ABSTRACT
Considering the abovementioned industrial event, this study aims to investigate a regional hub port competition for transshipment containers within a duopolistic framework. In the case of competition between PTP and PSA, the acquisition of transshipment cargo is critical. Both PTP
Maritime Policy & Management, 2013 Vol. 40, No. 5, 479-494, https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03088839.2013.797120
MIN JU BAE*†, EK PENG CHEW†, LOO HAY LEE†
and ANMING ZHANG‡
†Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, National University of Singapore, 10 Kent Ridge Crescent 119260, Singapore ‡Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia, 2053 Main Mall, Vancouver, B.C. Canad V6T 1Z2 and C ina Academy of Financial Research, 211 West Huaihai Road, Shanghai, P.R. China 200030
1. Introduction In 2000, Maersk Sealand relocated its major transshipment operat ons from the Port of Sing p re (PSA) to the Port of Tanjung Pelepa (PTP) in Malaysia. The impact of this relocation on the regional transshipment market structure was significan . Maersk Sealand was then th largest shipping operator in Singapore. Its shift to PTP result d in a decline of approximately 11% in PSA’s overall business. In 2001, PSA’s total container throughput fell from 17.0 million TEUs to 15.52 million TEUs (T n zon 2008), m rking year-on-year drop of 8.9%. In the same per d, PTP’s container throughpu had increased nearly five folds, from 0.42 million to 2.05 million TEUs.1 The shipp ng industry in he region grew concerned about Maersk Se land’s relocation and the potential ripp effect on other shipping lines’ decisions and related busin s activiti s (Allison 2000; Kleywegt et al. 2002). As shippi lines for strategic alliances to achieve economies of scale, the interdepende cy among alliance member and small-and medium-size ping lines heightens. Consequently, Maersk Sealand’s decision on changing its transshipment port-of-call coul well induce similar d cisions among affili ti g carriers. In 2002, Evergreen and its subsidiary Uniglory als shifted m st of their container operations, amounti to 1-1.2 mi li n TEUs f annual th oughput, from SA to PTP. Since th n, other shipping lines hav also started to pro d direct services to PTP. APL, for example, had chosen PTP for its West Asia Express service between As a and the Middle East (Kleywegt t al. 2002).
