Suez canal share of seaborne trade and types of vessels carrying these cargo
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Table of contents
Title page¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦1
Table of contents¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦2
Introduction¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦3
Problem statement¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦..4
Aim¦¦¦¦¦¦¦.¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦4
Objectives¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦4
Literature review¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦.4
Research Methodology¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦6
Research design and sample¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦.6
Data collection and analysis¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦.7
Qualitative data and Quantitative data¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦.7
Sampling technique¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦..7
Data analysis¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦.7
Limitations¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦8
Gantt table¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦9
Refences¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦10
Suez canal share of seaborne trade and types of vessels carrying these cargo
Introduction
Seaborne trade plays a very crucial role in the growth of the global economy. Thus sea routes and ports usually facilitates the seaborne trade. However, the distance covered by ships in the deep seas greatly determines the costs of goods on board hence a reduction in size would also translate to reduction in the prices on goods on board (Bodden, 2006). The construction of Suez Canal thus served this purpose by connecting the Red sea and the Mediterranean sea hence reducing the distance which was initially covered by the Cape of Good Hope route. Suez Canal is thus an artificial waterway which was ed in the year 1869 and it facilitates the water transportation between Asia and Europe without having to navigate around the African continent (Alexandersson and Norstrom, 1963).
This canal has greatly contributed to the growth of seaborne trade between the west and east countries as a result of shorted distance as well as its strategic location of oil rich countries depended on oil exportation which is mainly transported by the ocean oil tankers. When THE Suez Canal was first built it was 164 km long while its depth was 8 m. However, after multiple enlargements, as per now the canal measures 193.30 km in length, 24 m deep as well as its width is 205 metres (Bodden, 2006). The actual distance of the canal is 162.25 km but it consists of both the northern access channel and the southern access channel both measuring 22 km and 9 km respectively (Lesseps and D’Anvers, 2011).
Problem statement
To analyze the Suez canal seaborne trade in terms of sectors, historical cargo traffic, vessels and its share of the world containerized trade.
Aim
v The aim of this research is to seek to analyze the operations and share of the Suez canal seaborne trade.
Objectives
v To determine the sectors of the Suez canal seaborne trade and the vessels transiting the canal.
v To evaluate the Suez canal historical cargo traffic and its share of the world’s containerized trade.
v To outline the focus of containerized seaborne trade and more so within the Suez canal.
Literature review
According to Alexandersson and Norstrom (1963, p. 67) the construction of the Suez canal can be traced back in the 18th century. However, as a result of various technical, political, geographic and financial factors the construction was stopped for numerous times before its construction ended. Moreover, a research by Bodden (2006, p. 78) indicates that the Suez Canal was ed for shipping in the year 1869 however it was closed during the time of Egypt and Israel war. However, nowadays the canal operates throughout the year in order to serve the shipping companies effectively and it is usually declared as a neutral zone during the time of peace or war and managed by the Suez Canal Authority (Alexandersson and Norstrom, 1963).
Initially ships had to follow the route of making a round trip around the Cape of Good Hope in order to transit from west to east or vice versa. This route involved big technical problems whereby large quantities of fuel was to be stored in order to enable the making of the long voyages. Also the time involved in the voyages was a challenge and also the incurred fuel costs were also high. However, after the Suez canal was constructed things became easier for the shipping industry and to specific companies also. As a result of shortened distance ships usually made often transits which greatly contributed to the saving of money, time as well as man power too. This drastically improved the volume of seaborne trade share of the Suez canal as a result of these advantages which currently stands at between 8-10% of the world’s seaborne trade (Alexandersson and Norstrom, 1963).
According to Leeseps and D’Anvers (2011, p. 124) the increased continuous enlargements of the Suez canal has led to an increase in the number of vessels it can accommodate including the Supertanks which has further increased the canal’s seaborne trade share. Moreover, the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Aden countries been the major exporters of oil. This has also greatly contributed to the growth of the seaborne trade share of the Suez canal as a result of their strategic location to the canal and the need to transport the oil in other parts of the world since it is the main source of fuel worldwide (Lesseps and D’Anvers, 2011).
The Suez canal has the capacity to accommodate various types of vessels ranging from the small ones to the Supertanks. The Suez Canal is thus capable of entertaining a displacement of up to 1,50,000 tones. The canal also allows the passage of ships with up to 16 m draft to pass through. However, the largest size of a vessel capable of safely transiting through the Suez canal is the Suezmax. The factors that limit the transit of ships across the Suez canal is the draft of the ship and the ship’s air draft mainly due to the fact that there is the presence of the Suez Canal bridge. All these factors have been contributing to the drastic growth of the global percentage of the Suez canal seaborne trade even though the trend has not been consisted as a result of increased levels of pirates in the Gulf of Aden mostly by the Somali pirates (Bodden, 2006).
