Investigating Environmental Risk In Maritime Logistics And Hinterland

Background of the Study

Discuss about the Investigate Environmental Risk in Maritime Logistics and Hinterland.

Transport industry has been an emerging market for transportation of goods and materials. However, approximately 90 percent of the goods are transported by waterways. Therefore, the need of industrialization in the trade business through waterways (Bergqvist and Egels-Zandén 2012). Ocean transport has been one of the great sources of income for the country. The revenue invested in the waterways has been increased by 4% in recent years (Song and Panayides 2012). This is the effect of industrialization in the maritime industry has been increasing the profit for various companies in the industry. The analysis of the markets in the industry has been a great impact for the researchers in order to understand risks involved in industry. Environmental sustainability in port industry has been a growing concern for the port authority and policy makers in the industry (Panayides and Song 2013). Communities included in this industry have been affected by risks involved in the port. The evolution of maritime logistics has been a major content for the development of the port facility in the industry. The increase in demands of maritime transportation has attracted investors to invest in the industry (Acciaro et al. 2014). The maritime logistics have been creating a major impact on the development of the tourism by increasing the facilities at ports. The revenue of the sea ports have been increasing with the implementation of the maritime logistics.

The bulk cargo ships contain various bulk materials including crude oil. Containers and various crude minerals. Therefore, the transaction of money is huge in this context. The logistics of the maritime industry have to be well maintained for avoiding financial loss in the company. This research outlines the risks factors that are included in the maritime logistics and transport services. Different risks involved in this context will be critically analyzed.

Maritime transport has been playing a dominant role in maintaining the international trade for a country. The transport of bulk materials and commodities with the help of large ships has been influencing the market. However, intermodal transport has become a global phenomenon that has been mechanized by industrialization. As mentioned by Osthorst and Mänz (2012), ports have become elements in global commodity chains that help in maintaining the transport of the maritime industry. The import and export of goods are done on the ports of the respective countries. The risk management on the ports has been a critical issue of the industry.

Rationale

In recent years, Australia has been facing challenges in the development of the ports and its infrastructure (Holmgren et al. 2014). Major risks include the diversity in the change of climate in Australia. The climatic change has been creating risks regarding accidents over oceans and hardware damage in cargo ships. Therefore, rates of transport have been increased by 3.5 % by the shipping company (Acciaro and McKinnon 2013). This has created the rise in the price of commodities in the market. Therefore, the development of maritime industry is a critical point in order to maintain different scenarios in the state. The adoption of 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in order to prepare a framework for the development of ports in Australia has been signed. The International Convention for the Safety of Life at sea amendments has been verified for the gross mass containers improved for stability and safety of ships (Ar?kan, Fichtinger and Ries 2014).

This research will focus on the risks factors in the ports of Australia. Various environmental risks in the maritime industry and transportation over waterways. The research will provide detailed intimation of various risks including climatic change and its impacts on the maritime industries. The research will help in fulfilling the objectives and aim of the research that will be initialized.

The primary problem on which this research will be conducted is the risks prevailing in the maritime industry, especially in ports of Australia due to several factors. The ports have been facing various climatic and environmental problems in recent years. The environmental risks involved in this context will be discussed in the research.

The aim of the research is to analyze the factors causing environmental risks in the maritime logistics and hinterland port.

The objectives of the research are as follows:

• To identify the environmental risks  involved in the  maritime logistics
• To critically analyze the vulnerability of risks including workforce and identity adaptation measures
• To produce a synthesis report for exploring challenges in implementing policy and practice and integrated decision support
• To recommend strategies for mitigating environmental risks in the maritime logistics and port

The research questions are as follows:

• What are environmental risks involved in the maritime logistics?
• What are the vulnerability of risks including workforce and identity adaptation measures?
• How to explore the challenges in implementing policy and practice and integrated decision support?
• How can these environmental risks in the maritime logistics and port be mitigated?

This chapter has introduced the research topic with various theoretical information. The risk factors in the maritime logistics and hinter port. The aim and objectives of the research have been initialized in the chapter.

