The development of maritime autonomous surface ships (MASS) is increasingly considered as a solution to labour shortages, cost pressures, and safety concerns in maritime transport. While much of the discussion centres on technical feasibility and regulatory challenges, this paper adopts a labour- and space-sensitive perspective by examining the views of current and former maritime professionals. Combining a thematic literature review with interviews of officers, a maritime pilot, and a port executive, we assess practical, spatial, and organizational implications of deploying MASS. The results highlight tensions between levels of automation and remaining manual operations, the limits of MASS adoption in complex coastal contexts, and divergent opinions regarding the future of maritime labour. We argue that the introduction of autonomous systems will not simply replace human labour but will redefine it in ways that require tailored regulatory, training, and infrastructural adaptations. Our findings, although exploratory, call for a human-centric transition framework attentive to spatial variability and occupational expertise.
Abstract The maritime shipping industry faces increasing pressure to decarbonise, with alternative fuels emerging as key pathways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This study develops an operational expenditure -based multi-scenario framework to evaluate the techno-economic and environmental performance of alternative marine fuels for a 15,000 TEU containership operating on the Rotterdam–Singapore route. The analysis compares Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO), Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), and ammonia across Suez Canal (SC) and Cape of Good Hope (COGH) routing options under normal market conditions and Red Sea crisis conditions, incorporating fuel costs, tank-to-wake CO 2 emission costs, and SC transit tolls under alternative pricing and rebate schemes. The results demonstrate that the Red Sea crisis substantially increases total operating costs across all fuel pathways on the COGH route. Compared with normal market conditions, total operating costs increase by approximately 155% for HFO, 118% for LNG, and 58% for ammonia. While ammonia remains the highest-cost option in absolute terms, it exhibits the smallest relative cost escalation under crisis conditions, indicating greater resilience to fuel price and carbon cost shocks. LNG emerges as the most cost-competitive option across most scenarios, whereas HFO loses relative competitiveness due to its higher exposure to fuel and carbon costs. The diversion of vessels from the SC to the COGH increases voyage distance from 8288 to 11,755 nm, resulting in higher fuel consumption, emissions, and carbon costs. Consequently, CO 2 emissions increase from 4114 to 5,481 tons on the SC route to 5797–7723 tons on the COGH route, highlighting the critical influence of route choice on both environmental and economic performance. The findings further suggest that emerging IMO carbon pricing measures are likely to strengthen the competitiveness of low- and zero-emission fuels, particularly under conditions of geopolitical disruption. Overall, the study provides a comparative benchmark for evaluating alternative fuel pathways and routing strategies, contributing to the understanding of the interactions between maritime decarbonization, route selection, and geopolitical risk in global container shipping.
Abstract This study examines the extent to which environmental compliance has become embedded within the private-law framework governing ship sale and purchase transactions under English law. While environmental certification, documentary compliance and regulatory readiness are already familiar concerns in contemporary maritime practice, their precise legal classification within English contract law remains underexplored. The article therefore seeks not to demonstrate the practical importance of environmental compliance but rather to clarify the doctrinal foundations through which such concerns are accommodated within established principles of sale of goods and maritime contract law. Drawing upon the Sale of Goods Act 1979, relevant common-law doctrines and industry standard forms including NSF 2012, BIMCO ShipSale22 and the recently adopted SALEFORM 2025, the article analyses how environmental obligations increasingly influence questions of contractual description, satisfactory quality, documentary readiness, misrepresentation and legality of trading. Particular attention is given to the interaction between statutory environmental regulation and private contractual obligations, as well as to the limits imposed by the doctrine of privity of contract. The analysis distinguishes between propositions clearly established by authority, propositions supported by analogy and issues that remain dependent upon contractual drafting and commercial practice. Through an examination of leading English authorities, the article argues that environmental compliance increasingly forms part of the vessel’s commercial quality, documentary completeness and lawful trading capability at delivery. However, it also contends that English law has not yet developed a distinct doctrine of environmental compliance in ship sale contracts. Rather, environmental obligations are mediated through existing contractual principles and supplemented by increasingly sophisticated contractual drafting. The article concludes by identifying unresolved areas of legal uncertainty, including the treatment of latent environmental non-compliance, the distinction between curable and non-curable defects and the allocation of environmental risk at closing. It further proposes an integrated contractual framework and model environmental clause designed to align commercial practice with evolving regulatory requirements while preserving contractual certainty under English law.
