AN EVALUATION OF THE KEY INFLUENCING FACTORS FOR TRAMP SHIPPING CORPORATIONS SELECTING SHIP MANAGEMENT COMPANIES

Abstract

The shipping industry is a global business and the number of privately-owned ships represents the strength of the shipping industry. However, global trades and the shipping business today are in poor economic shape. The more ships a company owns, the greater the burden on shipping operators. For the tramp shipping industry, using ship leasing, besides convenience, flexibility, time-saving, and tax benefits, commissioning a ship management company (SMC) to handle its non-core business can also result in greater financial liquidity providing the shipping companies with increased investment and purchasing power in other areas. This study is based on a consideration of the direction of tramp shipping corporations (TSCs) towards a survey questionnaire of TSCs in Taiwan using the SAVE framework, including solution (S), access (A), value (V) and education (E), built on a model to analyze TSCs who have chosen to employ an SMC to handle their non-core business, and using the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (Fuzzy AHP) and the revised decision making trial and evaluation laboratory (Revised DEMATEL) to seek the suitability of key influencing factors, their relevance, and their business strategy. The results of this study can provide an important research reference for TSCs' outsourcing strategies in the future.