FACTORS CONSTRAİNİNG OPERATİONAL EFFİCİENCY IN MARİTİME TRANSPORTATİON: A COMPARATİVE ANALYSİS OF QUANTİTATİVE DECİSİON SUPPORT MODELS AND FİELD REALİTİES

Abstract

This study aims to identify the key risk factors that constrain operational efficiency in international maritime transport and to conduct a comparative analysis of the performance of the six continents addressed in line with these factors. The research is based on a hybrid research design that combines qualitative field observations with quantitative decision support models. Within the scope of the study, seven key criteria were considered: port congestion, bureaucratic barriers, security/piracy, technical and fuel issues, personnel issues, environmental conditions, and geopolitical risks. Based on these criteria, Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania were compared in terms of operational risks. The research working group consisted of three senior ship captains with a cumulative 60 years of sectoral experience. Semi-structured interviews and pairwise comparison matrices were used as data collection tools. In the analysis of the data, the Best-Worst Method (BWM) was applied for criterion weighting and the Simple Additive Weighting (SAW) method was applied for continent ranking, and the findings were validated using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) methods. According to the analysis results, bureaucratic barriers have been identified as the most dominant operational constraint in maritime trade. This finding indicates that the fundamental disruptions in the sector stem from the costs of informal transactions, expressed through concepts such as the "Marlboro Canal," rather than technical inadequacies. In regional analyses, Europe was found to be the continent with the highest operational performance, while Asia and Africa were identified as the regions with the highest risk intensity. In light of the research findings, it is recommended that "Single Window" digital declaration systems, which minimise the risk of corruption, be widely implemented, particularly in developing ports, and that security protocols be made more transparent.