Project Cargo Flow. Can AIS data be used to perform cargo flow analyses for MPP project carriers?

Containerization has changed dramatically how general cargo is transported around the world. Since the 50’s the container vessel fleet has increasing while the number of general cargo vessels, which used to dominate general cargo transportation has been decreased and changed towards multipurpose shipping. Project cargo is one of the cargoes which are carried by these multipurpose ships. As the general cargo vessels as such have lost their status as biggest market segment, they have also lost their share of public interest. That can be seen in market reviews which are more concentrating on containers and bulk shipping. This study investigates if AIS data can be used to determine project cargo flows which are transported by project carriers which are a special type of multipurpose ship. Furthermore the study tries to determine the current project cargo flows. Unlike traditional market research, this study uses vessels movement history to track the routes where project carriers operate. The primary data for the study is collected from the AIS data which is expanded with secondary data which is collected from market reviews and analyses together with port statistics. These sources set up triangular data base where the result is correct when all three data are in line. Altogether 120 vessels’ movement history from one year period was extracted from the AIS data and the following results were noticed: main routes, main ports and time ships spend in port. The network for project cargo was found to be very wide and the routes of the network were mostly used only once. The network contained a total of 2653 different routes where the route to and from China to Australia was found to be most used. The biggest port lists followed the same pattern as in the secondary data. Overall the results from AIS data were found to be in line with the secondary data