Due to the intensity of marina activities and global climate change, marinas are facing the challenge of sustainability. Therefore, the concept of “green port” has now become a requirement. In practice, the term “green port” describes the activities of all stakeholders involved in the port business towards a sustainable development of the port. This paper aims to provide an insight into the current application of sustainability principles and the concept of “green port” in Croatian marinas. Therefore, the concept of “green port” is described. Furthermore, the framework (regulations, policies, international and national certificates and programs) for sustainable activities in Croatian marinas are analyzed. The main part of the paper is the analysis of sustainable activities, i.e. practices in Croatian marinas related to eco-spatial design, standardization and awarding system, energy transition, sustainable waste, water and air systems. Therefore, positive sustainable practices in selected Croatian marinas and aspects that need improvement are identified.

The Coast Guard Command, which has a wide range of duties as saving human lives, protecting natural resources, preventing marine pollution and battle against smuggling, uses diesel main engines in its ships, as in other military and commercial ships. It is critical that the main engines operate smoothly at all times so that they can respond quickly while performing their duties, thus enabling fast and early detection of faults and preventing failures that are costly or take longer to repair. The aim of this study is to create and to develop a model based on current data, to select machine learning algorithms and ensemble methods, to develop and explain the most appropriate model for fast and accurate detection of malfunctions that may occur in 4-stroke high-speed diesel engines. Thus, it is aimed to be an exemplary study for a data-based decision support mechanism.

Air pollution from ships is increasing due to higher global demand of goods, and with them, global emission standards as well. These standards are prescribed by MARPOL Annex VI and the introduction of emission control areas (ECA). Ships built before 1990. do not have to comply with these rules, but ships built after the early 2000. must follow “NOx Emission Tier I”, which allows 17g/kWh NOx (for the slow speed diesel engines with <130 rpm), and selective catalytic reactors (SCR) are not necessary. Tier III NOx Emission standard was enforced in 2016 and it requires an 80% reduction in NOx emission compared to the Tier I, specifically 3.4 g/kWh, which can not be achieved without SCR or without using some other types of fuels. The focus of this paper is to do analysis how the ammonia dosage to SCR affects to the NOx formation in exhaust gasses on various engine speed (loads), as well as how it affects to some important engine parameters and specific fuel oil consumption (SFOC). The analysis was performed on Kongsberg engine room simulator (ERS), MC 90-V Model, as well as on MATLAB by using mathematical models. All external influences are excluded from the analysis like wind or rough sea. All data on different scenarios has been recorded after prolonged period to avoid inconsistencies. The results are shown graphically, and conclusions are presented.

Drop shipping represents a delivery business model based on e-commerce logistics, which is very relevant in the global pandemic crisis. In this model, buyers order products and services directly from the manufacturer over the Internet through the intermediary of a drop shipper who ensures the easiest and fastest delivery. Drop shipper is a type of e-commerce entrepreneur that offers goods using online logistics infrastructure to ensure direct physical delivery from the manufacturer to the retailer or customer. This includes drop shipping as a business model to Industry 4.0 (i.e. the digital economy). This paper elaborates how a particular e-commerce model affects the development and improvement of global supply chains. Aim of this paper is to research how entrepreneur can lower its costs along drop shipping supply chain by managing inventory ratios or cost of stock. This enables drop shipping to greatly facilitate market access for cash-strapped entrepreneurs. We also conducted a simulation of optimized drop shipping process to show that there is a constant adaptability for entrepreneurs using drop shipping, especially among small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The timeliness of drop shipping is that it has facilitated as a global delivery solution in relation to the coronavirus disease pandemic (COVID-19). Moreover, drop shipping is based on a Activity-Based Costing (ABC model) whose quantitative efficiency has been proven by scientific analysis and research results. Finally, the legal aspects of drop shipping are given importance in the situation of COVID-19 which had a crucial impact on international trade in 2020, especially in predicting short-term trade trends. Due to this within this paper we also examined the effects of the ˝coronavirus˝ on global e-commerce. Global drop shipping data ensures qualitative predictions considering pandemic environment, social distancing issues and internet trade curves which are more than useful in today’s changing business conditions.

