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The demands of air services in China have increased significantly in the past few decades due to rapid economic growth. Unsurprisingly, huge pressure has been placed on Chinese airports by the increasing demand for air transportation. Hence, it is meaningful to analyze the efficiency of Chinese airports as well as to determine which factors are most vital to improve airport efficiency. To do so, a widely used methodology, the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), which is used for measuring efficiency in multiple areas, has been adopted. By means of the DEA method, the efficiency of 27 Chinese airports during the period from 2014 to 2018 was identified. Nine variables, including six input and three output variables, have been identified. Notably, the integration of the fuzzy MCDM method and the DEA approach proved to be optimal for developing a solid and reliable analysis. Therefore, an integrated CFPR/DEA-Window-AR model was developed to evaluate the airport efficiency of Chinese airports. In addition, a comparison of efficiency levels with and without defined criteria weights was conducted. The results proved that considering weights using the CFPR approach is both practical and reliable. Keywords: Airport efficiency, Chineses airports, CFPR, DEA-AR, DEA-Window, Weighted variables

The Port of Gwangyang was built with the aim of reducing congestion at the Port of Busan by acting as sub-hub port. Many studies have discussed the new port construction and dual-hub port system to solve the increasing demand and port congestion problems; however, there is not much research discussing the sub-hub port system. As such, the main purpose of this paper is to analyze the liner shipping network structure of the sub-hub-oriented Port of Gwangyang using social network analysis (SNA). In terms of number of connections among ports, using in-degree, out-degree, and betweenness centrality, Busan is the most important port in Gwangyang's network. However, when it comes to considering the influence of ports using hub centrality, Busan drops to the fifth most influential position. In the network of the Port of Gwangyang, Shanghai and Hong Kong have more important roles compared to those of the Port of Busan. Keywords: Container Shipping, Network Structure Gwangyang Port Social Network Analysis, Sub-hub port

As the South Korean coastline features an abundance of islands, an efficient coastal ferry industry is vital to maritime transportation in the area. However, ferry disasters can have a severe effect on the operational efficiency of the industry. Thus, the objective of this study is to garner insights into the operational efficiency of the South Korean coastal ferry industry before and after the sinking of MV Sewol off the coast of South Korea. Data envelopment analysis (DEA)-window analysis and slacks-based measure (SBM)-DEA were applied to analyze time-series data from 2007 to 2016. The results illustrate that the total efficiency of the industry according to Regional Offices of Oceans and Fisheries (ROOFs) in each province of South Korea decreased. In particular, the operational efficiency of coastal ferries in Incheon, Jeju, Mokpo, and Pohang decreased considerably, and Busan was the most inefficient in 2016. These findings can enable ferry companies and government authorities to understand the impact of ferry disasters on the operational efficiency of coastal ferries and assist in developing appropriate strategies to improve the performance of the South Korean coastal ferry industry. Keywords: Maritime Risk, Seaport, RBV, TCE, Institutional Theory

The Bohai Rim Economic Circle (BREC) is an emerging economic area that has been developing rapidly and has benefited from support from the Chinese government; however, due to the unique geographic location and the late start of development, the cargo volumes and capacities of the ports in the Northern Region are comparatively smaller than the Yangtze River Delta, and the Pearl River Delta. To resolve this issue, one effective strategy is to create additional connections with ports and container ports of nearby countries. Consequently, a Social Network Analysis (SNA), including degree centrality, betweenness centrality, and hub and authority centrality, was used to analyze the route networks of the top three ports (ports of Tianjin, Qingdao, and Dalian) of BREC. A list of ports that are highly influential to these three ports in building additional connections to obtain higher cargo volumes is provided. Keywords: The Bohai Rim Economic Circle, Ports of Northern China, Connection, Social Network Analysis, Port Centrality

Small and medium-sized ports (SMPs) have been challenged by inadequate capacity and trade volume due to the worldwide economic boom. One of the strategies used to solve this problem is creating new routes with applicable nearby ports. However, the correct and influential ports to connect with must be identified. Hence, we used Social Network Analysis (SNA), including degree centrality, betweenness centrality, and eigenvector centrality, to analyze the maritime container transportation route network of the Port of Incheon in South Korea. Five ports were finalized as candidates after combining the SNA method, local political policies, and the port's current connection status. Keywords: Eigenvector Centrality, Incheon Port, Small and Midium-sized Port, Selecting Ports, Social Network Analysis, Port Centrality

