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Abstract: Maritime transport is an intensively and rapidly developing sector of a particularly international dimension. European shipping plays a key role in the development of the maritime industry in European Union as it strengthens its economy, strategy and negotiating power. The European Commission, to achieve this objective, seeks to promote a common maritime policy and create a regulatory framework. Technological development has historically challenged contemporary shipping laws. This paper pursues to provide an approach of the legal dimension of autonomous ships. The dogmatic legal method is followed, assisted by the socio-economic approach method. Firstly, the role of European Maritime Policy and its objectives are discussed. Secondly, regulatory and legislative initiatives of the use of autonomous ships worldwide are analysed. Due to the particular nature of maritime law, special attention is given to the issues of liability arising from the use of autonomous vessels. The article intends to offer an original contribution by examining the aspects of new technologies such as Autonomous Vessels and the challenges they raise in the global and European community. It concludes that the integration and regulation of Unmanned Ships by the European Maritime Policy would promote a high level of safety and development in maritime transports.
Abstract: External maritime policy is the common sea transport principles of action which are supported by the EU in the international maritime organizations and especially in the IMO. Sea transport is the backbone of EU’s trade and an essential pillar of cross border support of global supply chains. So the external maritime policy is required to comply with a set of international legislation. IMO is the United Nations specialized producer of maritime law and agreements. EU cannot participate in the IMO sessions due to its legal status as a supranational political and economic union. But it maintains an observer position. This situation does not serveits external maritime policy. EU’s Member States are also independent Members of the IMO and some of them define its decisions. Recently, EU has been engaged in an effort to jointly represent its Member States in the IMO through the absolute primacy of EU law over national law. This means that EU wishes all its Member States to express the common EU positions in the IMO. It is about an indirect muzzle of Member States by the EU in the IMO’s decision making committees. This practice has been well understood by some EU’s maritime Member States and creates an ongoing confrontation. Leader of that confrontation is Greece as a traditional maritime state. Greece intends to challenge the EU introducing an initiative of unilateral representation of its positions in the IMO. To this scope, it exchanges views with other EU’s Member States in order to form a coalition. This article portrays the institutional controversy in EU’s external maritime policy by the unilateral initiative of Greece in the IMO and points out that the EU’s decisions on maritime policy are perhaps a stake for its future.
Abstract: The legislators of the European Union (EU) have agreed on the FuelEU Maritime regulation, so far, the world's most ambitious pathway to maritime decarbonisation. FuelEU Maritime establishes a common EU regulatory framework to stimulate an increased share of renewable and low-carbon fuels in the fuel mix of international maritime transport. This article analyses, through the lens of the Advocacy Coalition Framework, the policy process leading to the political agreement on the FuelEU Maritime regulation. Core beliefs of two different advocacy coalitions including the European Commission, the Council of Ministers, EU Member States, the European Parliament and different IGs are identified like Transport & Environment and the European Community Shipping Association, as are the paths to policy change. The agreement on the FuelEU Maritime regulation follows the Paris Agreement and the following international discussions on how to curb the climate impact from shipping, the presentation of the ‘European Green Deal’ with a European Climate Law and the presentation of a broad package of EU climate, energy and transport legislation. In addition, it is a result of problem-solving bargaining between the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament.
Abstract: The paper presents results of the research focused on analysing potential and institutional examples of the application of economic governance in maritime affairs. We performed literature review of the wider field of economic governance and the narrower field of economic governance in maritime affairs for two separate time periods, 1955-2023 and 2009-2023. Based on the presented literature analysis, multiple complementary research perspectives had been identified that can be aggregated into four main research perspectives on economic governance in maritime affairs: socio-ecological, environmental, international and regional. To provide the theoretical foundations for applying economic governance to maritime affairs, the conceptual features, scope, and role of the economic governance approach have been analysed. The institutional perspective on economic governance and its potential for application to maritime affairs has been examined. The analyse of the interconnections of the theoretical background with the institutional framework has been performed on the level of European Public Policies in maritime affairs. The analysis established the foundational assumptions necessary for the practical implementation of economic governance approaches within the field of maritime affairs. European concept of sustainable governance of the blue economy has been analysed together with the Blue Growth concept in consistency with the institutional framework of maritime economic governance, focusing on comprehensive and interrelated economic governance approaches while utilising four aggregated research viewpoints on economic governance in marine affairs.