Maritime Logistics include the whole scope of the maritime industry and retains all the departmental logistics of the industry the use of the maritime logistics in the maritime industry has been used for maintaining for the transfer of goods and resources through ships and carriers. However, the rapid increase in the international trade through waterways have increased the use of the maritime logistics companies in the market. There has been dramatic changes in the world trade and cargo transportation in business-to-business chain. The marine industry has been an important link in international trade that helps in increasing the ocean network transport. Hinterland logistics deals with the total efficiency among the esteemed clients in the industry. The use of the hinterland logistics deals with the business with the freight carrier in the industry. It deals with the transport in the inland carrier ships that helps in transferring goods and resources. As commented by Pawlik, Gaffron and Drewes (2012), Bulk Freight represents traditional element of maritime freight distribution with several physical characteristics of cargoes. The coastal investments that have been maintained over the decades need to be reorganized in the industry. A remarkable shift has been involved in increasing demands of industrialization in various parts of the world. However, Dry bulk cargo can be shipped in large quantities and decrease the risk of cargo (Acciaro 2013). It can be categorized as either minor bulk or major bulk. The dependability of cargo type has been associated with the port activity. Bulk cargo is imported and processed with output related to the total production of the company.

Problem Statement

As commented by Monios and Wilmsmeier (2013), Iron, Oil and coal have accounted the majority of ton-miles shipped. However, containers and other goods remaining are transported casually. The availability of storage space has been an important element in the increasing the buffer. In logistics industry, a port has been a major component of maritime industry that has played an important role in the international trade.

Australia has been facing a great change in the climate from last decades. Various natural calamities including drought, flood and cyclones have become common in these years. This has been high lighten risks in the port. Cyclones and Storms are the common phenomena in Australia that have damaged ports largely. The cyclone track is towards the southeast of Australia. This place is more prone towards cyclone and sea storm (Holmgren et al. 2014). The environmental factors include the water waste materials and GHG emission. Water waste materials are sediment in the seashore of the ports. These create problems in the ports during arrival and departure of any cargo ship. These waste water materials stuck into the blades of the ship causing damage to it. Therefore, nearby ports have the high risk of damages. The risk assessment strategies have been introduced in the state for mitigating the risks involving in the maritime logistics and ports (Cariou, Ferrari and Parola 2015). The use of the government reports about the climatic change has helped in preparing strategies to mitigate problems. Various researchers and geologists have been appointed in order to study the climatic condition of Australia. 

The reports regarding the climatic change in the state have been reviewed by the Australian Government that have drawn attention to the risks. The exposure of the sea level rise and decrease have created risks to the ports. The adaptation to the future climatic change at high agendas.

Risk management in the maritime logistics has been an important element in the industry. A variety of risks is involved in the ports including environmental risks. As discussed earlier the risks including cyclones and storm have been major risks in the context (Vermeiren and Macharis 2016). The RM related processes and methodology have been implemented for mitigating risks and hazards in the maritime logistics. The offshore and shipping industries including oil and gas sectors have been maintaining risk management strategies for minimizing risks and hazards in the port. The qualitative risk management process has been used in a context that helps in providing risks evaluation techniques and mitigation methodology (Hsieh, Tai and Lee 2014). The key issue in risk management needs to be integrated and embedded in the functions of the organizations for improvising decision-making strategies.  

Research Aim, Objectives, and Questions

The first stage of the Risks management cycle is the risk identification. As mentioned by Yeo et al. (2014), it involves all the activities in and out of the organization that is prone to any rather risk. In the context of maritime industry, risk factors are generally depended on the environment. The common risk factors related to the natural calamities including cyclones, floods and storm. There can be financial loss due to heavy damage to the ports and goods available on the ports. Oil spilling and pollution have been major risks in the orts due to any hardware damage to it, the use of the risks management strategies in the port might help in mitigating these risks (Beresford et al. 2012). 

Risks can occur in form of accidents and natural calamities. However, risk evaluation process includes both quantitative and qualitative techniques that help in evaluating various types of risks and hazards (Parola et al. 2017). Risks include two parameters including frequency and impact. The relation between risk, frequency and impact are given below:

However, there are various tools and techniques used in order to evaluate risks involved in the context including Preliminary Hazard Analysis (PHA), Failures Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), Event Tree Analysis (ETA), Cause-Consequence Analysis (CCA), Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) (Van den Berg and De Langen 2015).

Risk monitoring procedure include the monitoring tools to execute the risk mitigation strategies. The monitoring of risks help in maintaining the risks in the maritime industry. The use of risk monitoring strategies maintains and check level of the risks in the industry. This help in preparing mitigating strategies for the risks involved in the maritime industry (Vermeiren and Macharis 2016).

Risk mitigation include various strategies that might help in maintaining and resolving the risks involved in the maritime industry. Risk mitigation strategies include the use of several techniques and system that might help in maintaining the risks in the maritime industry. Oil splining is one of the major risk involved in the maritime industry that have been causing water pollution (Oliveira and Handfield 2017). Therefore, use of various containers for transferring oil to other orts can be used that might decrease the risk level in the industry.