Compliance with modern environmental norms and regulations is an increasingly important requirement in the shipbuilding process of ship design and construction. Related to the ship production process, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), nitric oxides and particulate matter are the main emissions of harmful gases in the shipyard. This paper analyzes air emissions from the ship production process in a shipyard. Air emissions are quantified from either in-situ measurements from emission sources, or by materials that are used in the shipbuilding process, and the acquired data from those measurements is calculated as yearly emissions. Emission quantities of VOCs, nitric oxides, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and particulates are analyzed regarding possible reduction techniques considering efficiency and investment costs for using these methods. In conclusion, the best available and feasible emission reduction methods are suggested, and a suggestion for achieving the goal of a net zero emission shipyard.

Cohesion policy is one of the European Union’s policies, which provides Member States with the possibility of financial support under the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESI Funds) as well as with the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), to reduce disparities and encourage the development of less developed Member States. By funding through Cohesion policy funds, the European Union seeks to accomplish a prosperous economy by achieving appropriate European standards in the individual Member States. Cohesion policy emphasizes the development of transport and mobility, and in particular, the investment in key transport links and sections of international importance through the revitalization of railway infrastructure in line with European Union standards. The railway system of the Republic of Croatia has been under-invested for many years, which is why it has not followed the requirements and needs of the development of the transport market. Membership in the European Union has provided the Republic of Croatia with co-financing for the development of the railway system. This paper will analyse the current investments in the railway system and the development potentials that are planned to be achieved in the next programming period. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to analyse the importance of the Cohesion Policy of the European Union for the development of the railway system of the Republic of Croatia in the Programming period 2021-2027. The analysis aims to identify opportunities for further development of the railway system as the ‘cleanest’ transport industry, guided by the need to reduce harmful emissions following the European Green Deal by using funds from the European Structural and Investment Funds.

This paper analyses how digital technologies implementation in the maritime transport sector companies can help in achieving the Blue Economy goals. Previous research offering a comprehensive overview of digital technologies in the maritime transport sector within the context of the Blue Economy is scarce. To fill this research gap, the economic effects of maritime transport are investigated, and the positive impacts of digital technologies on maritime transport are analyzed, all in the context of the Blue Economy. The authors have concluded that by implementing digital technologies in the maritime transport sector, the Blue Economy goals related to maritime transport (for example transport cost reduction, decreased harmful emissions generated during the voyage and at the berth) can better be achieved, etc.

For an effective integrity assessment of marine robotic in offshore environments, the elements’ failure characteristics need to be understood. A structured probabilistic methodology is proposed for the operational failure assessment (OFA) characteristics of ROV. The first step is to assess the likely failure mode of the ROV system and its support systems. This captures the interaction and failure induced events during operation. The identified potential failure modes are further developed into logical connectivity based on the cause-effect relationship. The logical framework is modeled using the fault tree analysis technique to predict the ROV operational failure probability in an uncertain harsh environment. The fault tree analysis captured the logical relationship between the primary, intermediate, and top events probability. The importance measure criteria were adopted to identify the most probable events, links, and their importance on the failure propagation. The model was demonstrated with an ROV for deep arctic water subsea operations. The result identified the control system, communication linkages, human factor, among others, as most critical in the ROV operational failure. The methodology’s application provides core information on the Mean time between failure (MTBF) of the ROV system that could aid integrity management and provides a guide on early remedial action against total failure.