Abstract The European Inland Waterway Transport (E-IWT) industry is transitioning towards a new reality governed by higher levels of autonomous systems. While the E-IWT system is preparing for future changes in technical, legal and business frameworks, it is important to examine the system from a socio-technical perspective. Using a Socio-Technical System (STS) framework, the IWT system was segmented into four subsystems: Technical, Personnel, Work Design, and the Environment. Twenty-nine (29) actors covering 19 nodes within the 4 subsystems were interviewed using a pre-questionnaire survey, which was analysed employing a thematic analysis. Two themes emerged as key findings detailing the subsystems in 3 different scenarios: 1. Work as Done- (a) current conventional operation; 2. Work as Imagined- (b) manned and (c) unmanned remote-control operations. For all 3 scenarios, the results identified task, organisation, data and information for 4 subsystems, and existing or foreseeable gaps to the emergence towards higher Levels of Automation (LOA) through those scenarios. Findings forecast a shift in roles and responsibilities from the vessel to the shoreside, likely including a ‘shift in hub’ from vessel-centric operations to Remote Operation Centres (ROCs), requiring real-time communications, extended redundancies, goal-based regulatory changes, and ROC design requirements. The result further highlights misalignment among different subsystems and the necessity of integrated socio-technical approaches, including stakeholder collaboration, regulatory alignment, and system standardisation, to support the transition towards higher LOA in E-IWT.
Port access management could improve efficiency at container gates for involved actors, but prior research mainly takes a value perspective where terminals offer value from information system. Guided by the approach of service dominant logic, the purpose is to explore operant resources for value co-creation among actors involved to achieve effective port access management in a port terminal. A qualitative approach was applied, where six focus groups were conducted. An analytical framework was adopted from prior maritime research to analyse the empirical data. The results include operant resources enabling value co-creation in port access management and show how these resources need to be shared in an effective way to achieve effective port access management. Additionally, two propositions are derived from the results. The current study adds to existing literature on how ties among resources of involved actors affect value co-creation in port access management.
This study investigates the emerging concept of floating ports, examining their applications, technological readiness, and future potential as transformative maritime infrastructure. Despite decades of isolated innovations in floating structures such as floating breakwaters, terminals, piers, berths, tourism platforms, shipyards, very large floating structures (VLFS) and renewable energy platforms, the literature remains fragmented with limited cohesive research addressing floating ports as integrated systems. By employing a systematic literature search combining bigram-based keyword analysis across Scopus and Web of Science, the study identified 142 relevant articles focused on floating ports and harbors. A Balanced Readiness Level Assessment (BRLa) across eight floating port applications revealed moderate to high technological maturity for most components however persistent gaps in market readiness, regulatory frameworks, organizational integration, and societal acceptance. While floating structures have been successfully deployed in niche, single-user contexts, no fully established multi-user floating port currently exists at a scale comparable to that of a conventional seaport. The findings highlight the necessity of integrated governance models, regulatory alignment, stakeholder engagement, and robust financial frameworks to support the transition of floating ports from isolated experimental structures to fully operational and sustainable maritime hubs. Such development is critical to addressing land scarcity, enhancing resilience, and managing evolving logistical challenges within global port systems.
Abstract This paper investigates the impact of institutions and trade policies on Global Value Chain (GVC) participation in a panel of 15 countries in West Africa from 2000 to 2018. Deploying a gravity model, the results indicate that institution has a positive and significant impact, with a 1% increase in the institutions index leading to 0.11 unit increase in GVC participation. For trade policy, a 1% increase in tariff reduces GVC participation by 0.052 units. While regional trade agreements such as the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) constrains GVC participation by about 0.01 units, the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) significantly increases GVC participation by about 0.005 units. The agricultural sub-sector was found to drive the aggregate GVC participation in West Africa. There is need to improve GVC participation by harmonizing and implementing lower tariffs, improving infrastructure and technology within a framework of qualitative institutions.
Abstract Indonesia is one of the archipelagic states in the world facing continuous logistics challenges as observed from the domination of inter-island freight movement by road transportation despite its vast maritime potential. The overreliance on land-based logistics has generated severe congestion, accelerated infrastructure deterioration, and elevated transportation costs while maritime transport remains critically underutilized. Therefore, this study aims to investigate freight mode choice behavior by comparing road, Ro-Ro (Roll-On/Roll-Off), and Lo-Lo (Lift-On/Lift-Off) vessels in the Java–Sumatra corridor which is the most congested logistics artery in Indonesia as part of the efforts to improve the role of maritime logistic transport. Multinomial Logit Model (MNL) and Hybrid Choice Model (HCM) methods were adopted to examine the effects of observable attributes (cost, time, frequency) and latent psychological constructs (perceived satisfaction and perceived accessibility). The survey data from 137 freight decision-makers including cargo owners, shippers, receivers, and freight forwarders showed that the incorporation of latent variables significantly improved model fit with adjusted ρ² increasing from 0.31 (MNL) to 0.48 (HCM) as a reflection of 55% enhancement. Critically, perceived satisfaction exerted a strong positive influence on maritime mode choice (β = 0.89 for Ro-Ro, p < 0.01) while perceived accessibility was statistically insignificant. This study contributes to freight mode choice literature by (1) extending HCM application to archipelagic developing country contexts, (2) identifying context-specific latent constructs, and (3) showing boundary conditions for the role of accessibility in freight decisions. The results show the need to formulate maritime policies reallocating resources from infrastructure-centric investments toward service quality improvement programs particularly with a focus on schedule reliability, cargo safety, and port turnaround efficiency to catalyze sustainable modal shift.
