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    <title>Transport Research International Documentation (TRID)</title>
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    <copyright>Copyright © 2026. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.</copyright>
    <docs>http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss</docs>
    <managingEditor>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</webMaster>
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      <title>Transport Research International Documentation (TRID)</title>
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      <link>https://trid.trb.org/</link>
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    <item>
      <title>Navigating the IMO's new greenhouse gas fuel intensity (GFI) regulation: A fleet-based analysis of compliance strategies</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2698789</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This study provides, to the best of our knowledge, one of the first fleet-level empirical assessments of the operational and economic implications of the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) newly introduced Greenhouse Gas Fuel Intensity (GFI) regulation. Using a well-to-wake life cycle assessment framework, the analysis evaluates four similarly sized container vessels operating within the same fleet. Conventional fuels, heavy fuel oil and marine diesel oil, are compared with alternative options, including hydrotreated vegetable oil, fatty acid methyl esters, green hydrogen, and green ammonia, with respect to GFI compliance, regulatory penalties, and fuel costs. To capture the influence of regulatory stringency, penalty cost scenarios are examined. Beyond vessel-level analysis, the study introduces and evaluates an intra-fleet GFI credit transfer mechanism, assessing its potential to support strategic compliance management across ships. The results reveal a divergence between environmental and economic performance. Green ammonia exhibits the lowest greenhouse gas intensity, while conventional fuels remain the most economically attractive option at the individual vessel level. However, under a fleet-wide credit transfer strategy, converting a single vessel to green ammonia can generate sufficient compliance surplus to offset the deficits of up to three conventionally fueled ships during the 2028–2032 period. Beyond 2033, as GFI targets become more stringent, ammonia emerges as the most effective fleet-level compliance option. Sensitivity analysis confirms robustness across key parameters. Overall, the findings demonstrate the feasibility of a phased compliance strategy that balances environmental objectives with economic considerations, offering shipowners practical guidance for navigating the implementation of the GFI regulation.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 15 May 2026 10:44:35 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2698789</guid>
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    <item>
      <title>Maritime Supply and the Optimal Maritime Operations</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2579668</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The mathematical modelling of maritime supply is crucial for the understanding of freight rate mechanism and to cope with maritime market cycles. Thus, the recognition of the maritime supply function enables ship operators to forecast freight rates and to optimize their voyage costs by fixing tweaking the vessels speed in order to optimize their maritime operations. However, a suitable maritime supply model emanates beyond economic issues in maritime sector since it also unfolds the relationship between speed and transport capacity in whole logistics sector. Literature review reveals that several approaches from a large number of scholars exist to model supply functions but most of them are based on statistical analysis of empiric data of the maritime markets making it complicated to integrate the supply function into mathematical frameworks as well as to extrapolate the found model. This research follows the analytical approach for modelling the maritime supply function based on the VUT formula well known from queuing theory. After a discussion of the elaborated model the results are empirically validated by data gathered within several EU projects on maritime logistics with a focus on Baltic Sea Region.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 27 Apr 2026 15:01:24 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2579668</guid>
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    <item>
      <title>The impact of Russia-Ukraine war on international maritime petroleum trade and tanker fleet productivity</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2647646</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The geopolitical conflict between Russia and Ukraine represents one of the most significant geopolitical disruptions in recent decades, profoundly affecting international petroleum trade flows and tanker fleet operation patterns. This study investigates the impact of this geopolitical event on maritime petroleum trade dynamics by analyzing tanker movement data obtained from the Automatic Identification System (AIS) from 2018 to 2023. Through a systematic evaluation, this study quantifies transformations in global maritime petroleum trade structures and tanker fleet productivity, measured by tonne-miles per deadweight. The findings indicate that, despite sanctions, Russian petroleum exports maintained volumetric resilience, there was a considerable market redistribution from European destinations to Asian, African, and South American markets. This restructuring led to notable shifts in fleet productivity, with significant differences across vessel classes and trade lanes. The findings provide critical implications for asset investment decisions, vessel operation strategies, and the development of energy trade networks.