General information


Subject type: Mandatory

Coordinator: Jesus Ezequiel Martínez Marín

Trimester: Third term

Credits: 6

Teaching staff: 

Enric Palau Forte

Teaching languages


  • Catalan
  • English

Skills


Specific skills
  • Demostrar capacitat per comunicar de manera fluida en llengua espanyola, catalana i anglesa de forma oral i escrita en l'entorn de la logística i els negocis marítims

  • Identify the basic economic concepts, as well as the microeconomic and macroeconomic functioning of the markets

  • Select and use quantitative instruments for decision making and contrasting economic hypotheses

Description


The maritime economy is vital to understanding the industry of the maritime sector. The shipbuilding industry is a reflection of global trade. The more trade increases, the greater the demand for maritime transport. For this reason the maritime economy is complex as it is interrelated with the overall growth of the economy.

A theoretical and practical analysis of the principles of maritime economics will be seen. The main aspects that will be seen are:

  • Maritime supply and demand.
  • The Difference Between Cargo Ships And Container Ships.
  • The Cycles of the Maritime Economy.
  • Economic Development.

During the course special attention will be paid to:

  • Outsourcing. Identification of costs, including travel costs, capital costs and operating costs.
  • The four economic markets: freight, second hand, new construction and scrapping.
  • Understanding the dynamics of freight creation, including its calculation and prediction.
  • The Economics of Ship Design.

Learning outcomes


• At the end of the subject, the student will know the economic factors of maritime transport that influence the efficient operation of the transport of goods.

• From a more general point of view, the student will acquire an overview of how ships operate to meet supply and demand and understand the role of markets and competition.

Working methodology


In the master sessions with the whole group, participatory theory sessions will be combined with group work sessions to solve practical cases of the subject and oral presentations by the students. The theoretical exposition will include examples that will help the student to solve exercises autonomously.

Contents


This subject has methodological and digital resources to make possible its continuity in non-contact mode in the case of being necessary for reasons related to the Covid-19. In this way, the achievement of the same knowledge and skills that are specified in this teaching plan will be ensured.

The TecnoCampus will make available to teachers and students the digital tools needed to carry out the course, as well as guides and recommendations that facilitate adaptation to the non-contact mode.

 

UNIT 0: INTRODUCTION TO THE SUBJECT

  • Welcome to the subject
  • Vocabulary of the subject
  • References and Bibliographic citations

UNIT 1: THE ECONOMIC AND COMMERCIAL ENVIRONMENT OF THE MARITIME TRANSPORT MARKET

1.1 Economic analysis of the maritime sector

  • Evolution of the naval sector in the last 5000 years. Super-specialization and globalization.
  • The structure of world maritime trade. Derived Demand.
  • Tona-Mile as a measure of the demand for transport services

1.2 Analysis of cargoes carried on board ships

  • Types of loads. Units of measurement
  • Types of ships and adaptation to the market.

UNIT 2: THE ORGANIZATION OF THE MARITIME MARKET

  1. State regulations:
  • Flag State
  • Port State
  • Coastal State
  • Classification societies
    1. Registration and choice of flag
  • The Structure of the World Fleet
  • Organization chart of companies that form a ship
    1. Agreements
  • Marpol, Soles, Load Lines, CORELEG, SCTW, Nox / Sox, Polar Code
  • Is shipowners paid for quality? The economy of ship safety and the polluter pays.
  • The cost of accidents at sea.

