Purpose

Severe disruptions to maritime supply chains, including port closures, congestion and shortages in shipping capacity, have occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper’s purpose is to explore flexibility-based countermeasures that enable actors in maritime supply chains to mitigate the effects of disruptions with different characteristics.

Design/methodology/approach

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with shipping lines, shippers, forwarders and ports. Data on the COVID-19 pandemic's effects and countermeasures were collected and compared with data regarding the 2016–2017 Gothenburg port conflict.

Findings

Spatial, capacity, service and temporal flexibility emerged as the primary countermeasures, whilst important characteristics of disruptions were geographical spread, duration, uncertainty, criticality, the element of surprise and intensity. Spatial flexibility was exercised in both disruptions by switching to alternative ports. During the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring capacity flexibility included first removing and then adding vessels. Shipping lines exercising service flexibility prioritised certain cargo, which made the spot market uncertain and reduced flexibility for forwarders, importers and exporters that changed carriers or traffic modes. Experience with disruptions meant less surprise and better preparation for spatial flexibility.

Practical implications

Understanding how actors in maritime supply chains exercise flexibility-based countermeasures amid disruptions with different characteristics can support preparedness for coming disruptions.

Originality/value

Comparing flexibility-based measures in a pandemic versus port conflict provides insights into the important characteristics of disruptions and the relevance of mitigation strategies. The resilience of maritime supply chains, although underexamined compared with manufacturing supply chains, is essential for maintaining global supply chain flows.

中文翻译：

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比较不同中断期间基于灵活性的措施：来自海运供应链的证据

目的

COVID-19 大流行期间发生了海运供应链的严重中断，包括港口关闭、拥堵和运输能力短缺。本文的目的是探索基于灵活性的对策，使海运供应链中的参与者能够减轻具有不同特征的中断的影响。

设计/方法论/途径

对航运公司、托运人、货运代理和港口进行了半结构化访谈。收集了有关 COVID-19 大流行的影响和对策的数据，并将其与 2016-2017 年哥德堡港口冲突的数据进行了比较。

发现

空间、容量、服务和时间灵活性成为主要对策，而中断的重要特征是地理分布、持续时间、不确定性、关键性、意外因素和强度。通过切换到替代港口，在两次中断中都发挥了空间灵活性。在 COVID-19 大流行期间，确保运力灵活性包括首先移除然后添加船只。实行服务灵活性的航运公司优先考虑某些货物，这使得现货市场变得不确定，并降低了货代、进口商和出口商改变承运人或运输方式的灵活性。经历过干扰意味着更少的意外和更好的空间灵活性准备。

实际影响

了解海运供应链中的参与者如何在不同特征的中断中采取基于灵活性的对策可以支持为即将到来的中断做好准备。

原创性/价值

通过比较大流行病和港口冲突中基于灵活性的措施，可以深入了解中断的重要特征和缓解策略的相关性。尽管与制造业供应链相比，海运供应链的弹性尚未得到充分检验，但对于维持全球供应链流动至关重要。