A common way of measuring heavy fuel oil consumption on board a vessel is to use volumetric fuel flow meters installed at fuel systems inlets for each of the major fuel consumers. At each stage of the fuel processing cycle, certain mass fuel losses or deviations and calculation errors occur that are not counted accurately into fuel consumption figures. The goal of this paper is to identify those fuel mass losses and measuring/calculating errors and perform their quantitative numerical analysis based on actual data. Fuel mass losses defined as deviations identified during the fuel preparation process are evaporation of volatile organic compounds, water drainage, fuel separation, and leakages while errors identified are flow meter accuracy and volumetric/mass flow conversion accuracy. By utilizing statistical analysis of obtained data from engine logbook extracts from three different ships numerical models were generated for each fuel mass loss point. Measuring errors and volumetric/mass conversion errors are numerically analyzed based on actual equipment and models used onboard example vessels. By computational analysis of the obtained models, approximate percentage losses and errors are presented as a fraction of fuel quantity on board or as a fraction of fuel consumed. Those losses and errors present between 0,001% and 5% of fuel stock or fuel consumption figures for each identified loss/error point. This paper presents a contribution for more accurate heavy fuel oil consumption calculation and consequently accurate declaration of remaining fuel stock onboard. It also presents a base for possible further research on the possible influence of fuel grade, fuel water content on the accuracy of consumption calculation.

Marina and charter industry represent the two basic segments of nautical tourism sector, one of the key elements of tourism development in the countries of the Mediterranean circle. With the advent of ever more ambiguous business environment driven by global health hazards, the emergence of next technological revolution and global competition, insight into the antecedents of competitiveness of companies in the nautical tourism sector in an important topic for organizations who want to survive and grow. The goal of this paper is comparison of the fundamental features of these two interconnected industries. The marina industry, observed through the financial indicators, shows attractiveness and stability. Regardless of the marina category, the success of its operations proved to be stable even in crisis market conditions. On the other hand, the charter industry, that complements the value proposition of the marina industry, shows lower level of robustness in times of crisis. The contribution of the paper is twofold. Firstly, for the purpose of the comparison of these two industries we present their basic indicators, and argue that the dynamic connection of the charter and marina industries opens possibilities to achieve higher level of competitiveness in both businesses. Also, since the available data on both industries is scarce, the paper introduces a system of data estimates, as well as system of experiential forecasting which can be used in different markets where similar limitations can be observed.

In recent years, the number of cyber attacks, virus carriers, and cybercrime on maritime transport facilities has increased significantly. The emergence of new types of maritime vessels, such as autonomous vessels, dependent entirely on information and communication technologies used for passengers, cargo and baggage transportation, requires legal regulation of relations in this area. Therefore, ensuring cybersecurity in maritime transport and the need to adopt appropriate legal norms, standards and measures at both the international and national levels to manage maritime cyber risks are considered one of the most relevant topics for maritime transport. There is no single, systematic integrated approach, unification of requirements and rules in cybersecurity’s sphere of maritime transport [15]. In this regard, the authors analyze the issues of ensuring cybersecurity in maritime transport, the legal basis of security: some international documents and national legal acts, regulating cybersecurity in maritime transport, will be considered, as well as the main question of how they are able to meet modern requirements for ensuring cybersecurity in maritime transport.

The fourth industrial revolution is already a fact. It is manifested in the emerging automation of many processes in shipping, which until recently have been highly dependent on the competence of the people who manage them. The analysis of navigational accidents invariably touches the human factor and involves it in the reasons for their occurrence. The statistics are discouraging and the lack of competence of seafarers is always present in the reports of the investigating authorities. The idea of creating and implementing autonomous ships is cited as a lifeline to overcome the shortcomings that disturb the industry due to the human factor. A few authors in their publications point out many unresolved issues, one of which is related to the education and competence of service personnel. The existing International Convention for Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping of Seafarers does not cover unmanned ships. The mandatory and recommended competencies in it are addressed to the people on board. Some maritime educational institutions have introduced the concept of “autonomous ship” in their curricula, such as Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy, Varna and Faculty of Maritime Study, Split. There are probably others who think ahead, but this approach is not enough because unmanned ships are already a fact in the maritime industry. This article aims at exploring the possibilities for supplementing the curricula of maritime training institutions with appropriate subjects for the new realities in shipping.

