an example of a container terminal layout and its different areas.


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Waterside handling area 
On the waterside handling area, ship-to-shore (STS) gantry cranes are running on rails and are used for loading on and unloading off the container vessels. Containers can be stored temporarily during unloading and pre-sorted for loading under the STS.
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Container yard 
The container yard is the area of a container terminal, where the containers are stored before the loading of the container vessel or before the pick up of the import containers by truck, train or vessel.
At the container yard, different equipment is used. 

Rail-Mounted-Gantry-Crane (RMG):
A RMG is a rail-mounted stacking crane, which is used in the storage area of a container terminal. They are stacking and unstacking the containers and can operate with a higher span width than RTGs.
 
Rubber-Tyred-Gantry-Crane (RTG):
A RTG is a rubber-tyred stacking crane, which is stacking and unstacking the containers at the container yard. The RTGs are more flexible than the RMGs, as they are able to change the storage blocks.

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Horizontal transport 
The transport between the waterside and the container yard is called horizontal transport. In case a RTG and a RMG can‘t load or unload a truck or train directly, horizontal transport is necessary for transporting the containers to the truck or train loading and unloading area.
For the horizontal transport, different equipment is used. 

Straddle carrier:
A straddle carrier can be used for the horizontal transport, for stacking the containers at the container yard and for the loading and unloading of trucks and trains.
 
Reach stacker:
A reach stacker can be used for the loading and unloading of trucks and trains and can stack containers up to the third layer.
 
Automated guided vehicles (AGV):
AGVs are automated vehicles to move containers between the ship and the container yard. They can‘t handle the containers themselves, so equipment for loading and unloading the AGV is needed.
 
Terminal tractor:
A terminal tractor is used to transport the container between the waterside and the container yard or to transport the container between the container yard and the rail loading area. Terminal tractors can‘t handle a container, so equipment for loading and unloading the terminal tractor is needed.
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On a container terminal, there are usually also areas for a
  • packing hall
  • empty container depot 
  • maintenance hall

As you learned before, there are different kinds of vessels for different kinds of goods. Same as for the vessels, besides the already presented container terminals, there are also other kind of terminals in maritime transport.
 
Bulk Cargo Terminals 
Bulk Cargo Terminals are used for loading and unloading break bulk like oil, gas or grain.
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General cargo terminals:
General cargo terminals are used for loading and unloading of general cargo. 

Ro-Ro terminals:
Ro-Ro terminals are used for loading and unloading the rolling goods like cars or trucks.
 
Offshore terminals:
Offshore terminals are used for mass break bulk in huge amounts (raw materials).

The relation between ports and goods is called accession. 

Accession

International transport chains are always multimodal transport because the location of consignor and consignee are usually not on logistic nodes, like ports or air ports (exception for example: steel plants).
This logistic nodes are often gateways to large Hinterland regions.

Literature
Brinkmann, Birgitt (2005): Seehäfen. Planung und Entwurf. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer.

Flämig, H., Sjöstedt, L., Hertel, C. (2002): Multimodal Transport: An Integrated Element for Last-Mile-Solutions? Proceedings, part 1; International Congress on Freight Transport Automation and Multimodality: Organisational and Technological Innovations. Delft, 23 & 24 May 2002.  (modification of Sjöstedt 1996)

Schönknecht, A. (2009): Maritime Containerlogistik. Leistungsvergleich von Containerschiffen in intermodalen Transportketten. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg (VDI-Buch).

Talley, W.  (2009): Port economics. 1. publ. London: Routledge.

6.1. Quiz - Container terminal and equipment

In order to test your knowledge about ports, you can answer the following questions. 

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This was the last element of the maritime transport conceptual system model. On the next page, a short summary will be given.

7. Summary

In order to sum up this section, the advantages and disadvantages of the maritime transport system are presented to you on this page.

Advantages

  • ability to carry high capacity of weight at low freight rates
  • large loading space
  • supply of special ships
 
Disadvantages
  • inflexibility
  • dependency on weather conditions (storm, hurricane, ice,...)
  • in line dependency on fixed route using container line services

—Optimization in maritime transport is possible through the four core variables driving the maritime logistics model: distance, ship size, ship speed and ship type.
 
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Congratulations, you finished the topic maritime transport system. If you are interested in other modes of transport too, feel free to check our other topics air transport system, road transport system, rail transport system and inland waterway transport system.

Literature
Schulte, C. (1991): Logistik. Wege zur Optimierung des Material- und Informationsflusses. Verlag Franz Vahlen, München. 

Stopford, M. (2008): Maritime economics. Third edition. London, New York: Routledge. 

8. Literature

Biebig, P.; Althof, W.; Wagener, N. (2008): Seeverkehrswirtschaft: De Gruyter Oldenbourg.

Bloech, J. & Ihde, G. (1997): Vahlens großes Logistiklexikon. München: Beck.

