Determinants of slow steaming and implications on service patterns

The research focuses on the impact of the shipping strategy to decrease the commercial speed of container vessels, in order to reduce the bunker costs, on current service patterns. In this regard, the study also hypothesizes potential development trends in the near future. The reduction of the commercial speed, commonly referred to as “slow steaming,” has been introduced to mitigate the negative effects of the recent economic crisis by cutting navigation costs and reducing the capacity supplied in order to assure a more efficient fleet deployment. Nowadays, this practice provokes a strong impact on maritime services and inter-port competition, as it leads to differentiate the offer of shipping services, combining fast and direct services among main hubs and cheaper and slower services also calling on small ports. The paper addresses the impact of slow steaming in the major shipping services and discusses the effects on service patterns between Asia and Europe, bringing practical insights for ocean carriers and ports.