Abstract: Seaborne shipping is the dominant mode of transport in international trade in agricultural products, and an increasing part of seaborne agricultural trade is carried in containers. Furthermore, the majority of world containers are moved through liner shipping services, that is, regular transport services provided by global shipping companies which comprise a dense network connecting ports and countries around the world. Using a theoretically consistent gravity equation and a novel identification strategy based on the use of intra‐national trade flows, this paper investigates the effect of liner shipping connectivity on international trade in agricultural products. The results show that liner shipping connectivity has a positive and statistically significative effect on agricultural trade. Moreover, this positive effect can be observed for the majority of the agricultural products analysed and is also identified for countries at different stages of development. These findings appear especially relevant in terms of the objective of increasing less developed countries' participation in global agricultural trade
Abstract: The global shipping sector is a major generator of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In 2018, to reduce emissions, the European Union (EU) implemented a monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) system for large ships using EU ports. The MRV system has been functional for five years, with four years of data available as of May 2023. Despite this, the MRV data have not been fully explored, particularly in terms of analyzing the temporal trends of key parameters in MRV reports and evaluating the emission performance of shipping companies during the MRV implementation period. To address these gaps, this study analyzes MRV data collected from 2018 to 2021, investigating trends in ship's basic information, emissions monitoring methods, and energy efficiency. A case study of five shipping companies is conducted to evaluate their carbon emission performance, which highlights the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the industry. Furthermore, this study proposes policy recommendations and management strategies based on the data analysis results; these include facilitating collaboration and knowledge sharing, investing in green shipping infrastructure, and adopting accurate monitoring methods. These recommendations can guide policymakers and industry stakeholders to improve the MRV system and promote a more sustainable shipping industry in the EU and worldwide.
Inherent safety of clean fuels for maritime transport, Zanobetti, Francesco ; Pio, Gianmaria ; Jafarzadeh, Sepideh ; Ortiz, Miguel Muñoz ; Cozzani, Valerio, Process safety and environmental protection, 2023, Vol.174, p.1044-1055.
Abstract: The urgent need to reduce the emission of harmful pollutants in maritime transport promoted the development of several alternative propulsion systems based on clean fuels or carbon-neutral energy vectors. However, the alternative solutions under development pose new concerns from the safety perspective. Thus, an innovative methodology to rank the inherent safety performance of alternative systems at early design stages was developed. A case study representative of long-distance maritime transportation was analysed. The inherent safety performances of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), Liquid Hydrogen (LH2), and Liquid Ammonia (LNH3) were compared to that of Marine Gas Oil (MGO), assumed as a benchmark representing state-of-the-art technologies. Uncertainty and robustness of the safety ranking obtained were tested via a Monte Carlo analysis. The results show that technologies based on LNG have similar safety performances with respect to the benchmark option. Conversely, LH2 safety performance is currently limited by the lack of mature technologies for its safe storage whilst the safety of LNH3-based applications is affected by the toxicity of ammonia.
Efficiency and input congestion of major marine transport companies in the world, Hu, Jin-Li ; Yang, Sheng-Yung ; Lin, Fu-Lai ; Tsai, I-Chien; Research in transportation business & management, 2023, Vol.46, p.100831, Article 100831.
Abstract: The marine transport companies have been experiencing intense competition with the supply increasing faster than the demand, making most of them face input congestion. This paper applies the input congestion data envelopment analysis (DEA) model proposed by Tone and Sahoo (2004) to compute efficiency scores and input congestions of 159 major marine transport companies in the world during 2010–2019. The inputs include employees, total assets, and capital whereas the output is net sales. The base year for monetary values is 2010. It is found that the annual ratios of input-congested marine companies are between 20.9% and 65.7%, indicating that input congestion is not an unusual phenomenon among these companies. This paper also applies a BCG-like analysis to consider inefficiency and input congestion at the same time. The Mann-Whitney U test shows that most of the marine transport companies in Asia, Europe, and the Americas face both inefficiency and input congestion problems during the data period. This analysis is able to provide the implications for shipping companies to conduct more precise and efficient resource allocation and coordination in the post Covid-19 era.
