INVESTIGATION ON SPOT BOOKING AND DYNAMIC OCEAN FREIGHT MODELLING FOR HIGHER SPACE UTILISATION ON ULTRA LARGE CONTAINER VESSELS

The article deals with the very topical issues of the use of spot ship’s space booking and the dynamic adjustment of ocean freight, according to the demand and availability of cargo space on container ships. Container lines are facing the challenges of filling the growing container ships, which also raises the difficulty of managing the overbooking. Two research hypothesis; that (H1) freight forwarders have concerns about a new spot booking mode and a dynamic way of formulating ocean rates; and that (H2) freight forwarders feel threatened by Container Lines (CL) to some extent to phase them out from the organization of intermodal transport chains due to the introduction of larger ships and the risk of low space occupation, are followed by the research. A survey between freight forwarders and NVOCCs (Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier) on a global scale provides guidelines for the further development of CL model for the booking process and the formation of ocean rates because the results expose how new ways of working have a greater impact on the operational and commercial work between CL, freight forwarders and NVOCCs. According to the obtained result, the article proposes a three-step approach to be developed by CL that would bring freight forwarders and NVOCCs closer to a new way of working, reduce business risks, and, as a result, provide leverage to achieve ship space optimization and lower space pressure on container terminals. The study provides new understandings in building new operational models for efficient maritime logistics and brings novelty to the scientific community by defining descriptive gaps in changing strategic and operational approach for ship’s cargo space optimization.