Since the environmental pollution by microplastics is a relatively new area of research, the main problem is the lack of appropriate rules, regulations and parameters globally. Therefore, the sources of primary and secondary microplastics particles vary from source to source, and due to this the difference in the division of microplastic particles by size arises too. Moreover, various techniques and technologies are used when testing seawater and sediment as well. Ultimately, with different qualities of the obtained results, it leads to difficult and/or inadequate comparison. Furthermore, the research has been mainly conducted on smaller marine organisms, which needs to be extended to other larger organisms as well as to the human population to create a complete image of the negative effects of contamination of the marine food chain and the marine environment with microplastic particles in general.

Safety of passengers on ships is usually investigated based on data available from post-accident reports, experimental research and/or numerical modelling of emergencies. As for the numerical modelling, ship passenger evacuation falls within a greater set of pedestrian evacuation research in which extended reality (XR) technology is playing important role lately. However, XR still strives to find its place in the modelling of ship passenger evacuation. This paper brings review of literature published on the topic of XR in pedestrian evacuation with special focus on the use of these technologies (e.g. virtual reality, augmented reality) in shipping industry. Findings are put in the context of IMO’s guidelines for evacuation analysis and prospect for use of XR for ship passenger evacuation simulation are presented.

Coastal bathing water, as a common good, is an economic resource of public health interest. Predictive models of coastal bathing water contamination are needed for timely prevention of pollution, warning of bathers, and activation of municipal services and utilities in case of contingencies, as well as institutional mechanism designs for common good management purposes. The goal of this research is to identify the variables that would improve predictive models of coastal bathing water bacterial contamination. The microbiological quality of coastal bathing water is affected by many variables. This research is an analysis of the following determinants: precipitation amount, seawater temperature and salinity, as well as few indicators of anthropogenic pressure on the environment such as registered population, registered tourist overnight stays and the amount of generated municipal waste, all possibly directly or indirectly affecting the bathing water quality in 17 coastal municipalities in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County. The analysis showed that rainfall, as an instrumental confounder variable, influences salinity and seawater temperature by increasing groundwater discharge and bringing contamination i.e. increasing enterococci and Escherichia coli concentrations in coastal bathing water. Population as the conjectured independent variable, representing the anthropogenic cause of pollution, was once again falsified as a statistically significant determinant. For further research, longer-term sampling (preferably year-round) at micro-locations of comparable hydrogeological characteristics is recommended.

With rapid industrialization, the current social system is facing a variety of crises that deplete resources, pollute the environment and generate large amounts of waste. Excessive destinations dependence on tourism, as a primary economic activity, make them more vulnerable to global crisis situations and their negative effects. The tourism industry is also sensitive to external disasters and the deterioration of the tourism product, and is becoming more exposed to the crisis, which leads to a growing interest in contingency planning. Economic crisis, the crisis in the world shipping economy and political instability represent some of the crisis situations that developed and developing countries are struggling with. The goal of the research is literature review to determine which crisis situations exist in nautical tourism, which ones occur most often and what is the cause of them. Also, by analyzing the content of selected articles, the aim is to present possible solutions to such situations, applying to a greater extent to the principles of sustainable development. This paper analyzes the scientific literature on the crisis situations and their negative effects on nautical tourism, as relatively new multidisciplinary tourism activity. Contrary to the long history of piracy, terrorist attacks, as a one type of crisis situations that occur in the maritime industry are rare. However, high-energy consumption, high water pollution and increased port production, consequently negatively affect the ecological environment. Pollution created by vessels, in addition to disrupting the natural ecological balance, also encourages climate change, therefore, ecological restoration measures can help improve the quality of the environment on land and in water.

