Calls for papers

 

International Journal of Shipping and Transport Logistics

 

Special Issue on: "Short Sea Shipping in a Globalised World"

Guest Editors:
Ana Cristina Paixão Casaca, Federal University of Maranhão, Brazil
Tsz Leung Yip and Y.H. Venus Lun, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong
Paul Tae-Woo Lee, Soochow University, Taiwan
Alexender Goulielmous, University of Piraeus, Greece

Short sea shipping (SSS) is important in all epochs of humankind. SSS is indispensable for carrying goods and passengers between cities located along the coastline of countries (China, Norway, Brazil and others), within confined waters (the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, the Mediterranean, the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf), and within limited open sea areas (Indian Ocean). The Portuguese and the Spanish discoveries followed by those of the British, the French and the Dutch also positively influence the development of SSS. The growth of SSS has been reinforced by the internationalisation and globalisation of the world economy. To compete in the intense market, maritime transport operators focused on the development of more advanced technological elements that contributed to reducing the cost per ton-mile of the deep sea shipping sector. The traditional SSS market became outdated and inefficient, made up of a fleet of rust bucket vessels.

SSS came to the forefront of the maritime transport industry when “deep sea”’ shipping operators needed to integrate their ocean-going shipping services with feeder services to deliver cargoes to their final destination. In 1992, the European Commission highlighted the environmental impact of transport. To reduce the negative environmental impact caused by road transport, the European Commission advocated the use of alternative transport modes (i.e. waterborne and rail) with available capacity integrated into transport chains to confine the use of pre- and post-haulage. A policy towards the development of SSS was presented from 1995 onwards. The research on SSS has extended from European research groups to global research communities. In Asia, SSS has been a growing issue in the maritime connectivity among the members of the ASEAN and ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA).

Thematic research conferences were organised and SSS-related papers have been published in several journals. Emphasis was given to several research areas which include: (1) analysis of demand and supply for SSS services; (2) use of new ship technologies; (3) deployment of new cargo vessels; (4) maritime logistics; (5) new ship/terminal interfaces; (6) use of information systems to accelerate the movement of goods through ports; (7) the integration of SSS into multimodal transport chains; (8) SSS policy; and (9) various case studies. More recently, researchers have considered climate change’s impact, environmental issues and eco-friendly SSS operations.

This special issue aims at collecting recent original research outputs related to SSS in a globalised world. It will include revised and substantially extended versions of high-quality papers presented at the 2015 Global Port Research Alliance (GPRA) Conference and the 2015 Asian Logistics Round Table (ALRT) Workshop cum International Conference on Maritime Connectivity in the Asia Pacific Region. We also strongly encourage researchers who are unable to participate in the conferences to submit papers for this call.

Subject Coverage
Suitable topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Economics of globalised SSS market analysis
• Modes of transport and impact on environment
• SSS financial issues
• Global and regional SSS fleets
• Strategic and marketing issues for intra-regional trades and the use of SSS
• The role of gateways in SSS
• SSS corridor studies
• SSS and port operations integration
• Regional maritime connectivity of SSS
• Relationship between "deep-sea" and "short-sea" shipping
• Globalisation and SSS
• Stages of SSS development
• Future of SSS in Europe, America and Asia
• Shipbuilding issues for SSS

Notes for Prospective Authors

Submitted papers should not have been previously published nor be currently under consideration for publication elsewhere. (N.B. Conference papers may only be submitted if the paper has been completely re-written and if appropriate written permissions have been obtained from any copyright holders of the original paper).

All papers are refereed through a peer review process.

All papers must be submitted online. To submit a paper, please read our Submitting articles page.

Important Dates

Submission deadline: 30 September, 2015

Review reports: 30 December, 2015

Revised paper submission: 28 February, 2016

Manuscript acceptance: 30 April, 2016