Abstract This study examines how incumbents structure partnerships with startup firms during digital transformation. Research on corporate–startup collaboration has paid limited attention to the temporal structuring of value across partnership phases. To examine this gap, we draw on a multiple-case analysis of startup partnership programs initiated by Maersk, CMA CGM, Kuehne + Nagel, and DB Schenker. We develop a framework of four building blocks that link value phases to temporal considerations to explain how partnerships are structured and evolve over time. The first two building blocks emphasize conceptualization and empirical verification. We show how the value proposition is shaped by fixed temporal milestones, and how value delivery unfolds incrementally through activity-based segmentation and geographic footprint. The next two building blocks extend the framework through conceptualization and empirical illustration. We illustrate how incumbents adapt value through dynamic financial involvement, either through “option creation” (ad hoc paths) or “option exercise” (targeted paths), and how value capture reflects cyclical scenarios that may prompt firms to renew their startup engagement strategies. Our findings contribute to a process-oriented understanding of the temporal dynamics of value creation in corporate–startup partnerships and offer practical insights for incumbents seeking to structure and sustain such collaborations.
Abstract Under the framework of Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS), Level 2 and Level 3 autonomous vessels are expected to play a significant role in future maritime traffic. As maritime traffic density continues to increase due to economic growth, especially in critical waterways, real-time monitoring and effective traffic management are essential for ensuring navigational safety. The Remote Operations Center (ROC) plays a central role in this process, ensuring comprehensive awareness of vessels within the waterway and enabling dynamic responses. Existing ROCs primarily rely on waterway traffic service systems (such as VTS) and departments like the Maritime Safety Administration, combining various tools such as marine radar, AIS data, and shore-based surveillance cameras to provide services. However, existing monitoring technologies face several limitations, such as the latency of AIS data, which makes synchronization with real-time video data challenging, and the limitations of marine radar in obstructed or complex waterways, which affect monitoring effectiveness. Therefore, this paper proposes a real-time vessel monitoring framework based on multi-source data fusion, focusing on using navigation buoys as front-end sensing nodes equipped with cameras, AIS receivers, VHF transceivers, and edge computing devices to achieve local data fusion and analysis. By monitoring the traffic situation in real time at the buoy edge and transmitting relevant information to the ROC, this study establishes a collaborative monitoring and vessel traffic service framework between buoys and the ROC, aiming to enhance monitoring capabilities and service quality in critical waterways.
Abstract Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have become indispensable for addressing operational challenges in hazardous or inaccessible environments, contributing to resilience and efficiency in the maritime port sector. This study integrates a systematic literature review of 33 academic articles with insights from semi-structured interviews with industry experts to explore UAV applications in port operations. The findings demonstrate strong alignment regarding UAVs' capacity to improve real-time monitoring and data collection for resilience-based management, particularly in infrastructure inspection and environmental sustainability. Crucially, however, the analysis reveals that contrary to narratives of full automation, industry experts view UAVs primarily as decision-support tools that enhance human situational awareness rather than as replacements for operational workflows. Furthermore, significant divergences were identified between theoretical research and implementation realities: while academia often emphasizes technical feasibility, practitioners highlight regulatory frameworks and organizational readiness as the primary barriers to adoption. By bridging these perspectives, this study provides a roadmap for port authorities and policymakers to optimize UAV utilization, emphasizing that value creation depends on integrating UAV data into existing management systems to streamline decision-making and enhance overall port performance.