In this study, a framework for the application of shipboard energy efficiency monitoring, operational data prediction and reporting based on the ship’s measurement data and meteorological and oceanographic data by the geographic position and time of navigation is presented. General system theory in synergy with machine learning (ML) is used to construct the framework. The general system theory is utilized for identification and transition of components of the proposed framework of energy efficiency monitoring and prediction. A systematic investigation of the internal and external environment is conducted, and the definition of information flow between the individual components provided. Then, the external opportunities and threats that the system faces were opposed to internal strengths and weaknesses to formulate strategies in which weaknesses and threats of the system are offset by existing strengths and probabilities. After assessing the results of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) and threats, opportunities, weaknesses and strengths (TOWS) analysis, it can be concluded that the proposed framework is feasible and widely applicable in the maritime industry. The novelty is that the proposed framework is using on-board data processing and is integrated into the existing ship monitoring, decision-making and reporting system, thus satisfying the prerequisites for simple application.

The modern approach to growth analysis and development of enterprises includes the analysis of defined business models progressively. One of the essential factors of any business model is the cost structure, mostly intended to analyse and define better the processes of transferring value to the customer, maintain customer relationship and generate revenue. An analysis of the costs incurred in these processes should facilitate the effective definition of key resources, key activities and key partnerships. Modern theory distinguishes two types of business models from a cost perspective: a cost-driven model and a value-driven model. The cost-driven model is focused on minimizing costs wherever possible and such an approach has the propensity to create and maintain the lowest possible cost structure using low-cost value propositions. The value-driven model is focused on value creation and superior value propositions. The aim of this research, by using Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) approach, is to create models for analysing the impact of cost structure on sustainable development and business survival with respect to selected financial indicators. Based on clustering methods, model creation is preceded by a search of the link between the business performance indicators and parameters that increase or decrease a particular cost component. The sample for creation of the model is based on financial data of five maritime Croatian companies obtained through four business years. Thus, by analysis of the companies’ business operations based on such created models it is possible to define the limits, namely the degrees of increase or decrease of a particular type of cost at which companies achieve sound business growth and development. Consequently, the management of a company is enabled to form effective business strategies. Such strategies in modern context imply innovation in business, new technological processes, efficient stock management, and improved relationships with customers and suppliers.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a serious impact on global trade in 2020. The interruption of the supply chains due to various restrictions influenced the rapid drop in the transport demand. In the last decade, the global containerized trade has noted the growth of approximately 55,5%, with an average pace of growth of about 5% yearly. Container shipping, as one of the industries vulnerable to economic shocks, has noted a significant drop in trade. The role of maritime container terminals as an integrator and facilitator of global trade in the global supply chains is undisputed. Therefore, the role of services provided by the maritime container terminals has grown in importance. This situation generates the necessity to adapt to these circumstances in a way that expresses the need of improving the service quality, as one of the key aspects of competitiveness. The purpose of this paper is to determine the possibility to verify the relation between COVID-19 impacts on maritime container transport and maritime container terminal service quality. Based on the findings the suggested actions for service quality improvement are proposed.

Blue development and blue economy are relatively new terms, although blue economy has been developing for centuries. Its potential on European, Croatian or regional level is huge. New researches point out that the Blue Economy impact will double in next ten years. Although present in theory since 1990ties, blue economy in last few years as a part of the answer on the global challenges, has been followed by the aspects of Green Development, Green Economy Green Growth as synonyms for desirable and necessary transition towards sustainability. The definition of Green Economy in perspective of long-term sustainability, environment protection and reduced use of natural resources is defined as well. Recognizing the importance of blue-green economy for the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County (PGKC) development, the authors describe the potentials and possibilities for development of the region, as well as analyse natural and other preconditions and point out the reached level of blue-green economy innovative sectors. The purpose of this research is to explain the importance of coastal area as a basic determinant for the blue-green economy as well as to analyze the development level of the blue-green economy in European Union, Croatia and PGKC. This paper determined the spatial, geographical, technical-technological and economical potential of PGKC, defined the regional advantages, peculiarities and limits of the blue-green economy implementation in PGKC and set the recommendations for the balanced development and maximal use of extensive regional potential.