As the three largest central hub cities in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen have played critical roles in regional growth. Nevertheless, these ports face many challenges, such as port handling capacity, environmental problems, and the expansion of the complex transportation system owing to the large volume of goods. Therefore, this study used the slacks-based measure–data envelopment analysis (SBM-DEA) and DEA-undesirable models to evaluate the efficiency of the major container terminals in these three cities between 2018 and 2019. Based on the decision-making unit values of the terminals for the past two years, Yantian and Container Terminal 9 (South) were the most efficient, followed by container terminals 6 and 7. Moreover, the efficiency of the major container terminals in Guangzhou was less satisfactory than that of terminals in Shenzhen and Hong Kong. The results provide a reliable reference for future port investment, and regional development policy in the PRD region.

Southern Vietnam is a key economic region for the country, producing 45% of Vietnam’s GDP, despite only accounting for 9% of the country’s total landmass and 21% of its population. Specifically, the Southern Region dominates seaport-based container transportation, contributing 55% of Vietnam’s total vessel calls and 74% of its total container cargo volume, with the North and Central regions trailing far behind. However, despite the sector’s importance, the efficiency of container terminals in Southern Vietnam has not been evaluated by the literature in recent years. This study fills this research gap by using data envelopment analysis (DEA) to evaluate the efficiency of major container terminals in Southern Vietnam. The results of the DEA Malmquist analysis show that most container terminals demonstrated productivity growth between 2017 and 2019, and that this mainly derived from advancements in catch-up operational efficiency and in technological innovation. Moreover, the DEA slack-based measure and DEA undesirable output analyses demonstrate that three container terminals (Cai Mep International Terminal, Tan Cang Cat Lai, and Tan Cang–Cai Mep International Terminal) achieved the maximum efficiency level when both applying and not applying the undesirable output variable. However, other container terminals displayed severe operational inefficiency, with these terminals’ efficiency values decreasing by between 9% and 40% when considering undesirable outputs. The ineffective terminals can therefore be categorized as consuming excessive inputs and lacking in the production of desirable outputs or creating large amounts of undesirable outputs. Therefore, using these results, port authorities and policymakers should be better placed to develop appropriate strategies for managing container terminals in Southern Vietnam.

The Northern Sea Route (NSR) has gradually become viable because of sea ice melting in the Artic. There is a large and diverse body of research on the NSR, investigating aspects such as weather, the environment, legal security, infrastructure and technologies, shipping transportation, and economic issues. However, there has been scant research carried out from a macroscopic perspective on NSR research trends. The purpose of this study is to analyze the trends in research about the NSR by applying a social network analysis. By collecting keywords from academic papers on the NSR, a network of keywords and two indexes (degree centrality and betweenness centrality) are accessed and analyzed. The results show that the trends can be divided into three periods (1899–1999, 2000–2009, 2010–2019). Throughout all periods, the issue of climate change causing the ice in the Arctic to melt has been a consideration for many scholars. In addition, “national security” and “oil exploitation” were important keywords in the first period. In the second period (2000–2010), in addition to words related to the environment, such as “sea ice” and “climate change,” the term “ocean transport” appears and becomes a central topic of research. This is because when the NSR has a non-icy period, ocean transport through the NSR can be deployed. The research trends become obvious in the third period (2011–2019) with two primary research areas: climate change and shipping area, which accurately measure the benefit and cost. This paper shows the importance of the NSR, reviews the main research topics involving the NSR, and informs researchers and authorities as to the trends in academic research on the NSR.

Despite the dominance of the Caribbean as the leading cruise destination in the world, research that focuses on the network of cruise ports in the region is limited. To fill this research gap, the current study carried out social network analysis (SNA) to inquire into cruise port interconnections and their influence on the operation of the entire Caribbean port network. The results are summarized as follows: First, in terms of connections among ports linked to the Caribbean region, a European port and a Southampton harbor exhibit the most significant in-degree and out-degree centrality. Nevertheless, ports within the Caribbean region are still significantly represented as regards both indexes. Second, in the matter of port influence, Caribbean ports are considerably the most important with respect to hub and authority centrality (HAC), especially those located in Florida and the eastern Caribbean. This research contributes to industry through its presentation of an extended panorama of the cruise network in the region, subjecting several ports to respective analyses that describe their principal characteristics and attractiveness in the industry.