An operating costs estimation model for the tanker ships

Abstract

With its advantages, maritime transportation has been the most widely used transportation mode throughout recorded history. So much so that, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Review of Maritime Transport 2019 Report, 11 billion tons of cargo which are 80% of world transportation is carried by seaway. The specialization of ships by type and by size has been the most important trigger for the development in maritime transportation. With the growth in specialization at shipping, the need for economic information on shipping has increased considerably. In other words, the need for economic analysis studies in international maritime transportation is increasing day by day, with the increasing volume of maritime transport. In the literature, it is observed that the interest in the studies in the economic analysis for maritime cargo vessels has increased and reports published by maritime consultancy agencies have continuously increased. On the other hand, the global political fluctuations, environmentally driven regulations, energy efficiency concerns for maritime cargo vessels enforces ship owners and ship management companies to make better planning and flexible and forward-looking decision-making processes in order to maintain their competitiveness in such a dynamic environment. Especially, the enhancement of economic performance through the development of an appropriate financial management system is the most critical point for shipping companies in an increasingly competitive environment. For these reasons, with the forecasting of the changes in operational cost items, the shipping companies will meet provides reasonable contributions to the enhancement of the economic performance. That is why, nowadays, economic forecasting on critical operational cost items has become an important part of financial planning for shipping companies. From these viewpoints, this thesis study focuses on the estimation of the operational cost items for the tanker ships based on previous years' data. With the estimation on the operational cost items such as; crew costs, spare and stores costs, repair and maintenance cost, insurance costs, administration costs, and technical management fee costs; it is expecting to improve the effectiveness of the financial plans and management systems of shipping companies under dynamic market condition. The general financial approach applied in the ship management companies is mainly constituted on the revision of costs of the previous year by considering the financial expectations like inflation, price stability, growth forecast, etc.