• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.1462-1470
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• 2015

The container BIC-code is a transport protocol for convenience in international shipping and combined transport environment. It is an identification code of a marine transport container which displays a wide variety of information including country's code. Recently, transportation through aircrafts and ships continues to rise. Thus fast and accurate processes are required in the ports to manage transportation. Accordingly, in this paper, we propose a BIC-code region extraction and recognition method using multiple thresholds. In the code recognition, applying a fixed threshold is not reasonable due to a variety of illumination conditions caused by change of weather, lightening, camera position, color of the container and so on. Thus, the proposed method selects the best recognition result at the final stage after applying multiple thresholds to recognition. For each threshold, we performs binarization, labeling, BIC-code pattern decision (horizontal or vertical pattern) by morphological close operation, and character separation from the BIC-code. Then, each characters is recognized by template matching. Finally we measure recognition confidence scores for all the thresholds and choose the best one. Experimental results show that the proposed method yields accurate recognition for the container BIC-code with robustness to illumination change.

• Journal of Navigation and Port Research
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• v.33 no.8
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• pp.563-572
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• 2009

The steel industry, as the national representative strategic industry of our country, has played the motive power for the economic growth of Korea in 1970s as the positive support of the government and the management endeavor of the private were harmonized. However, in case of our country, we have mostly relied on import of the raw materials for the steel industry, and as the weight of the imported raw materials is heavy, the steel industry is the industry whose transport burden is big as it is called 'transport industry'. So, the transport rationalization will be the important task of the steel industry. This study has analyzed the economic efficiency per the transport route (container ship vs bulk ship) of the sea transport related to import/export of the steel scrap on the level acquiring the stable supply of the steel scrap. For this, this study firstly researched the status of domestic/foreign steel industry. And analyzed the world crude steel production volume, steel scrap consumption volume and world steel scrap trading structure. Also, in order to compare the transport logistics expenses between two transport devices, namely, container ship and bulk ship, this study calculated the logistics expenses per ton by using the traffic hours and traffic expenses items as the imported/exported scrap freights of 'D' company.

• Journal of Navigation and Port Research
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.397-404
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• 2010

The Currently, most cargos of container transshipment between Busan Port and New Port are transported over land, and the rest is transported by barge. This study estimated firstly the traffic between those ports through simulations in order to analyze the feasibility of container transshipment by barge. It forecasted annual profitability using determinants to affect on the barge business by the traffic, and then, discussed the feasibility. This study supposed the flexible scenarios with 50%, 60%, 80%, or 100% transshipment and the 25 monthly barge service numbers between two ports, and measured the influences of different factors according to the above various scenarios. And then the sales were evaluated by the different traffics and freights scenarios provided the business would be actually operated. Finally, Net incomes were simulated to analyze the feasibility of different scenarios by various traffics and freights. The net income should be positive to get the feasibility. To achieve this, the minimum traffic should be secured and the lowest freight per TEU should be determined. While all countries of the world is controlling CO2 emissions and emphasizes the green logistics, this study contributed to solve at the same time the problems about the pollution and the efficiency of transportation by reviewing positively the feasibility of barge transportation as an alternative to transportation overland.

• Journal of Korea Port Economic Association
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.19-30
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• 2021

The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (MSR) is an important part of Belt and Road Initiative(BRI). As an economic and trade corridor for dozens of countries in Asia, Europe and Africa, and the port as an important link node, the efficiency of port operation directly affects the implementation of BRI's strategy. On the basis of combining BRI and related evaluation methods of port efficiency, this paper uses DEA-BCC model to select port production berth number and production berth length as input index container throughput and cargo throughput as output index to analyze the port efficiency of 14 ports in China. The results show that: (1) The overall efficiency level of the ports along the MSR is relatively low. Most of the ports have not reached the DEA efficiency and there are different degrees of problems in scale investment and technological improvement. However, this situation is accompanied by the implementation of China's maritime cooperation strategy and becoming better year by year. (2) The low operating efficiency of ports along China's MSR is mainly due to the lack of coordination between scale efficiency and technical efficiency, which is caused by insufficient scale investment in the port itself, weak economic linkage between the hinterland and the port, (3) Whether a port has a strong comprehensive strength does not entirely depend on the cargo throughput or scale but also includes the port's operating efficiency.

• Journal of Korea Port Economic Association
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.41-50
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• 2021

This study investigated what the general public thinks about the shipping industry and how important it is. As a result of the study, more than half of the respondents answered that they knew a little about the shipping industry or that they were normally knew about the shipping industry. Regarding the necessity of budget input to prevent bankruptcy of national shipping companies, it was found that more than half of the respondents answered that it was necessary or moderate. Regarding the necessity of maintaining a national shipping companies, 53% of respondents said it was necessary, and 23% of respondetns said it was normal. However, when asked if they thought that maintaining a national shipping companies would benefit me and my family, 39% of respondetns answered "normal" and 28% of respondetns answered "mostly". As for the cause of Hanjin Shipping's bankruptcy, 49% of respondents said that the owners' family members were immoral and incompetent, and 17.4% of respondetns said that the shipping market conditions deteriorated. Regarding the necessity of fostering the shipping industry, foreign currency acquisition and service balance improvement through export of shipping services accounted for 43.5%, and smooth transportation of import and export cargo accounted for 36.5%. When asked what kind of damage I suffered from Hajin Shipping's bankruptcy, 54.6% answered other (not much), and 14.5% said inflation. Abouve these results, this study gave implication in terms of public promotion and transparent business management.

