Maritime Statistics a forum Maritime Statistics availability and

Maritime Statistics – a forum Maritime Statistics – availability and reliability

Maritime Policy and Management vol 36 number 2, April 2009 David Glen and Peter Marlow “Maritime statistics: a new forum for practitioners”

There has been an expansion of both the type and range of data available to the maritime researcher in the past 25 years, as electronic data storage and retrieval have lowered the costs of holding and processing information, and interest in the area has expanded along with its size, as it responds to the expansion of world trade.

The paper tries to assess: - the present state of global maritime information - provide a systematic outline of the strengths/weaknesses of existing data - identify where new data are needed

The paper was written in response to recent moves towards linking the work of members of the International Association of Maritime Economics (IAME), with that of their colleagues in the International Maritime Statistics Forum (IMSF). It is to be seen very much as a starting point for discussion.

In the paper comments are divided into sections relating to: 1. Macroeconomic data sets 2. Trade flow data 3. Shipping market operations 4. Port and ancillary industry operations 5. Environmental, regulatory and policy needs.

MACRO-ECONOMIC DATA SETS Macroeconomic data sets are probably the most reliable and widely available. Electronic databases, such as those provided by the IMF and UN contain global information on the macro variables of most of the world’s economies. At the national level, the amount and quality of such information is excellent.

Such macro economic data would include Ø GDP growth rates Ø Industrial production indices Ø Interest rates Ø Exchange rates Ø Trade balance all widely available at no cost through state agencies.

TRADE FLOW DATA Trade flow and world trade data have also improved through, for example, the creation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its information sources. Trade policy profiles are now available on each country, and trade flow data for a wide number of commodities and countries are readily available, at least in value terms. Trade figures in volume terms are difficult to obtain for shipping.

TRADE FLOW DATA Trade flows between and within trading areas such as those covered by the Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and the Economic Union (EU) blocs are also available.

TRADE FLOW DATA At the commodity level, commodity flows between countries in volume terms are more problematic. The UN commodity trade database provides information down to certain Standard International Trade Classification (SITC) codes, but these data are probably less than perfect and often suffer from time lags.

TRADE FLOW DATA Every maritime economist knows that 90% of the world’s trade moves by sea. Is this a myth? An IMSF paper delivered by Mandryk revisited the question of modal splits of world trade. He estimated that in 2004 the modal share of sea transport was 77% by volume and 58% by value. Broadly similar magnitudes (75% and 56%? ) occurred in 2006. Modal split statistics are very difficult to obtain on a global basis. At the national level, matching trade flow data to specific ports can be problematic.

SHIPPING MARKET OPERATIONS This area is very large, as it covers the provision of rate information in the principal shipping markets, from short sea, container traffic, dry bulk and wet bulk markets, chemical and products tankers, Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) and Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) markets, passenger ferries and cruise vessels. Data are generally good and available from privately owned sources.

SHIPPING MARKET OPERATIONS Raw data are available through BIMCO, and many well-known and highly respected brokers/research groups, such as Clarkson’s, Gibson’s, Galbraith’s, Braemar Seascope, Drewry’s and Petroleum Economics, as well as Lloyd’s Shipping Economist, to name but a few (Anglocentric) sources.

SHIPPING MARKET OPERATIONS Information on the cost elements is also variable. New building and second-hand prices are readily available. Adequate data exists for scrap values. Operating costs are more problematic including, as they do, such diverse elements as management fees, stores, lubricants and total crew costs. There is a wide range of wage rates for crew. There is a general lack of reliable information on seafarer numbers. Data on seafarer supply are particular difficult, especially for ratings.

SHIPPING MARKET OPERATIONS For voyage costs, bunker costs are the key. Bunker prices are available commercially. Port/terminal dues are variable and for some parts of the world such information is still not easy to find. Available through Intercargo or Intertanko if a member.

SHIPPING MARKET OPERATIONS Information on each ship’s particulars, and ownership, used to be available through several databases, including Fairplay and Lloyd’s Register (now merged into the LRF database), LMIU and other sources, such as tanker brokers for tanker fleets. All are privately owned. Discrepancies exist between these databases for certain ships. Estimates of total fleet size can vary depending upon the choice of data sources.

SHIPPING MARKET OPERATIONS A topic of related interest is an attempt to standardize the measure of ship capacity, capacity is measured in deadweight tonnes, or TEUs, or cubic metres, or lane metres, or passenger capacity, depending on ship type. One of the ongoing interests of the IMSF is to try to introduce such a standardized unit. Cridland has introduced the idea of measuring a ship’s ‘steel footprint’.

PORT RELATED DATA Port operations and port performance are of particular interest, especially as port reform has been a common element in many countries following the privatization path. The literature contains many studies of port efficiency gains and port productivity comparisons. But privatisation has caused data problems. Furthermore some continents’ ports do not figure in any of these studies - data for African ports are patchy and inconsistent. Finding accurate information on a consistent basis is extremely difficult.

ENVIRONMENT AND SAFETY The final section of the paper refers to regulation, protecting the environment and safety. Data on oil spills (size and volume) are available through the International Tanker Owners Pollution Forum (ITOPF) and other sources such as the US Coastguard, while clean-up costs for particular incidents can be obtained from the Annual Reports of the International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund.

ENVIRONMENT AND SAFETY Data on maritime accidents are available from sources such as Lloyd’s Maritime Information Service. Port state control information is also very useful as a means of targeting ships for inspection. The EU has its own European Quality Shipping Information System (EQUASIS) database covering European ports and states. Some private companies also maintain such information on a global basis.

ENVIRONMENT AND SAFETY A topical issue is ship emissions and climate change. There is a relative lack of environmental material on GHG and particle emissions. Several papers at last year’s IMSF meeting in Gdansk addressed these issues.

Studies from Austria, Stockholm, US.

ENVIRONMENT AND SAFETY A great deal of the practically oriented work in this area has been undertaken by consultants such as Marintek, Eniac and Lloyd’s Register Fairplay. The MEPC of the IMO also produce occasional reports.

CONCLUSION There are tremendous opportunities for the further improvement of maritime data and its dissemination and use by interested industry practitioners, researchers and policy makers. The introduction of a section for practitioners in the journal of Maritime Policy and Management is intended to provide a means towards achieving that goal.

NEXT STEPS Ø MPM maritime statistics section Ø Annual conferences – l l IMSF New Orleans (2009), China (2010) IAME Copenhagen (2009), Lisbon (2010) Ø Mo. U

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