Abstract The shipping industry is a cornerstone of global trade and a contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Within this sector, ferries play a crucial role in connecting communities and facilitating regional trade. However, smaller ferries—particularly those under 5000 gross tonnage (GT) engaged in short sea shipping—often evade stringent regulation despite their environmental impact. This paper conducts a five-stage systematic literature review following the PRISMA-method, systematically identifying and analysing 61 peer-reviewed publications on ferry decarbonization published over the past 13 years. The study highlights a peak in research in the year 2025 and identifies three key research areas: technological innovation, regulatory frameworks and operational strategies coupled with economic considerations. It further identifies critical gaps, including the need for coordinated policy efforts, the integration of renewable energy sources, and adaptive strategies to balance environmental and economic objectives. The paper contributes to the academic discourse by offering a structured and transparent synthesis of this under-researched topic while providing practical implications for the industry stakeholders, bridging the gap between policy goals and real-world outcomes, and outlining future research directions for maritime decarbonization.
Abstract Dry ports facilitate the containerization trade by connecting seaports with their hinterlands, yet their operational efficiency remains scarcely examined in the existing literature. This study addresses the gap by developing an input–output model to measure the operational efficiency of dry ports which includes 18 private dry ports in Bangladesh for the study. An output-oriented Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model with constant returns to scale was applied, incorporating nine input variables and three output variables identified through a systematic literature review. Cross-efficiency and super-efficiency analyses were further employed to enable robust benchmarking beyond self-evaluation. The results reveal that 11 out of 18 dry ports (61%) achieved full efficiency in all three years studied (2019 to 2021), while four dry ports remained persistently inefficient. Infrastructural and operational factors, including equipment capacity, total area, manpower and distance from the seaport, were found to be the key determinants of dry port performance. Five dry ports emerged as consistently strong benchmarks and four were identified as persistently inefficient which require targeted intervention. Unlike most prior DEA studies that focus on seaports, this study contributes a replicable benchmarking framework specifically designed for dry ports. It offers actionable insights for port operators, logistics planners and policymakers in Bangladesh and other developing economies seeking to improve hinterland logistics performance.
Abstract This article presents a structured and holistic analysis of key climate-related transition risks facing the global shipping industry. As maritime transport undergoes decarbonization, it is confronted with a range of interdependent challenges, which can be ordered in five primary categories: litigation, policy, contractual, technological, and social risks. These risks interact in complex ways, giving rise to cascading effects that can amplify operational, legal, and financial vulnerabilities throughout the maritime supply chain. Drawing on a targeted literature review and legal doctrinal analysis, this study develops an analytical framework to identify, categorize, and understand these interconnected risks. Rather than offering an exhaustive inventory, the article illustrates how different categories of risk may reinforce one another, highlighting the limitations of siloed approaches to risk management. The paper emphasizes the importance of coordinated regulatory frameworks, adaptive contractual arrangements, and proactive industry engagement to mitigate risks effectively. By mapping the selected risks and their interactions, the article contributes to ongoing academic debate and supports more informed decision-making in the shipping sector’s transition toward a low-carbon maritime future.
Abstract Port automation has emerged as a transformative force across the global maritime industry, promising substantial advantages over conventional ports. While literature on port automation is extensive, relatively limited studies address the practical challenges of implementation in developing economies beyond the design stage. This study bridges this gap by linking established port automation literature with an in-depth case study of Teluk Lamong Terminal (TTL), Indonesia’s first automated container terminal and a pioneering example in a developing economy context. The study combines a systematic literature review with qualitative evidence from seventeen in-depth interviews spanning staff, middle managers, top management, and external stakeholders to identify key dimensions of implementation. The findings show that while automation at TTL has delivered improvements in performance, safety, and process standardization, these outcomes emerged through continuous adjustment. Workforce roles were reconfigured toward more advanced planning and monitoring, while governance arrangements evolved iteratively as operational experience accumulated. In theoretical terms, the TTL case supports socio-technical and interpretive perspectives that emphasize co-evolution between technology, organization, and governance. Meanwhile, the waterfall or linear maturity models are challenged, as the automation at TTL functioned as an ongoing organizational condition. The analysis further shows that the prevailing automation literature tend to underestimate the temporal horizon, managerial discretion, and institutional capacity required to stabilize automation in specific developing economy settings. By explicating these mediating mechanisms, this study refines existing automation theory and provides empirical insights for ports in similar developing countries pursuing automation under conditions of institutional and organizational constraint.