Research methodology
Research design and sample
Since the aim of this study is to analyze the operations and share of the Suez Canal in the seaborne trade, then the sample of the research respondents will be drawn from the Suez Canal Authority as well as other maritime logistics companies who often utilize the Suez Canal. The sample will be drawn from both the top and middle class managers of these companies. The research will be deductive whereby the researcher will be working from general to more specific concepts (Babbie, 2010). For instance, it starts with thinking of a theory related to the topic of interest. Then the researcher narrows down into hypotheses which are more specific and can be tested (Krathwohl, 1988).
For the purpose of this study, both primary and secondary research will be used. Moreover, some extent of descriptive research methods will also be utilized. This method enables the possibility of the study to be quick and cheap (Paltridge and Starfield, 2007). There is also the possibility of suggesting on the anticipated hypotheses. Thus, the descriptive approach will be used in the study, which utilizes the study observation however; descriptive method of study mainly gathers information about the present condition (Krathwohl, 1988).
Data collection and Analysis
Qualitative and Quantitative data
During the research, the two types of data to be collected are: quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative data is the one which is measured and quantified in a certain way whereas the qualitative is more complex compared to quantitative data, this is because it is more related to theory and thus is sometimes more difficult to analyze and interpret (Sapsford and Jupp, 2006).
Sampling technique
In this study the research will begin by use of unstructured interview which will allows the identification of key issues which will then be used as the basis for conducting the closed-ended questionnaire survey (Babbie, 2010). This approach will also allow the researcher to collect both qualitative and quantitative data from both secondary and primary data sources. Basically the respondents will be asked questions regarding to their views and opinions on the operations and the share of the Suez Canal in the world’s seaborne trade.
The research will start by carrying out an unstructured interview which will then be followed by a survey for deeper understanding based on closed-ended questionnaires. The interviewer is not supposed to share his or her own opinion or believes because the structure form of the interview consists of a session of questions and answer only. The study assumes that all the participants will thoroughly and honestly answer every question (Krathwohl, 1988).
Data analysis
After collection of all the questionnaires, the researcher will be in a position to statistically analyze the data with the assistance of SPSS (Sapsford and Jupp, 2006). Comparisons will also be drawn considering overall questions response as well as the differing responses and also the percentage and weighed mean will be determined using the following statistical formulae:
1).percentage which is used for determining questionnaire response magnitude.
% =n X 100 where; n= no. of responses
N N = total no. of respondents
2). Also the weighed mean will be determined using the following statistical formulae.
X = x1f1 + x2f2 + x3f3 + x4f4 + x5f5 where; X= No. of responses
Xt F= Weight given to each response
Xt= total No. of response
The researcher will also be assisted by SPSS software to summarize statistical procedures, examining variables relationships for example, multiple regression and correlation as well as determining significance differences existing between groups, that is, through ANOVA and t-tests (Babbie, 2010).
Limitations
The availability of time and resources will be a limitation to this research. The research attracts huge expenses and maximum time dedication and these factors may not be easily and fully be provided by the researcher. As a result, the scope of the study will be limited to the Suez Canal Authority and several other shipping companies that utilizes the Suez canal. Therefore, this sample cannot be used as the generalisation of all the entire of seaborne trade globally.
Table 1: Gantt Table
Task | Duration | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
Prepare proposal | One month | 1-28 | ||||||||
Identify the proposal supervisor | One week | |||||||||
Meet with the supervisor and agree the dates | Two weeks | |||||||||
Consult with the supervisor and make contacts with the different maritime companies and the Suez Canal Authority | Two months | |||||||||
Draw and distribute the questionnaires | Three months | |||||||||
Combine the data both in hard and soft copies, code it, tabulate it, analyze and interpret it. | Three months | |||||||||
Submit the draft and make necessary changes as per the supervisors comments | Two weeks | |||||||||
Submit the research | Two weeks |
References
Alexandersson, G. and Norstrom, G. 1963. World shipping: an economic geography of ports and seaborne trade. Virginia: Almqvist & Wiksell
Babbie, E. 2010. The Practise of Social Research, 12th ed. Wardsworth, Cengage Learning
Bodden, V. 2006. Suez canal. Minnesota: Creative Education.
Booth, W.C., Columb, G.G. and Williams, J.M. 2003. The Craft of Research. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
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Chamberlain, T.C. 1965. The Method of Multiple Working Hypotheses. Science journal, 148 (5), pp 754-759.
Krathwohl, D.R. 1988. How to Prepare a Research Proposal: Guidelines for Funding and Dissertations in the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Syracuse University Press.
Lesseps, F. and D’Anvers, N. 2011. The Suez canal: letters and documents descriptive of its rise and progress. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
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