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 19 Feb 2026 10:53:37 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2647646</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Model-based assessment of marine fuel GHG intensity regulation with flexible compliance mechanism</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2625754</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Decarbonization of shipping is one of the biggest challenges facing the maritime industry. This study assesses the impact of regulating greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity in marine fuels called GHG Fuel Standard (GFS) and its flexible compliance mechanisms − pooling, which allows ships to share emission reductions. A computational model was developed to analyze future fleet transformations, fuel consumption, and costs under GFS scenarios with and without pooling. A scenario study using the model indicates that pooling reduces short-term costs by enabling flexible fuel usage. However, pooling delays the phase-out of heavy fuel oil (HFO)-fueled ships, leading to increased costs in 2050 due to reliance on expensive biofuels. The impact of pooling may vary due to uncertainties in transportation demand and fuel prices. By using Monte Carlo simulations considering the uncertainties, the findings were validated, and it was also found that pooling can reduce cost variability for short-term compliance.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 24 Nov 2025 10:20:45 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2625754</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Strategic Ship Fleet Planning for Crude Palm Oil Marine Transportation: A Case Study in Indonesia</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2488155</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This paper presents the application of strategic ship fleet planning for the maritime transportation of crude palm oil. This study aims to determine the optimal number of chemical tankers required, their capacity (in deadweight tonnage), and the appropriate timing for chartering, buying, or selling vessels within the fleet. To achieve this, mixed integer linear programing is utilized as the optimization framework for strategic ship fleet planning. To ensure a more authentic approach, the investigation utilized a case study focused on the export of Indonesian crude palm oil. The research findings indicate that several export routes cannot be serviced due to higher transportation costs, which could potentially be anticipated through an increase in freight rates. In addition, decisions regarding the quantity and categories of fleets required for each transportation route were also made. The importance of this study is highlighted by its capacity to offer valuable insights to exporters, shipping companies, and the government regarding tanker fleet deployment, management, and regulatory considerations. Furthermore, these findings provide a clearer understanding of the necessity of a tanker fleet for transporting crude palm oil. This supports the Indonesian government's 'beyond cabotage' policy, which mandates the use of vessels operated by national shipping companies for crude palm oil exports, making it a relevant case study for examining the effectiveness of such measures.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 18 Jul 2025 09:05:44 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2488155</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Transition to near-zero emission shipping fleet powered by alternative fuels under uncertainty</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2522914</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Achieving a transition to a near-zero emission shipping requires deploying ships which are powered by low- or zero-carbon alternative fuels. This study delivers a transition plan for the fleet, including the selection of fuel type (among diesel, bio-LNG, bio-methanol and ng-ammonia) for each ship, and determining the number and sizes of ships to add or remove from the fleet in each time period through ship purchasing, chartering and retrofitting, so as to operate the resulting fleet at minimum net cost considering emissions, investment and operating costs and revenues under uncertainty. Results indicate that a single fuel cannot dominate the future. The transition from diesel to bio-methanol is favourable when life-cycle (well-to-wake) emissions are considered, whereas transition from diesel to ng-ammonia dominates when tank-to-wake emissions are considered. In the scenarios where emission costs are high, total emissions are reduced primarily thanks to chartering and retrofitting depending on the ship size.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 03 Apr 2025 09:07:34 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2522914</guid>
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    <item>
      <title>Trends of Opening and Closing date for Navigation on the Northern Sea Route in the Light of Changes in Ice Cover on the Seas of the Siberian Shelf in the Years 2008-2022</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2440000</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Northern Sea Route (NSR) is a seasonal route. Its use by merchant ships that are not structurally adapted to navigation in heavy ice makes sense when it is free of ice along its entire length and can be used without the costly assistance of icebreakers. In the paper, ice cover maps were analyzed. The number of the Julian day of the year was determined on the first day on which the transit shipping season began, on the last day of the year after which this season ended, and the length of the ice-free period along the whole NSR was calculated. The analysis was carried out for the eastern and western parts of the NSR. Despite the high inter-year variability of the opening and closing times of the transit shipping season, it is possible, 2-3 months in advance, to obtain approximate information about the conditions of "ice-free" navigation on this route. For this purpose, average monthly sea ice extent of the Kara Sea in May of a given year should be used.