General
The maritime industry constantly faces a number of commercial, technological and societal challenges.
Many current challenges are closely linked to the globalization of world trade, which has led to greater
value chain complexity. Combined with a sharper focus on developing more efficient and robust value
chains, this increased complexity is leading to ever stricter requirements being made of the maritime
logisticssolutions that are incorporated in these value chains. These include demands regarding ability
to deliver, cost and energy efficiency, and the environmental profile of the solutions.
MARLEN or 'Maritime Logistic Chains and the Environment' is a research project funded by the Norwegian
Research Council starting in the fall of 2008 and end spring 2010.
The main research challenge addressed in the MARLEN project is the question of ensuring that energy
efficiency and environmental improvement initiatives in parts of a maritime logistics chain are not
negatively compensated for through changed behaviour in other parts of the chain. That is, we wish to
seek global energy efficiency and environmental improvements in the maritime logistics chain and avoid
sub-optimization, through better understanding of the operational, organizational and contractual parameters
that take effect in a maritime logistics chain.
Timeline
01.08.2008 - Start of project
01.04.2010 - End of project