Chapter 11

Question 1

Characteristics of bulk shipping

Answer 1

*Carries large parcels of raw materials
*Few transactions per year
*6ish voyages per year
*Low service levels - little overhead
*Few shore staff per ship

Question 2

Define bulk shipping

Answer 2

Consists of a consignment large enough to fill an entire ship

Question 3

What are the main categories of bulk

Answer 3

1. Liquid - crude oil, oil, liquid chemicals, wine
2. Five major bulks - iron ore, grain, coal, phosphates and bauxite
3. Minor bulks - steel products, cement, gypsum, sugar, salt

Question 4

How is the bulk fleet comprised?

Answer 4

Two main fleets are tankers and bulk carriers, smaller fleets of combined carriers. Sizeable MPP and tramp fleet which can carry dry bulk, general cargo and containers - provides link between dry bulk market and container market. Container ships can also be major contender in smaller dry bulk cargoes.

Question 5

Define a bulk commodity

Answer 5

Substance like grain, iron ore and coal with a homogenous physical character that lends itself to bulk handling and transport. If shipping in bulk carriers - called bulk cargoes. If shipped in container - becomes general cargo

Question 6

What are the four main characteristics of bulk commodities which influence their suitability for transport in bulk?

Answer 6

1. Volume - need to fill a ship
2. Handling and stowage - consistent granular composition
3. Cargo value - higher value cargoes sensitive to inventory costs are shipped in smaller ships. Low value cargoes like iron ore can be stockpiled and shipped in large ships
4. Regularity of trade flow - Cargoes shipped regularly in large quantities provide better basis for investment in bulk handling systems

Question 7

Describe the various elements in a typical bulk transport system

Answer 7

Draw the figure

Question 8

Discuss challenges presented to shipowners of building ships which fit into bulk transport systems

Answer 8

1. Depth of water and berth length
2. Storage facilities
3. Quantity of raw materials a manufacturing plant can process in a year

Question 9

What are the objectives when thinking about the transport systems in which bulk shipping plays a part?

Answer 9

1. Use biggest ships possible - max economies of scale, reduce unit costs
2. Use most efficient cargo handling - handling costs money, possible to improve efficiency, high productivity equipment reduces unit costs of loading and discharging
3. Make systems compatible - integrate the various stages. Containerization is an example. Design system which covers all the stages in the transport operation for efficiency
4. Keep stocks as small as possible - can be too expensive to hold cargo for long periods, holding stock can be more expensive than transport savings from using bigger ships