• Journal of Korea Port Economic Association
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.13-31
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• 2021

Since the signing of the Korea-Europe Free Trade Agreement, the volume of trade transactions between South Korea and Europe has increased. The traditional single-mode transport system has been transformed into an intermodal transport system using two or more modes of transport. In addition, the conventional sea and air transport routes have been restricted, leading to a decline in Korean exports to Europe, and the rail transport mode is becoming mainstream in the market due to the influence of COVID-19. This paper focuses on the China-Railway Express to explore a new intermodal transport route from Korea to Europe. First, the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is used to evaluate the factor weights when selecting intermodal transport routes from Korea to Europe. Then, the TOPSIS (Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) method is used to rank three alternatives. The results show that among the four factors (total cost, total time, transportation capability, and service reliability), the total cost is the most significant factor, followed by the total time, service reliability, and transportation capability. Furthermore, the alternative route 1 (Incheon-Dalian-Manchuria-Hamburg) is preferred.

• Journal of Navigation and Port Research
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.338-343
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• 2022

As the revitalization of the global maritime industry continues, the number of foreign ships navigating the maritime territories of maritime neighboring countries has rapidly increased. However, large-scale marine accidents have occurred, caused by the insufficient establishment of a system for management and operation relative to vessels' safety-condition. To address that, the IMO has granted the right to exercise port state control, especially for foreign vessels, to countries with jurisdiction over maritime territories with strengthening regulations and guidelines. In particular, the Republic of Korea, as a member of the TOKYO MOU, is conducting PSC, but as of 2020, the proportion of foreign ships was three times higher than that of national ships that called in domestic ports. However, the inspection rate was low at 9% which has not met the recommended level by the TOKYO MOU. Thus, this study conducted an IPA analysis as well as content analysis, by collecting the practical opinions and views of PSCO through objective questionnaires and written expert interviews, for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of domestic PSC. As a result, it was derived that the importance and performance related to human factors such as life on board, working environment, and response to safety accidents should be improved in to raise the quality of PSC inspection. Additionally, the work environment and performance of PSC in domestic ports for foreign vessels could be improved, if multifaceted support bases are established, for administrative unification of related tests for PSC, recruitment of PSCO, activation of the defection-reporting system, reorganization of the PSC execution group, etc.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Navigation and Port Research Conference
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• 2023.05a
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• pp.121-122
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• 2023

As containerized maritime transport began in earnest, the size of container ships has steadily increased, and recently, the operation of 24,000 TEU-class vessels has become regular. However, concerns about the efficiency and productivity of such mega container ships from a port operational perspective have continued to be raised. The 10^th Busan International Port Conference requested an in-depth study on the trends of container ship enlargement by analyzing the order status of ultra-large container ships from major global liners. Generally, the factor that drives the upsizing of ships is the realization of economies of scale that lowers transportation costs per TEU, which leads to a higher level of cost reduction per unit transportation compared to the increase in fuel consumption due to transporting large amounts of cargo with a single ship. However, it is necessary to examine whether this trend of container vessel enlargement is feasible for port operations. To this end, this study compares and analyzes the productivity and efficeiency of different ship sizes to evaluate the effect of ship size on port operations.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Navigation and Port Research Conference
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• 2023.11a
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• pp.72-73
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• 2023

As containerized maritime transport began in earnest, the size of container ships has steadily increased, and recently, the operation of 24,000 TEU-class vessels has become regular. However, concerns about the efficiency and productivity of such mega container ships from a port operational perspective have continued to be raised. The 10th Busan International Port Conference requested an in-depth study on the trends of container ship enlargement by analyzing the order status of ultra-large container ships from major global liners. Generally, the factor that drives the upsizing of ships is the realization of economies of scale that lowers transportation costs per TEU, which leads to a higher level of cost reduction per unit transportation compared to the increase in fuel consumption due to transporting large amounts of cargo with a single ship. However, it is necessary to examine whether this trend of container vessel enlargement is feasible for port operations. To this end, this study compares and analyzes the productivity and efficeiency of different ship sizes to evaluate the effect of ship size on port operations.

• Journal of Korea Port Economic Association
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.39-57
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• 2016

Many countries are developing transportation technologies aimed at reducing environmental pollution and the environmental burden. For example, environmentally friendly transportation routes and methods are being used to improve inland waterways in Europe. Against this backdrop, a case study was conducted on special cargo (weight cargo, earth and sand, etc.) on Korea's Gyeong-In Ara Waterway, an inland waterway connecting the Han River and the West Sea, serving a distribution function. The results of the analysis showed that coastal shipping could be promoted using the waterway, including a positive synergy among environmental, economic, and social aspects. That is, by shifting from overland transportation to marine transportation, it is possible to reduce environmental pollution, ease traffic congestion, decrease traffic accidents, and shorten the licensing period for the weight cargo demand of the northern area of the Han River. In this respect, the Gyeong-in Ara Waterway could become an environmentally friendly transportation route, promoting coastal shipping in Korea. However, for this to occur, support systems such as subsidies for marine transportation and using the inland waterway are required, as happens in the EU. Furthermore, existing policies to promote coastal shipping should be improved and applied more broadly.