4 ms·
> "how do you deliver on time? With a big enough fleet you could statistically deal with delays. Eg, in the same sense that airlines slightly overbook flights.
by kardos 7y ago
> "how do you deliver on time?
With a big enough fleet you could statistically deal with delays. Eg, in the same sense that airlines slightly overbook flights. The variability/risk in the port costs would cut into the fuel savings; hard to imagine that would be a show stopper. There must be a portion of the industry that is less time sensitive and would entertain working out the details to facilitate the slower speeds for slower costs approach.
- aeternum 7y agoThe issue is weather becomes a common-mode failure that affects your entire fleet regardless of size. A week or two of no/light wind, or winds that are too strong mean that everything is delayed. Slower shipping may not be a problem, but unpredictability often is. Few businesses can handle completely unpredictable shipping timelines.
- kardos 7y agoIt wouldn't be "completely unpredictable".... pulling some numbers from a hat, let's say powered-ship takes 6 days, wind-ship takes 8-11 days. Depending on the severity of being late you would plan for perhaps 10 days. Or 12 days if missing your port slot is severe. You would be able to track the wind ship, so your window of arrival will narrow as the journey progresses. There must be a portion of the industry that will navigate this complexity in exchange for the fuel-free benefits.
- aeternum 7y agoThe numbers I've delt with are much higher, powered-ship taking 30-40 days. In which case as slower ship increasing that by the same factor becomes 60-80 days.