Various projects have recognized the effective management requires support from the stakeholders of the company. Therefore, in this case, stakeholder engagement in the risks management process is necessary. Existing knowledge about risks in the maritime logistics haes helped in making strategies for mitigating risks in the maritime logistics. The initiatives were taken by the stakeholders in maintaining the risks and hazards in the port (De Martino et al. 2013). The interpretation of scientific data and information about risks and information in the port might produce a report regarding the risks assessment strategies. The ports in Australia have been disseminated with environmental risks that have damaged resources and containers. The involvement of stakeholders in the risk management strategies helps in making concrete decisions towards preparing strategies related to mitigating risks in the port. These included Shipping Australia, the Maritime Union of Australia, Engineers Australia, National Transport Commission, Transport and Logistics Industry Skills Council. In Victoria, a range of other groups was also kept informed – Port of Hastings Corporation, South East Councils Climate Change Alliance (SECCCA) (Lee et al. 2012).

Research Structure

The research philosophy comprises of three types including positivism, post-positivism and interpretivism. The positivism research methodology deals with the hypothesis of the research that includes various theories and models. In this case, the risks involved in the maritime logistics and ports have been discussed. The interpretivism philosophy focuses on the implications and general perception of the people (Bergqvist 2016). Positivism philosophy deals with the current theories and models used in the literature review. Therefore, the use of the theories and models have helped in gaining huge amount of knowledge related to the maritime logistics. Therefore, this research will select positivism philosophy for acknowledging knowledge from theories and model related to the risk management. The research approach is of two types including deductive and inductive approach. The deductive approach focuses on the objectives of the research. This also depends on previous theories and models related to the topic. However, inductive research focuses on inventing new theories on the research topic. Therefore, this research will select a deductive approach that helps in maintaining a proper approach towards the research (Yuen and Thai 2017). The inductive research approach to a study helps in contemplating enough information is not possible. The use of the inductive research approach might not be able to maintain the reliability of data and information collected for research. The deductive research will provide deduction in information that will be not required in this research.

This research will use descriptive research design that might help in collecting data and information related to the risks management in the maritime logistics from theories and models. It helps in building a framework for the research study. However, exploratory research design helps in recognizing different type considerations and thoughts in order to complete the study. However, a descriptive design will provide a complete picture and outline of the research to the researcher (Neuman 2013). Data will be collected from both primary and secondary sources. Primary data collection method includes raw data collected from organizing online survey and interviews. An online survey will be conducted using employees working in the ports of Australia. An interview will be conducted on managers of maritime companies. The secondary data will be collected from online journals, books, reports and governmental databases (Taylor, Bogdan and DeVault 2015). The population of the companies related to maritime logistics have been 100. However, the sample size for the online survey will be 55 employees of different companies related to the maritime logistics in the port. There will be 10 close-ended questions included in the survey questionnaires. The interview will be conducted with help of the three managers of different companies. There will be five open-ended questions asked in the interview session. Data will be analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative method of analysis. The data will be analyzed using graphs and tables. The outcomes and results will be listed in the Likert scale range 1 to 5. This will help in providing a proper understanding t with the results and outcomes.

Literature Review

There will some limitations in collecting data and information. The participants of the survey might be annoying to provide correct answer and might provide answer haphazardly. Therefore, such data will not be taken as information for the research. The language might be a problem for communicating with participants (Mackey and Gass 2015). Approaching the manager might not be as easy as they might not have time for an interview. Regardless, time and budget might common limitations included in the research. The period provided for the research might not be enough to complete a proper study of risks involved in the maritime logistics. The budget of the study might it be able to use expensive software and tools for the data analysis including SPSS tool.

However, the research will be completed using fulfilling all the ethical guidelines included in the study. Personal data and information of the survey participants will not be shared with anyone under the norms of Data Protection Act 1998. The results of the research will it be published and tampered until completing it. The journals and articles used in the research will be after the year 2012 and published with valid author name. This increases the reliability and validity of the research paper. 

Main activities/ stages	Week 1	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4	Week 5	Week 6	Week 7
Topic Selection	·
Data collection from secondary sources	·	·
Creating layout		·
Literature review		·	·	·
Formation of the research Plan			·	·
Selection of the Appropriate Research Techniques				·	·
Primary data collection					·	·
Analysis & Interpretation of Data Collection					·	·
Findings of the Data						·
Conclusion of the Study						·
Formation of Rough Draft						·	·
Submission of Final Work						·	·

The outcome of research will be analyzed factors that have been creating risks in the maritime logistics. A proper risk management process will be implemented in the ports that will help in minimizing the risks and hazards at the port. The use of various models and theories will help in supporting different stages of the risk management process. The Gantt chart will help in completing research within a deadline. The outcomes of the research will fulfil the objectives of the research. 

References

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