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 30 Oct 2024 11:16:55 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2440000</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Overview of the Joint Industrial Project for Practical Application of Laser-Arc Hybrid Welding in Construction of General Merchant Ships in Japan</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1974341</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The application of advanced welding technologies is important for improving the efficiency of hull construction processes and reducing production costs. Laser-arc hybrid welding technology, which combines the advantages of laser and normal arc welding, is of high quality and is expected to improve productivity. The Japan Ship Technology Research Association has organized the joint industry project in collaboration with a university, a classification society and some shipyards to apply this technology in the construction of general merchant ships, in which the plate thickness of the main structural member is thicker than passenger ships and high speed craft. The overview of the first phase JIP results were introduced in PRADS 2016. In this presentation, an overview of main research results of the second and third phase JIP, which are listed below, are introduced.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 16 Aug 2024 10:17:11 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1974341</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>A strategic fleet size and mix vehicle routing model to analyse the impact of demand fluctuation on river-sea liner shipping</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2382614</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The paper proposes a fleet size and mix vehicle routing model to optimize the river-sea liner shipping service. A mixed integer linear programming model is adopted as a rapid screening tool for strategic fleet planning to determine the type and number of river-sea vessels to deal with the fluctuation of the demand over the year, guaranteeing the efficiency and effectiveness of the shipping service. Moreover, the model provides a better-informed decision on the logistic infrastructure design, demand allocation and fleet size and composition in scenarios of demand uncertainty. Thus, the quantified decision support model increases the service level of the shipping service, reducing the frequent mismatches between fleet capacity and demand. A verification step aiming to test the behaviour of the model solution in a realistic case study is presented to analyse the impact of the demand fluctuation on the fleet composition. In conclusion, river-sea vessels enable door-to-door transport via coastal and inland waterways without transhipment. This approach offers a reliable and cost-effective solution. The findings of the work may enhance the state of the art, expanding the narrow studies on river-sea liner shipping services and demonstrating the advantages of river-sea vessels.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 30 May 2024 11:57:12 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2382614</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Effects of Foldable Containers in Various Circumstances in Maritime Transport</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2362037</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This paper analyzes the effect of foldable containers in various circumstances. Recently, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many unexpected situations have arisen in the shipping and logistics industries. In this study, we examine three key situations: shutdowns, demand fluctuations, and fleet size fluctuations. Furthermore, we developed an integer programming model to analyze through experiments the effect of foldable containers in each situation. The results show that foldable containers have proven to be more effective than standard containers in many situations, and they facilitate a faster recovery from container imbalances. However, the optimal number of foldable containers differs in each situation, and the cost of foldable containers is high. To address this, we propose implementing effective container usage through lease policies. Additionally, we explore management countermeasures from the perspective of each market participant to expand the foldable container market.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 04 Apr 2024 16:39:41 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2362037</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Optimal chartering decisions for vessel fleet to support offshore wind farm maintenance operations</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2347993</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Offshore wind energy is expected to be the most significant source of future electricity supply in Europe. Offshore wind farms are located far from the shores, requiring a fleet of various types of vessels to access sites when maintaining offshore wind turbines. The employment of the vessels is costly, accounting for the majority of the total O&M costs for offshore wind energy. Therefore, configuring the size and mix of the vessel fleet to support maintenance operations in a cost-effective manner is an issue of importance to enhance economics of offshore wind sector. In this paper, a discrete event simulation based model is proposed to present how a mixed vessel fleet with the specific configuration, including crew transfer vessels, field support vessels, and heavy lift vessels, performs maintenance for an offshore wind farm. The economic performance of the vessel fleet under a predetermined condition-based opportunistic maintenance strategy is investigated by using the model. A metaheuristic algorithm, simulated annealing, is employed to find the optimal fleet size and mix to make leasing decisions with the minimum costs. The performance of the developed approaches is evaluated by using a generic offshore wind farm in the North Sea. The sensitivity analysis is performed to investigate the most influential O&M factors.