Journal of Transportation Research

Journal of Transportation Research

Factors affecting container lines' use of container transshipment

Document Type : Original Article

Author
Factors Affecting Container Lines' Use of Container Transshipment
Abstract
The transfer of containers from one ship to another is called transshipment. All foreign shipping lines import their containerized cargoes into Iranian ports using the transshipment method. Container transshipment is one of the most sustainable and economically competitive modes of transportation. This study uses the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method to determine the importance of various factors affecting the use of container transshipment by container shipping companies. A hierarchical structure with three levels and 13 attributes is presented and tested. This study presents an AHP model to help decision makers assess the importance of various factors influencing the use of transshipment transport by container shipping companies. The study shows that “policies and infrastructure” and “costs” are two key factors in the adoption of transshipment transport. Furthermore, five main criteria including “consequences of entering a sanctioned country”, “consequences of entering a lawless country port”, “transshipment time”, “favorable port tariff system” and “efficient terminal operations” have the greatest impact on container companies’ decision-making. These findings indicate that cost and time are two critical factors in choosing transshipment transportation services.
Keywords
Subjects

-Abreu, H., Santos, T.A., Cardoso, V. (2023). Impact of external cost internalization on short sea shipping – The case of the Portugal-Northern Europe trade. Transp. Res. Part D Transp. Environ. 114, 103544. doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2022.103544
-Adamidis, F., Ditta, C.C., Wu, H., Postorino, M.N., Antoniou, C. (2025). Urban Air Mobility for Airport Access:Mode Choice Preferences and Pricing Considerations. Transp. Policy. doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2025.07.027
-Brynolf, S., Hansson, J., Anderson, J.E., Skov, I.R., Wallington, T.J., Grahn, M., Korberg, A.D., Malmgren, E., Taljegård, M. (2022). Review of electrofuel feasibility—prospects for road, ocean, and air transport. Prog. Energy 4, 042007. doi.org/10.1088/2516-1083/ac8097
-Chitimira, H., Warikandwa, T.V. (2023). Financial Inclusion as an Enabler of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in the Twenty-First Century, An Introduction. 1–22. doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-23863-5_1
-Chlomoudis, C., Pallis, P., Platias, C. (2022). Environmental Mainstreaming in Greek TEN-T Ports. Sustainability 14, 1634. doi.org/10.3390/su14031634
-Cook, A.J., Dawson, J., Howell, S.E.L., Holloway, J.E., Brady, M. (2024). Sea ice choke points reduce the length of the shipping season in the Northwest Passage. Commun. Earth Environ. 5, 362. doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01477-6
-Du, J., Wu, N., Zhao, X., Wang, J., Guo, L.. (2024). Container liner shipping schedule optimization with shipper selection behavior considered. Marit. Policy Manag. 51, 1385–1409. doi.org/10.1080/03088839.2022.2160499
-El-Refaei, A., Idris, A.O. (2025). Towards a Port Demand Management (PDM) System: An Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)-based Approach. Case Stud. Transp. Policy 19, 101361. doi.org/10.1016/j.cstp.2024.101361
-Gholami, A., Jazayeri, S.A., Esmaili, Q. (2022). A detail performance and CO2 emission analysis of a very large crude carrier propulsion system with the main engine running on dual fuel mode using hydrogen/diesel versus natural gas/diesel and conventional diesel engines. Process Saf. Environ. Prot. 163, 621–635. doi.org/10.1016/j.psep.2022.05.069
-Günay, G. (2023). Shipment size and vehicle choice modeling for road freight transport: A geographical perspective. Transp. Res. Part A Policy Pract. 173, 103732.
doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2023.103732
-Guo, X., He, J., Lan, M., Yu, H., Yan, W. (2022). Modeling carbon emission estimation for hinterland-based container intermodal network. J. Clean. Prod. 378, 134593. doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.134593
