THE ROUTEING OF SHIPS

It is usual to discuss routeing in the light of the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization definition, "a complex of measures concerning routes followed by ships and aimed at reducing the risk of casualties"; but an overall consideration should examine the control of sea traffic from berth to berth. Admittedly, when we think of port control we think of scheduling rather than routeing, but the concept can easily be expanded to incorporate both. Berth occupancy could be greatly increased if port authorities did not need to cater for the random arrival of ships. High rates of berth occupancy, and therefore the efficient use of wharfage, are only possible where some of the more traditional shipowners are conditioned to long delays in port. As the modern trend towards unitised loads and expensive special purpose carriers continues, there will be a growing pressure by the shipowner on the port operator to remove all causes of delay in turnround time. It is shown that it may be unwise to build more berths just to ensure that no ships are delayed, because this in turn would lead to lower berth utilization. The rational alternative is for the shipowner to accept some measure of control over the movements of his ships. There are powerful arguments for routeing, but the difficulties should not be discounted. The greatest is that of obtaining international agreement and cooperation, because such a system is quite impossible on a unilateral basis. The conservative attitude of some owners and their shipmasters will also prove to be a barrier which will only be surmounted by the exercise of considerable ingenuity.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/856156
• Corporate Authors:

  London School of Economics and Political Science

  Houghton Street, Aldwych
  London WC2A 2AE,   England 
• Authors:
  • McKenzie, J S
• Publication Date: 1971-5

Media Info

• Pagination: p. 201-215
• Serial:
  • Journal of Transport Economics and Policy
  • Volume: 5
  • Issue Number: 2
  • Publisher: University of Bath
  • ISSN: 0022-5258
  • Serial URL: http://www.jtep.com

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Berth utilization; Port operations; Routing; Ships; Vessel traffic control
• Uncontrolled Terms: Ship routing
• Subject Areas: Marine Transportation; Operations and Traffic Management; Terminals and Facilities; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00039893
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: London School of Economics and Political Science
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jan 22 1973 12:00AM