Comparative analysis of dangerous liquid cargoes transportation: A study on bulk chemicals and tank containers

Dangerous liquid bulk cargo transportation by sea is a controlled and managed operation through a lot of regulations due to transported cargoes involved which require high level of attention. Chemical tankers and tank containers are two of the most common transportation ways of transporting dangerous liquid bulk cargoes by sea. While some of the liquid bulk chemical traders transport their cargoes either in chemical tankers or tank containers, the others use both of them. At this point, the factors which affect the choice of, mentioned transportation ways and their levels of effects on selection are of great importance and need to be thoroughly studied. In this study, the factors that affect the selection of chemical tankers or tank containers by Turkish chemical companies are determined through a comprehensive literature review. In order to determine to what extent these factors are important and their effects on alternatives, a questionnaire prepared in compliance with AHP method was conducted through the import departments of 30 Turkish chemical companies. As a result, when the effect degrees of the factors were evaluated, it has seen that the chemical tankers are 62.5 % more preferable than the tank containers. Keywords: Dangerous Liquid Bulk Cargoes, Chemical Tanker, Tank Container, Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)