Economic Analysis of Container Transhipment in the Eastern Mediterranean Region

Year 2016, Volume: 3 Issue: 1, 12 - 21, 07.03.2016

Enver Yetkili Ertuğrul Doğan Sencer Baltaoğlu , İlkay Salihoğlu

https://doi.org/10.30897/ijegeo.304418

Cited By: 4

Abstract

With the increasing trade during the second half of the last century; container based transportation
facilitated and enabled transhipment operations all over the world and as well as in the
Mediterranean. In this context specifically, Suez Canal, which is located between the Eastern
Mediterranean and Indian Ocean, offers significant opportunities in the container transpotation
between Far East and European trade areas. And since the container ship sizes heading over the
20,000 TEU’s is underway, Mediterranean transhipment operations are heading into a new era;
feeder service distances will be more important than the main route deviation distances. The average
transhipment ratio is 80% in the Eastern Mediterranean while for the whole Mediterranean is 43%
and various markets of the Eastern Mediterranean, Black Sea, Adriatic Sea and Balkan countries
can easily access from Cyprus. A container terminal at the Port of Gemikonağı (Karavostasi),
North-eastern side of Cyprus is offering ideal conditions for grabbing a share from these activities.
As motherland for Northern Cyprus community Turkey’s hinterland, may count on behalf of the
proposed Port of Gemikonağı which may become a container transhipment base for Turkey.

Keywords

Containerisation, Eastern Mediterranean, Transhipment Operations, Cyprus, Port of Gemikonağı

References

• DR, (2014), The Divergence of Regionalization: The Challenges of The Mediterranean Ports of Europe, http://people.hofstra.edu/jeanpaul_rodrigue/downloads/Divergence_Region alization-Final.pdf , (Acsessed date: 2014).
• EMTP, (2005), Euro Mediterranean Transport Project, Mediterranean Transport Infrastructure Network, Technical Note 19 – Maritime Containerisation Trends, IP0335 – May 2005, http://www.euromedtransport.eu/Fr/image.php?id=2546, (Acsessed date: 2015).
• Gkonis and Psaraftis, (2015), Konstantinos G. Gkonis and Harilaos N. Psaraftis, http://www.martrans.org/documents/2009/prt/TRB_paper%2010_3188_Gkonis_Psaraft is_revised.pdf, 2015, Some Key Variables Affecting Liner Shipping Costs, “Table 7: Estimations of container ships annual operating costs (Youroukos, 2007), (Acsessed date: 2015).
• GCMIO, (2015), The Global Container Market, Industry Overview, http://www. Global ports.com/globalports/upload_docs/press/IndustryoverviewfromProspectusdated24June2011.pdf, (Acsessed Date: 2015).
• Gouvernal, Rodrigue and Slack, (2012) Elisabeth Gouvernal, Jean-Paul Rodrigue and Brian Slack, The Divergence of Regionalization: The Challenges of the Mediterranean Ports of Europe, The Iame 2012 Conference, 6–8 September, 2012, Taipei, Taiwan, http://people.hofstra.edu/jean paul_rodrigue/downloads/Divergence_Regionalization-Final.pdf, (Acsessed date: 2014).
• Iris and Koster, (2003), Iris F.A. Vis, Renée de Koster. ‘Transshipment of containers at a container terminal: An overview’, Rotterdam School of Management, 2003, http://web. itu.edu.tr/~keceli/container/genel.pdf, (Acsessed Date: 2014).
• MEDA 12th Ports Summit, (2014), 12th MEDA, Logistics & Transport Forum 7th Meda Ports Summit, Barcelona, 3rd June 2014,http://www.silbcn.com/ponencias2014/ forum/Gerar do_Landaluce.pdf,(Acsessed date: 2014) Rankin, (2015), Stuart Rankin, Mediterranean Battleground, Port strategy, 10 Feb 2015, http://www.portstrategy.com/news101/insight-and-opinion/postscript/Mediterranean-bat tleground (Acsessed Date: 2015)