Article

Analysis of the COVID-19 Pandemic’s Impact on the Cruise Shipping Network in the Asian-Australasian Region

Maneerat Kanrak1, Hong-Oanh Nguyen1,*, Yuquan Du1
Author Information & Copyright
1Australian Maritime College, University of Tasmania, Launceston 7248, Australia.
*Corresponding Author: Hong-Oanh Nguyen, Australian Maritime College, University of Tasmania, Launceston 7248, Australia. E-mail: o.nguyen@utas.edu.au.

© Copyright 2022 Jungseok Research Institute of International Logistics and Trade. This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Received: Jun 09, 2021; Revised: Sep 11, 2021; Accepted: Oct 18, 2021

Published Online: Feb 16, 2022

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the Asian-Australasian cruise shipping network. The analysis was carried out using complex network analysis and data collected for two periods, before and after the pandemic outbreak. The analysis revealed that the network structure and properties have changed after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Interestingly, the network’s density and the number of links have increased, but its scale-free property remains with the degree distribution follows the power law. The network has a higher connectivity efficiency with a smaller average path length and a higher clustering coefficient. Its hub ports still maintain an extensive connection. The network’s flow efficiency becomes higher and connectivity stronger after the pandemic. The role of cruise ports has changed as indicated by the degree, betweenness, closeness and eigenvector centralities. The study’s findings indicate that the cruise shipping sector could further enhance efficiency and identify strategies to assist the management in similar circumstances.

Keywords: Cruise shipping network; Coronavirus; Network change; Complex network analysis; Cruise operations; Asia and Australasia