Izdebski, M.J., Kalahasthi, L.K., Regal-Ludowieg, A., Holguín-Veras, J. (2024). Short Sea Shipping as a Sustainable Modal Alternative: Qualitative and Quantitative Perspectives. Sustainability 16, 4515. doi.org/10.3390/su16114515
-Kine, H.Z., Shiferaw, Z., Gebresenbet, G., Tavasszy, L., Ljungberg, D. (2025). GIS based multi-criteria decision-making approach for dry port location analysis: The case of Ethiopia. Res. Transp. Bus. Manag. 60, 101370. doi.org/10.1016/j.rtbm.2025.101370
-Lin, H.-J., Chen, P.-C., Lin, H.-P., Hsieh, I. Y.L. (2025). Quantifying carbon emissions in cold chain transport: A real-world data-driven approach. Transp. Res. Part D Transp. Environ. 142, 104679. doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2025.104679
-Longva, T., Eide, M.S., Endresen, Ø., Sekkesæter, Ø., Helgesen, H., Rivedal, N.H. (2024). Marginal abatement cost curves for CO2 emission reduction from shipping to 2050. Marit. Transp. Res. 6, 100112. doi.org/10.1016/j.martra.2024.100112
-Martínez-Moya, J., Vanelslander, T., Feo-Valero, M., Debón, A. (2025). Transhipment port competitiveness assessment: the importance of port location. WMU J. Marit. Aff. 24, 179–199. doi.org/10.1007/s13437-025-00372-x
-Moshiul, A.M., Mohammad, R., Hira, F.A. (2023). Alternative Fuel Selection Framework toward Decarbonizing Maritime Deep-Sea Shipping. Sustainability 15, 5571. doi.org/10.3390/su15065571
-Moslem, S., Saraji, M.K., Mardani, A., Alkharabsheh, A., Duleba, S., Esztergar-Kiss, D. (2023). A Systematic Review of Analytic Hierarchy Process Applications to Solve Transportation Problems: From 2003 to 2022. IEEE Access 11, 11973–11990. doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2023.3234298
-Muisyo, P.K., Qin, S., Ho, T.H., Julius, M.M. (2022). The effect of green HRM practices on green competitive advantage of manufacturing firms. J. Manuf. Technol. Manag. 33, 22–40. doi.org/10.1108/JMTM-10-2020-0388
-Paulauskas, V., Plačienė, B., Paulauskas, D., Koba, R., Lipka, P., Czaplewski, K., Weintrit, A., Chybicki, A. (2025). Theoretical Framework (Module) for Short-Sea Shipping System Evaluation. Appl. Sci. 15, 8058. doi.org/10.3390/app15148058
-Santos, T. A., dos Santos, G.L., Martins, P., Guedes Soares, C. (2022). A methodology for short-sea-shipping service design within intermodal transport chains. Marit. Econ. Logist. 24, 138–167.
doi.org/10.1057/s41278-021-00193-8
-Santos, Tiago A., Fonseca, M.Â., Martins, P., Soares, C.G. (2022). Integrating Short Sea Shipping with Trans-European Transport Networks. J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 10, 218. doi.org/10.3390/jmse10020218
 -Singh, S., Upadhyay, S.P., Powar, S. (2022). Developing an integrated social, economic, environmental, and technical analysis model for sustainable development using hybrid
multi-criteria decision making methods. Appl. Energy 308, 118235.
doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.118235
Strunge, T., Naims, H., Ostovari, H., Olfe-Kräutlein, B. (2022). Priorities for supporting emission reduction technologies in the cement sector – A multi-criteria decision analysis of CO2 mineralisation. J. Clean. Prod. 340, 130712. doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.130712
-Sujanto, R.Y., Kao, S.L., Yang, M.F., 2024. Multicriteria Assessment of Green Logistics in Taiwan’s Maritime Freight Transport: Green Packaging and Green Transportation as Driving Aspects. TransNav, Int. J. Mar. Navig. Saf. Sea Transp. 18, 35–44. doi.org/10.12716/1001.18.01.02
 -Tai, H.-H., Chang, Y.-H., Chang, C.-W., Wang, Y.-M. (2022). Analysis of the Carbon Intensity of Container Shipping on Trunk Routes: Referring to the Decarbonization Trajectory of the Poseidon Principle. Atmosphere (Basel). 13, 1580. doi.org/10.3390/atmos13101580
-Tavana, M., Soltanifar, M., Santos-Arteaga, F.J. (2023). Analytical hierarchy process: revolution and evolution. Ann. Oper. Res. 326, 879–907.
doi.org/10.1007/s10479-021-04432-2
Wang, H., Tao, J., Xu, J., Zhang, Y. (2023). Research on an evaluation index system and evaluation method of green and low-carbon expressway construction. PLoS One 18, e0283559. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0283559
-Zakaria, A., Md Arof, A., Khabir, A. (2022). Instruments Utilized in Short Sea Shipping Research: A Review. 83–108. doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89988-2_7