Rise, Fall, and Recovery of Blockchains in the Maritime Technology Space

Blockchain technology, since its introduction, has been expected to be implemented in many areas. Cryptocurrency is one unique example that established a functioning application. On the other hand, blockchain technology is not immune to various challenges related to the nature of itself, privacy management, and antitrust laws, among others. This study lays out the nature of blockchain and applications in the maritime industry, while highlighting the bottlenecks. Potential resolutions and anticipated developments are proposed. To do this, we adopt a systematic approach and present an overview of blockchain in maritime literature. In addition, the fundamental problems with blockchain are investigated, beginning from their essentials to the pain points that are claimed to need improvement. For establishing a legitimate and practically meaningful blockchain platform, stakeholders need to achieve pluralism (consensus validation), privacy, and security of the system.

Laboratory investigations on the resonant feature of ‘dead water’ phenomenon

Interfacial internal wave excitation in the wake of towed ships is studied experimentally in a quasi-two-layer fluid. At a critical ‘resonant’ towing velocity, whose value depends on the structure of the vertical density profile, the amplitude of the internal wave train following the ship reaches a maximum, in unison with the development of a drag force acting on the vessel, known in the maritime literature as ‘dead water’. The amplitudes and wavelengths of the emerging internal waves are evaluated for various ship speeds, ship lengths and stratification profiles. The results are compared to linear two- and three-layer theories of freely propagating waves and lee waves. We find that despite the fact that the observed internal waves can have considerable amplitudes, linear theories can still provide a surprisingly adequate description of subcritical-to-supercritical transition and the associated amplification of internal waves. We argue that the latter can be interpreted as a coalescence of frequencies of two fundamental stable wave motions, namely lee waves and propagating interfacial wave modes. Graphic abstract

The enforcement of the global sulfur cap in maritime transport

Purpose The International Maritime Organization has decided that as of 1.1.2020, SOx content in a ship’s emissions should be no more than 0.5 per cent. The purpose of this paper is to address the various challenges expected to arise from the enforcement of the global cap sulfur regulation. Design/methodology/approach The authors outline various enforcement options and present a model that calculates the profits from noncompliance in the high seas, so as to help determine the level of fines that could be imposed in case of violation. Findings The main finding is that a harmonized system of fines, which are more than potential savings from cheating, would be a strong deterrent for compliance. Originality/value To the authors’ knowledge, no paper in the maritime literature on sulfur regulations has focused on enforcement as of yet.

Sustainability issues in ports: content analysis and review of the literature (1987- 2017)

Sustainability, which has environmental, social and economic dimensions, is a phenomenon that has been used extensively in recent times. As decided in Brundtland Conference in 1987, it basically aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. When it is taken into consideration in terms of sustainability, it is known that ports are one of the most polluting sectors due to their nature. However, in recent years many ports have started to different sustainability programs and invested in large amounts over the years to reduce emissions and to gain a competitive advantage. When examined the past studies, it is determined that the sustainability concept is a relatively recent approach in the maritime literature and still a gap exist in this field. It is thought that the analysis of these studies in a systematic way will contribute to the port sustainability literature. Therefore, in this study, it is aimed to review port sustainability concept with the help of existing literature. For the methodology, studies obtained from different databases were evaluated systematically by using content analysis. The study has been concluded with the findings for the related literature, recommendations for the sector and guidelines for future researches.