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COVID-19 impact on global maritime mobility.
Leonardo M Millefiori1, Paolo Braca2, Dimitris Zissis3,4
1Research Department, NATO STO Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation, 19126, La Spezia, Italy.
Scientific Reports
|September 11, 2021
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic caused a significant global drop in maritime shipping mobility, impacting all commercial vessel types. Analysis of Automatic Identification System data reveals reduced activity from March to June 2020 due to containment measures.
Area of Science:
- Maritime Logistics
- Epidemiology
- Data Science
Background:
- COVID-19 containment measures drastically altered global social and economic activities.
- The shipping industry, responsible for over 80% of world trade, was significantly impacted by these changes.
- Understanding these impacts is crucial for economic recovery and future supply chain resilience.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantitatively assess the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated containment measures on global maritime shipping activity.
- To analyze changes in ship mobility patterns, routes, and operational efficiency using comprehensive maritime traffic data.
- To establish a baseline for future disruptions by comparing 2020 mobility to pre-pandemic trends.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a global network of Automatic Identification System (AIS) receivers to collect a trillion AIS messages from 50,000 ships.
- Computed multiple data-driven maritime mobility indexes, including Cumulative Navigated Miles (CNM), active/idle ship counts, and fleet average speed.
- Generated and compared global and local vessel density maps to visualize changes in shipping routes and operational patterns.
Main Results:
- An unprecedented decline in maritime mobility was observed across all commercial shipping categories following the COVID-19 outbreak.
- Reduced activity was most pronounced between March and June 2020, coinciding with stringent global restrictions.
- Specific mobility variations included: container ships (-5.62% to -13.77%), dry bulk (+2.28% to -3.32%), wet bulk (-0.22% to -9.27%), and passenger traffic (-19.57% to -42.77%).
Conclusions:
- The COVID-19 pandemic led to a substantial and widespread reduction in global maritime shipping activity.
- The study highlights the vulnerability of the shipping industry to global health crises and associated containment policies.
- The comprehensive AIS dataset provides a unique and valuable resource for understanding pandemic impacts on maritime trade.
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