Towards an equitable transition in the decarbonization of international maritime transport: Exemptions or carbon revenues?, Dominioni, Goran; Marine policy, 2023, Vol.154, p.105669, Article 105669.
Abstract: The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is considering the implementation of a carbon pricing instrument in international shipping. One of the most contentious point of debate on the implementation of carbon pricing in the sector concerns how to ensure an equitable transition. This article analyzes in-depth the advantages and disadvantages of two key potential approaches to address equity considerations in the design of a market-based-measure for international shipping: exemptions, and the strategic use of carbon revenues. This in-depth analysis has two main aims: i) it tests arguments presented in the literature on the relative benefits and risks of exemptions and carbon revenues use against up-to-date empirical research; ii) it adds to existing research by identifying benefits and drawbacks related to these two approaches that have so far been overlooked in the literature. The analysis reveals that an adequate use of carbon revenues is likely to deliver greater climate benefits than exemptions, both within maritime transport and beyond. The analysis also reveals that, while exemptions have some potential merit in addressing equity considerations, they also have various drawbacks. Overall, this research suggests that carbon revenue use should be the primary approach to addressing equity considerations in the decarbonization of international maritime transport. The article concludes by suggesting principles necessary to ensure that the distribution of carbon revenues supports the equitable transition.
The container transport system during Covid-19: An analysis through the prism of complex networks, Guerrero, David ; Letrouit, Lucie ; Pais-Montes, Carlos; Transport policy, 2022, Vol.115, p.113-125.
Abstract: This paper analyses the changes on the maritime network before and after the Covid-19 outbreak. Using a large sample of vessel movements between ports, we show a decrease in the global maritime connectivity and significant differences between ports and inter-port links. Furthermore, we find that Covid-19 mitigation measures implemented by governments affected regional port hierarchies differently, with a reduction in port concentration in Europe and Africa and an increase in Asia and North America. Globally, very large ports and small but densely inter-connected ones resisted better to the crisis than the others, while small transshipment hubs and bridges appear to have been more negatively impacted. These findings have implications for the design of more resilient port strategies and transport policies by states and firms.Emissions in maritime transport: A decomposition analysis from the perspective of production-based and consumption-based emissions, Li, Rongrong ; Liu, Yi ; Wang, Qiang; Marine policy, 2022, Vol.143, p.105125.
Abstract : Since most of the carbon emissions from maritime transportation occur in the international sea, it is difficult to divide the emission responsibilities, which hinders the control of maritime transportation carbon emissions. To clarify the emission responsibility, these key drivers of maritime transport carbon emission from the perspectives of both production-based and consumption-based was decomposed by combining the multi-regional input-output model and structural decomposition analysis. The results show: (1) The overall emissions of the maritime transport showed a trend of "rising- slightly falling-stable", which was mainly affected by the globalization and the economic crisis. (2) Owing to the differences in geographic location and economic level, the change pattern of emissions varied among the 11 major maritime emission countries. Among them, the United States was the only net importer of carbon emissions embodied in maritime transport. (3) In general, the decline in emission intensity had always played a positive role in carbon emission reduction, and the production-oriented and demand-oriented structural adjustments had become new driving forces for maritime transport decarbonization in the later period.
Decarbonisation of maritime transport – European Union measures as an inspiration for global solutions?, Adamowicz, Magdalena; Marine policy, 2022, Vol.145.
Abstract: The EU Regulation 2015/757 established a monitoring, reporting and verification (EU MRV) mechanism for CO2 emissions from shipping. Certainly, given the international nature of shipping, the optimum solution would be to introduce appropriate mechanisms within the framework of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). However, the IMO Data Collection System for ship fuel oil consumption data (IMO DCS), established in 2016 and similar to the EU MRV mechanism, has not been perceived as sufficient given the EU's ambitions to achieve swift decarbonisation of maritime transport. The fragmentation of greenhouse gas emission regulation has also consequences for the Port State Control inspections. The article explores the EU MRV and IMO DCS co-existence in terms of financial penalties and other types of sanctions in case of non-compliance with the EU MRV or IMO DCS obligations.
