Analysis of the global maritime transportation system as a layered network
Authors
Alderson, David L.
Funk, Daniel
Gera, Ralucca
Subjects
Maritime network
Critical node
Centrality
Network flow
Interdiction
Resilience
Critical node
Centrality
Network flow
Interdiction
Resilience
Advisors
Date of Issue
2019-11
Date
Publisher
Springer
Language
Abstract
We model the global maritime transportation system as a multilayer network of sea routes and land routes that work together to deliver cargo on a global scale. The nodes of this network represent seaports and maritime chokepoints, and the arcs represent route segments at sea or on land, respectively. We construct our network using free, publicly available data from online sources, and we reverse engineer the global demand for container cargo transport. We use this layered network to identify important nodes from a connectivity standpoint. We also develop a flow-based model that directs the aggregate movement of goods between ports on the shortest and/or cheapest available route, and uses re-routing strategies if a route segment becomes impassable for container ships. We use this model to assess the impact of the loss of one or more container ports or maritime chokepoints. Using the base case of no disruptions, we measure the amount of goods that have to be re-routed in case of each disruption and the corresponding “cost” of doing so. Collectively, these results present a novel view of the security of transportation supply and set the stage for future work examining the global resilience of maritime transport systems.
Type
Article
Description
The article of record as published may be located at https://doi.org/10.1007/s12198-019-00204-z
Series/Report No
Department
Applied Mathematics
Organization
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
This research was funded in part by the Office of Naval Research and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.
Funder
Format
Citation
Alderson, David L., Daniel Funk, and Ralucca Gera. "Analysis of the global maritime transportation system as a layered network." Journal of Transportation Security (2019): 1-35.
Distribution Statement
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.