Study On The Operational Economies Of Large Containership Under The Hub-Port Condition

The current rapid economic growth has created favorable conditions for the development of shipping industry. The growth rate of container throughput in various ports of China as well as the increasing quantity of shipment of shipping lines both suggest that the shipping industry has entered a new stage. Possessing an obvious advantage, container transportation at sea has become a main way of maritime transportation and grows rapidly.What container lines are in pursuit of is maximization of profit and minimization of cost. Based on the principle of economies of scale, very large container ships are being built as an avenue to drive cost down.In this study, to the problem of large container ships, analysis are made in four areas, that is, the operational technology of container ship, economies of scale, transportation net as well as slot utilization.The rationales for choosing the above mentioned four areas are as follow: first, meeting the technical specifications is the primary condition for building container ships. None ship can be put into operation without proper tech support. Beside, the technical requirements will be higher for larger container ships. Second, as a theory, economies of scale have its rationalization of existence. Moreover, many specialists and scholars make predictions about the trends of container ships development based on the theory. Thus, detailed analysis must be made on economies of scale on large container ships. Third, the value of container ship can be realized only when it is put into operation. With the development of container ports, they are playing an increasing role on the development of large container ships. That is why analysis of cost in transportation network alongside port...