UNIT 3: COMPARISON BETWEEN "BULK" AND "LINER"

  1. Definition Liner and Tramp
  2. Liner
  • Price discrimination
  • The need for even larger container types
  • The effects of ship size on shipping companies.
  • Economies and diseconomies of scale.
  • Oligopolistic behavior, monopoly, perfect competition and cartel, consortia and alliances.
    1.  Tramp
  • Comparison between Bulk and Liner
  • Similarity to the perfect competition model
    1. Role of ports in the transport system

UNIT 4: COSTS, INCOME AND CASH FLOW

4.1 Elementary cost classification: Fixed and Variable

4.2 Classification of shipping costs:

  • Capital (Capex): Initial Purchase, Credit and Sale of the ship.
  • Voyage: Bunkers, Ports, Handling, Canals.
  • Operational (Opex): Maintenance-repair, Insurance, Administration, Crew and maintenance.
  • Particular case: Insurance, type that exists. Economic impact of piracy.
  • Particular case: Costs in liners
  • Cost conclusions

4.3 Income: Chartering and its modalities

  • Bare Boat
  • Time Charter
  • Voyage Charter, Special Case COA
  • Own or charter ships? Associated Risks.

UNIT 5: FINANCING OF SHIPS AND SHIPPERS

5.1 Credits and their return

  • French system
  • German system
  • Manca
  • TAE

5.2 Investment analysis

  • Depreciation, Residual Value
  • NPV

5.3 Average Value of Capital Costs

5.4 Income Statement, Profits or Losses, Profit Maximization and Cash Flow

5.5 Calculation of the freight per trip

UNIT 6: THE FLEET MARKET: SUPPLY AND DEMAND

6.1 Market. Introduction to the 4 markets.

6.2 Structure of the freight market

  • The function of supply and demand
  • Basic characteristics of the freight market
  • Freight Cycle Cycles: Short Cycle and Long Cycle
  • Supply productivity
  • Theory of freight formation: Equilibrium price and elasticity of demand

6.3 The regular online freight market

  • The freight on the regular line
  • The value-added services of the regular line

 

UNIT 7: THE NEW CONSTRUCTION MARKET, SECOND HAND AND SCRAP

7.1 The new construction market     

  • Offer shipyards internationally
  • Ship demand cycles
  • Price of the newly built boat: Interaction with other markets
  • Costs and revenues of a shipyard

7.2 The second hand market or buying and selling

  • Supply and demand
  • Does the type of ship matter to a speculative investor?
  • Second hand price determination

7.3 The scrapping market

  • Characteristics, operation and drainage countries
  • When to scrap
  • Price factors

UNIT 8: TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS IN MARITIME TRANSPORT

8.1 Forecasting and statistics

8.2 Ship and operation design economics

  • Types of cargo and ship designs
  • Economic criteria for evaluating ship design. Weighted Technical Value
  • The justification for larger ships
  • digital technology
  • Automation
  • EEDI and the lowest energy consumption economy
  • Ship / boat obsolescence

8.3 Impact on demand for environmental concerns

Learning activities


Group work and oral presentation: A work of 3 to 5 pages must be submitted. A list of specific topics will be circulated for your choice. Topics suggested by students are also accepted upon acceptance by the teacher. The work must be in English. Any text that is not written by oneself must be properly referenced, the work must be free of plagiarism.

Continuous Evaluation Activity: Final activity of each unit

Online test: Online test to be performed after each unit

 

Evaluation system


Final exam 50%: The exam lasts 2 hours. The minimum grade to average with the other parts assessments is 5/10.

Group work and oral presentation: 15%

Continuous Evaluation 35%:

Participation in the activities proposed in the classroom and attendance: 10%

Completion of the online test for each unit: 10%

Final activity of each unit: 15%

REFERENCES


Basic

PALAU, Enric. Maritime Economy. Keys to Naval Trade, ISBN-13: 978-1515214557; ISBN-10: 1515214559; Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform; Edition: 1 (March 1, 2015); Soft cover: 216 pages.

Complementary

Stopford, Martin. Maritime economics. 3rd ed. London: Routledge, 2009. ISBN 9780415275583

 

Economy of the Maritime Sector. First edition. Madrid: Spanish Maritime Institute, 2010. ISBN 9788481987904.

Economics of Transport and International Trade 2013 Edition, Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers, ISBN 978-1-908833-18-1

GRAMMENOS, Costes Th, The handbook of maritime economics and business, 2nd ed, London: Lloyd's List, 2010. ISBN 978 1 84.311 880 0