Abstract Bunker fuel prices constitute a major component of maritime transport costs, representing 30–70% of total operating expenses and critically influencing competitiveness, planning, and regulatory compliance in global shipping. Their strong linkage to crude oil dynamics, coupled with additional volatility arising from supply–demand imbalances and regional market shocks, makes accurate forecasting both challenging and essential. This study proposes a novel hybrid framework that integrates explainable artificial intelligence through Shapley additive explanations–based feature engineering with a recurrent neural network long short-term memory (LSTM) model to forecast weekly Fujairah marine gas oil bunker prices 8 weeks ahead considering its non-linearity, structural breaks, and exogenous shocks. Based on both multivariate and univariate analyses, the proposed model LSTM–SHAP, consistently outperforms autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA), ARIMA with exogenous variables (ARIMAX), and conventional LSTM configurations. Empirical results demonstrate significant improvements in predictive accuracy, with the mean absolute percentage error decreasing from 11.78% for the ARIMAX(1,1,1) model to 5.52% for the proposed model, while the coefficient of determination increased from 57.77% to 92.51%. Moreover, the Diebold–Mariano and Harvey–Leybourne–Newbold tests confirm that these improvements are statistically significant across all model comparisons. The results underscore the robustness, interpretability, and operational relevance of the proposed framework for enhancing decision-making in volatile maritime fuel markets.
Abstract The article presents an interdisciplinary study examining the environmental and economic implications of introducing low-carbon fuels in coastal shipping. The main focus is on the comparison of alternative energy sources - from biofuels and methanol to ammonia and hydrogen - by the criteria of emissions, cost, technical readiness and logistical feasibility. A comprehensive assessment model is proposed that integrates life cycle parameters, marginal abatement cost (MAC) and strategic implementation scenarios until 2050. Particular attention is paid to a hybrid gradual transition scenario that combines early biofuels with a long-term transition to hydrogen and ammonia. The presented results serve as a practical tool for developing decarbonization roadmaps and decision-making in the transport and port sectors. The work has practical implications for public policy, shipowners and investors in the context of the energy transition and climate commitments. The results showed that switching from HFO to Bio-LNG or green methanol reduces CO₂ and SOx emissions, while increasing total operating costs.
Abstract This paper presents an economic analysis of the reduction of carbon emissions in the aviation sector. Aviation and shipping are both international and have high carbon abatement costs so both sectors can learn from each other. To what extent should we prioritize emission reductions in the aviation sector and what is the best way to do this. Climate change is a world public bad, and this results in too low mitigation efforts when countries pursue their own objectives. Pledges in the framework of international agreements like the Paris agreement for domestic aviation and the Corsia agreement for international aviation are unlikely to produce their full effects because the agreements are not enforceable. The effectiveness of three policy levers is examined in more detail. First, the European climate policy with the SAF blending mandate and the integration of domestic aviation in the European economy wide tradable emission system. Second the effectiveness of the Corsia agreement. Third, the possibilities of a fuel efficiency mandate imposed by the EU and or the US on their domestic aircraft producer.
Abstract Digital Twin (DT) technology has considerable potential to transform port operations, yet high implementation costs and uncertain benefits have constrained its adoption. This study examines how port authorities can plan and prioritise DT applications. Drawing on seventy-seven interviews at the Port of Barcelona (PoB) and twelve further interviews with international ports, eighty potential use cases were identified. These were grouped into three categories of users—Operations, Support and Administrative, and Linking—and assessed against nine evaluation criteria. The analysis shows that most ports remain in the early stages of adoption, pursuing diverse strategies and objectives. While many applications promise substantial value in terms of time savings, cross-departmental benefits, and sustainability, they often demand significant resources and lengthy implementation. A prioritisation exercise revealed a clear preference for high-impact use cases with lower resource requirements. Operational departments emphasised predictive and optimisation tools, administrative units focused on real-time monitoring and linking functions prioritised management and coordination. Comparison with international cases confirms a strong alignment, particularly around operational efficiency.
Abstract Regulatory bodies have set ambitious goals regarding the decarbonization of maritime transport. The shipping industry, however, continues to face the dual challenge of sustaining profitability while renewing its fleet with new “greener” vessels. Despite the well-defined policy frameworks, there is no clear pathway toward financially viable fleet renewal. This paper develops and applies a green financing model designed to identify sustainable and resilient financing schemes that can accelerate the transition toward low-emission ferry operations. The model is empirically tested on the Greek Ferry Network, focusing on one of its largest Ro-Pax operators. Through a detailed financial analysis incorporating revenue and cost projections under alternative interest rate and subsidy scenarios, the study evaluates the economic feasibility of fleet renewal investments. Results show that targeted subsidies and favorable financing structures significantly enhance financial performance during the loan repayment period, enabling earlier compliance with decarbonization mandates without unduly increasing passenger fares. Beyond its empirical application, the proposed model serves as a policy support tool, offering a transferable framework for sustainable fleet-renewal strategies across shipping segments. The paper concludes with a set of targeted policy recommendations to align environmental objectives with financial and social sustainability.