Branch, A. (Hg.) (1996): Elements of Shipping. London.

Brinkmann, Birgitt (2005): Seehäfen. Planung und Entwurf. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer.

DSV (2023): Break Bulk. URL: https://www.dsv.com/de-de/unsere-loesungen/transportarten/seefracht/breakbulk (last access: 08.05.2023)

Heidenblut V., Hompel M. (2011): Taschenlexikon Logistik

International Forwarding Association (2019): Types of Cargo Shipped by Sea Freight Transport. URL: https://ifa-forwarding.net/blog/sea-freight-in-europe/types-of-cargo-shipped-by-sea-freight-transport/ (last access: 08.05.2023)

ISO (1999): ISO 830:1999-09.  Beuth-Verlag, Berlin, 1999.

ISO (2013): DIN EN ISO 6346/A3:2013-03, ISO-Container-Kodierung, Identifizierung und Kennzeichnung.  Beuth-Verlag, Berlin, 2013.

Hapag Lloyd (2016): Container Specification. URL: https://www.hapag-lloyd.com/content/dam/website/downloads/press_and_media/publications/15211_Container_Specification_engl_Gesamt_web.pdf  (last access: 30.03.2022).

Faber, J.; Nelissen, D.; Hon, G.; Wang, H.; Tsimplis, M. (Hg.) (2012): Regulated Slow Steaming in Maritime Transport. An Assessment of Options, Costs and Benefits.

Flämig, H., Sjöstedt, L., Hertel, C. (2002): Multimodal Transport: An Integrated Element for Last-Mile-Solutions? Proceedings, part 1; International Congress on Freight Transport Automation and Multimodality: Organisational and Technological Innovations. Delft, 23 & 24 May 2002.  (modification of Sjöstedt 1996) 

Grig, R. (2012): Governance-Strukturen in der maritimen Transportkette. Agentenbasierte Modellierung des Akteursverhaltens im Extended Gate. Zugl.: Berlin, Techn. Univ., Diss., 2012. Berlin: Univ.-Verl. der Techn. Univ. Berlin (Schriftenreihe Logistik der Technischen Universität Berlin, 19).

Ihde, G. (2001): Transport, Verkehr, Logistik. Gesamtwirtschaftliche Aspekte und einzelwirtschaftliche Handhabung. 3., völlig überarb. und erw. Aufl. München: Vahlen (Vahlens Handbücher der Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften).

Jansson, J. O.; Shneerson, D. (1987): Liner Shipping Economics. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands.

Jünemann, R. (1989): Materialfluss und Logistik. Systemtechnische Grundlagen mit Praxisbeispielen. Berlin, Heidelberg, New York, London, Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong: Springer (Logistik in Industrie, Handel und Dienstleistungen).

 Marvest GmbH (2021): Massengutfrachter. URL: https://www.marvest.de/magazin/schiffe/massengutfrachter/ (last access: 30.03.2022).

Panama Canal Authority (2022): How does it work. URL: https://pancanal.com/en/history-of-the-panama-canal/#howdoesitwork (last access: 30.03.2022).

Pawlik, T. (1999): Seeverkehrswirtschaft. Internationale Containerlinienschifffahrt Eine betriebswirtschaftliche Einführung. Wiesbaden: Gabler Verlag (Springer eBook Collection Business and Economics).

Rodrigue, J. (2020): The geography of transport systems. Fifth edition. London, New York: Routledge.

Schönknecht, A. (2009): Maritime Containerlogistik. Leistungsvergleich von Containerschiffen in intermodalen Transportketten. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg (VDI-Buch).

Schulte, C. (1991): Logistik. Wege zur Optimierung des Material- und Informationsflusses. Verlag Franz Vahlen, München. 

Shelter Training Academy (2021): Vessel Traffic Management Information System (VTMIS). URL: https://sheltermar.com/vts/vtmis/ (last access: 30.03.2022).

Stopford, M. (2008): Maritime economics. Third edition. London, New York: Routledge. 

Suez Canal Authority (2015): Rules of Navigation.

Talley, W.  (2009): Port economics. 1. publ. London: Routledge.

Transway Internationale Spedition GmbH (2021): Informationen zu Schwergutfrachter. URL: https://spedition-seefracht.de/de/lexikon/schwergutfrachter (last access: 13.12.2021).

Transway Internationale Spedition GmbH (2021): Ro/Ro. URL: https://spedition-seefracht.de/de/lexikon/ro-ro (last access: 13.12.2021).

Veenstra, A. (2005): Empty container reposition: the port of Rotterdam case. In: Simme Douwe P. Flapper, Jo A.E.E. van Nunen und Luk N. van Wassenhove (Hg.): Managing Closed-Loop Supply Chains. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, S. 65–76.

Voth, M. (Hg.) (2001): Speditionsbetriebslehre. Herne.