Study On China-EU Container Shipping Network In The Context Of Northern Sea Route

Recently,global warming accelerate the melting of Arctic ice cap,which enhances the possibility of using Arctic Sea Route(ASR).Compared with conventional route,the ASR saves voyage distance and time,which is a new passage for international shipping network with great potential for commercial shipping.Considering the emerging Northern Sea Route(NSR),shipping companies should re-plan their container service,evaluate the potential of using the NSR and prepare for the open of the NSR.This thesis concentrates on the containers,most important cargo between China and Europe,study on the shipping network design problem in context of NSR,which include the scope of ports,the order of selected ports and selection of routes.This thesis establishes a two-stage optimization model aiming at the highest profit of the shipping company,in which the upper stage is for the selection of ports and the lower stage is for the selection of routes and orders of selected ports.Based on the real case of the container shipping network of COSCO,the network design problem in context of the NSR is studied.To analyze the influence of ice-breaking tariff,three levels of ice-breaking cost are set based on the real tariff rate.The influence of navigable time is also analyzed to estimate in which condition the NSR should be considered.The primary conclusion indicates: if the ice-breaking fee is high,the Suez Canal Route(SCR)is more profitable than the NSR;if the ice-breaking charge decrease to the level of Suez Canal Toll,the NSR-SCR combined route makes more profit;if the ice-breaking fee decrease to a low level,even to zero,NSR is the most profitable route for China-EU container shipping.However,the ports near to Suez Canal with relatively small cargo demand may be excluded by the shipping network of the NSR,which implies that the hinterland of NSR is limited and for some ports at low latitude SCR is still the best choice.In addition,if the navigable period of time is shorter than 8 months and the ice-breaking fee is at the high level,it is unnecessary to consider the NSR when planning the shipping network.This thesis is for theoretic reserve which would assist the liner companies to develop their service via the NSR in terms of both theory and practice.In addition,the conclusion would also be useful in helping the port authorities to makes their strategies about the NSR.The model of shipping network design applied in this thesis provides a theoretical reference for other research on design of new shipping network.