Nowadays, merchant shipping is facing a new challenge in the context of COVID-19. The ships at sea may find themselves in need of immediate medical assistance relating to the crewmembers and/or passengers due to COVID-19. Besides, there is a problem with the change of ship crews in due time and their repatriation. Under international custom, coastal States keep their ports open for merchant shipping but may require the ship’s master to take appropriate action to prevent a threat of danger. In cases of failure or urgency, the coastal State can exercise its authority in taking responsive action appropriate to the threat. The article analyzes the main issue - how reasonable are the actions of states that close their ports to foreign vessels in the light of COVID-19. In this paper, the practice of foreign and Russian ports in the context of the COVID-19 is assessed.

Existing and future IMO restrictions on emission of harmful substances contained in exhaust gas have introduced an obligation to implement technical solutions to reduce NOX, SOX and CO2 emissions. Reduction in NOX and SOX emissions has been achieved by systems (i.e. SCR and EGR) ensuring Tier III-compliant exhaust gas composition. SCR and EGR systems have also affected the amount of exhaust gas waste heat. Therefore reduction in CO2 emissions has mostly been dependent on available amount of exhaust gas waste heat to produce electricity using waste heat recovery generator unit instead of medium-speed diesel generating set. Comparative analysis of amounts of exhaust gas waste heat in LNG and MGO modes under ISO ambient conditions has been carried out with particular emphasis on the impact of different variants of SCR and EGR systems. Formulae to estimate the amounts of exhaust gas waste heat have been determined using least squares method.

This paper presents an exergy analysis of the whole turbine, turbine cylinders and cylinder parts in four different operating regimes. Analyzed turbine operates in nuclear power plant while three of four operating regimes are obtained by using optimization algorithms – SA (Simplex Algorithm), GA (Genetic Algorithm) and IGSA (Improved Genetic-Simplex Algorithm). IGSA operating regime gives the highest developed mechanical power of the whole turbine equal to 1022.48 MW, followed by GA (1020.06 MW) and SA (1017.16 MW), while in Original operating regime whole turbine develop mechanical power equal to 996.29 MW. In addition, IGSA causes the highest increase in developed mechanical power of almost all cylinders and cylinder parts in comparison to the Original operating regime. All observed optimization algorithms increases the exergy destruction of the whole turbine in comparison to Original operating regime - the lowest increase causes IGSA, followed by GA and finally SA. The highest exergy efficiency of the whole turbine, equal to 85.92% is obtained by IGSA, followed by GA (85.89%) and SA (85.82%), while the lowest exergy efficiency is obtained in Original operating regime (85.70%). Analyzed turbine, which operates by using wet steam is low influenced by the ambient temperature change. IGSA, which shows dominant performance in exergy analysis parameters of the analyzed turbine, in certain situations is overpowered by GA. Therefore, in optimization of steam turbine performance, IGSA and GA can be recommended.

A company service’s higher quality is indicated by its service performance’s effectiveness and efficiency. This can increase customers’ satisfaction, thus leads to the increase of company income. This research objective was to know the effects of 5 dimensions constructing service quality, including the effects of service quality on customers’ satisfaction in freight forwarder industry. Current research collected data through purposive sampling, by distributing questionnaire to 86 customers continued by data processing by measuring the gap and tested statistically using SmartPLS program, priority scale mapping using Importance Performance Analysis, and improvement using Failure Mode and Effect Analysis. The first findings obtained from this research was analysis result using IPA discovering 10 indicators which require improvement in which 7 indicators were found the same through GAP measurement. The second finding was the biggest component which needs improvement in freight forwarder service in Indonesia, which is reliability dimension. Therefore, concerns need to be given to these matters so that more accurate and reliable service can be provided.