Cost and environmental impact assessment of mandatory speed reduction of maritime fleets, Marques, Crístofer H. ; Pereda, Paula C. ; Lucchesi, Andrea ; Ramos, Ramiro F. ; Fiksdahl, Olav ; Assis, Luiz F. ; Pereira, Newton N. ; Caprace, Jean-David; Marine policy, 2023, Vol.147, p.105334.
Abstract: To reduce greenhouse gas emissions from maritime transport, the International Maritime Organization has been studying measures to be implemented in the short term. However, there is a need to carefully analyze the impact of these measures on transport costs. The present work presents an assessment of cost and CO2 emissions from mandatory speed reductions on the world merchant ship fleet. Considering the product usually transported by each ship type and the distance navigated, expenditures and CO2 emissions are calculated to perform a cost-effectiveness analysis. Results reveal that a given speed reduction is more beneficial for some regions and ship types than for others. Higher speed reductions were found to be environmentally beneficial but significantly increase the annual seaborne transport cost. Finally, the cost-effectiveness analysis shows that the cost per avoided ton of CO2 emission ranges between USD 23 and USD 58, in 30% and 40% speed reduction scenarios, respectively.
IMO off course for decarbonisation of shipping? Three challenges for stricter policy, Hanna Bach, Teis Hansen; Marine Policy, January 2023, 105379.
Abstract: The maritime shipping industry is responsible for around 3 % of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and is now under pressure to decarbonise. Until now, the shipping industry’s main regulator, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), has failed to implement sufficient policy instruments to support the emission reduction targets set in its Initial GHG Strategy introduced in 2018, and the implemented policy mix lacks consistency and comprehensiveness. This could be considered surprising given that shipping is one of few sectors with a main, global regulatory body, which should allow for a comprehensive and consistent policy mix. This is the puzzle examined in this paper. We identify three main challenges for more consistent, comprehensive and stricter regulation of GHG emissions from international shipping: (1) lack of capacity within the IMO to regulate multiple and emerging technologies, (2) uncertainty around the IMO’s regulatory mandate, and (3) lack of political consensus during negotiations. If the IMO is to play a more progressive role in mitigating climate change, these factors needs to be considered to ensure that the combination of policy instruments are able to achieve set emission reduction targets.
Abstract: This study conducts an across-the-board comparative analysis of the impact of the main measures used by the 10 leading maritime nations of the EU on the relative competitiveness of the fleets that they control, covering the period from 1996 to 2011. We propose two models to compare the relative effectiveness of the maritime policy measures implemented: one for the full set of countries and measures and the other specifically for each maritime nation. Findings The estimation results make us conclude that generally the measures adopted in national-level maritime policies (tonnage tax, second register and other measures) seem to have been effective in that they have had a positive effect on the competitiveness of controlled fleets, but with uneven impact on the fleets of each country.
Abstract: Information on ship traffic on the Northern Sea Route (NSR) has been lacking. Previous studies have analyzed transit shipping via the NSR, but no data has been available on the overall traffic volume (number of voyages) and the magnitude and characteristics of domestic and destination shipping. Information on shipping trends and the role of Russian and non-Russian shipping companies in ongoing shipping operations has been incomplete. This study provides such statistical data and evaluation of traffic on the NSR during 2016–2019 and discusses policy implications for future NSR shipping. The study shows that Russian domestic shipping dominates shipping activities on the NSR in terms of number of shipping companies, vessels and voyages. There are much fewer Asian shipping companies working on the NSR than European companies, contrary to media reports that often depict a large Asian shipping influence on the NSR. Much more frequent voyages are also taking place between the NSR and European ports than ports in the Asian Pacific region. Developing logistics operations involve year-round shipments of commodities from remote locations within the NSR to ice-free transshipment and storage hubs located outside the NSR, but within Russia.
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