The maritime supply chain (MSC) has effectively facilitated the transportation and exchange of goods between different stakeholders worldwide in the era of economic globalization. However, COVID-19 has revealed vulnerabilities and fragilities of maritime supply chains. Almost all maritime stakeholders have been affected by a variety of MSC disruptions such as increasing port congestion, soaring freight rates, devastating shipment delays, etc. In addition to COVID-19, human-related disasters also caused MSC disruptions, such as the explosion of Beirut Port on August 4, 2020, which caused at least 218 deaths, 7,000 injuries, and $ 15bn in property damage, and the blockage of Suez Canal in March 2021 for six days by Ever Given that resulted in $ 5bn every day for maritime system. Moreover, the upgrading geopolitical conflicts intensified anti-globalization trends, and new technological transformations exert additional pressure on MSC. These challenges underscore the urgency to develop and enhance the resilience of MSC.
The term "resilience" is frequently used to characterize a system's or an organization's capacity to recover from a disruptive event and resume its normal operation. In other words, resilience refers to its capacity to preserve, improve, or return to its original performance and functions (Notteboom et al., 2021; Wan et al., 2018). The resilience of MSC can be defined as “the ability of a partner in MSC to withstand disruption and return to a desirable performance level following a disruption”. How to build a resilient MSC in the new-normal world with disruptions and disturbances?
This special issue aims to collect novelty research to study the theoretical and managerial guidelines with the considerations of technologies, methods, and ways to build a resilient maritime supply chain. We welcome research employing data analytics, optimization, game theory, multi-criteria decision-making, simulation study, empirical study, comprehensive study, and so on.
Recommended topics include, but are not limited to:
- Empty container dispatching techniques of MSC
- Disruptions simulation & analysis of MSC
- Resilience assessment techniques of MSC
- Emerging technologies to enhance the resilience of MSC
- Cyber security analysis of MSC
- Forecasting technology for the risks of MSC
- Infrastructure development for the resilience of MSC
- Countermeasures to prevent the risks of MSC
- Pandemic impact analysis of MSC
- Human resources problems of MSC in the post-Covid-19 era
- Resilience strategies of MSCin the post-Covid-19 era
