The Bulk Carrier Maximum Optimal Ship Size

Abstract

The main objective of this paper is to investigate the economicallimit for the ships? increase in size. Ship size is one factor outof many that affect the investors in the shipping business. The paperseeks to reassess the validity of well-established theoretical frameworks,which support the concept of depending onthe increase in size ofships prompted by economies of scale. The investigation was conductedby use of quantitative methods where mathematical modeling and simulationswere used to analyze the relationships of the key variables. Computersoftware like MS Excel 2010 was used to simulate and generate graphs,values and trends. The empirical results of this work support thetheory of economies of scale that can be enjoyed by operating theoptimal ship sizes. Optimality of ships, change linearly with changesin voyage length. The central and novel contribution of this paperis about the existence of a threshold point where optimal ship sizesreflex the economical maxima. For the dry bulk sector the maximumoptimal ship size determined as 340,000 dwt.