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 19 Mar 2024 15:18:50 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2347993</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Maritime fleet composition under future greenhouse gas emission restrictions and uncertain fuel prices</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2329693</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This paper studies the maritime fleet composition problem with uncertain future fuel and carbon prices under the restriction of complying with future greenhouse gas (GHG) emission restrictions. The authors propose a two-stage stochastic programming model that can be adapted to two different variants of this problem. The first variant considers the Maritime Fleet Renewal Problem where there is an existing initial fleet to be renewed through scrapping and acquisitions, as well as retrofitting of ships in the current fleet. The second variant considers the Maritime Fleet Size and Mix Problem, where also the initial fleet must be determined. When applying the model to a fleet of Supramax bulk carriers as a case study, the authors find that LNG- and methanol-based power systems are favorable initial choices. Two different scenario sets, with 50% and 90% reduction restrictions by 2045, are investigated. Depending on the ambition level, retrofits towards ammonia can be cost-effective.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 07 Feb 2024 16:54:26 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2329693</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Modernisation of Container Ship Fleets: State of Play and Consequences for the Baltic Sea</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2310047</link>
      <description><![CDATA[In order to adapt to structural changes in world trade, container ship owners have developed their transport services. Thus, the unit transport capacity of container ships has been multiplied by 3 in the space of 20 years. The maritime transport of containers has developed very speedily and there have been changes in the strategies of shipping companies. These giants of the seas, put into service on the maritime trades linking the world's main production and consumption markets, have led to the repositioning of ships on secondary maritime spaces. This is known as cascading. The objective of this paper is to study the impacts on the ports and the maritime network of the Baltic Sea. For this purpose, the authors will carry out an analysis of the evolution of container ship calls from 2012 to 2020 (number of calls, capacity offered in calls, ...) followed by a graph analysis to study the evolution of the maritime network.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 22 Dec 2023 08:46:58 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2310047</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Russian River Shipping: Evolution and Perspectives</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2113581</link>
      <description><![CDATA[River shipping is highly ranked on the political agenda of sustainable transportation. Nevertheless, a closer look at the EU modal split is disillusioning, since despite all efforts to spur inland water transport, a stagnation is present since many years. A look beyond EU borders to Russia reveals an even more drastically evolution, which is characterised by a steep decline of river transport since the 1990’s with a significant modal shift towards road and railway transportation. Successful river shipping concepts depend on the integration into multimodal transportation chains and powerful technology for modal change. If such conditions can be fulfilled, river transport can take its role as a sustainable hinterland transportation link with low internal and external costs. Rhine River container or Yangtze River shipping represent well-known cases for successful conceptual implementations. Against this background, the goal of the present study is to investigate and discuss the development of the Russian river fleet and the perspectives for future river transport. This includes the deduction of corresponding recommendations, based on identified present inadequacies, for reinforcing sustainable inland waterway shipping in Russia. The study bases on secondary data analysis of the Russian River Register and the Russian River Shipping Strategy for 2030, as well as expert interviews. New concepts and investments are necessary to regain significance in the modal split. However, Russian river shipping bears high potential due to climate change and the fact that alternative transport modes face infrastructural shortcomings that are related to congestions, environmental problems and increasing transportation costs.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 23 Aug 2023 15:24:37 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2113581</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Study of Environmental Efficiency of Ship Operation in Terms of Freight Transportation Effectiveness Provision</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2150906</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Development and implementation of various projects focused on improving standards of energy efficiency and rational use of energy carriers is a priority for numerous enterprises and companies. Modern shipping devotes sufficient attention to improving the environmental performance of the fleet. As part of the strategy to improve environmental safety and energy efficiency, as well as to reduce air and marine pollution in industries, including maritime transport and shipping, a set of steps to improve the ship's energy efficiency is being implemented. This process is carried out in various ways, however, at the same time maintaining the economic indicators of fleet operation. Relevant is the research aimed at analyzing the introduction of energy management systems in the maritime transport and summarizing the experience of operating the ships, which allows to identify a number of proposals, the implementation of which allows to maintain the economic efficiency of transportation. The article offers a review of the main energy efficiency tools and ways to ensure the transport efficiency of existing ships without modernization by operating them at reduced speeds and fuel consumption and thereby minimizing carbon emissions, as well as developing a set of measures to improve the environmental efficiency of cargo transportation.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 25 Apr 2023 09:49:41 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2150906</guid>
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