Exploring vulnerability and resilience of shipping for coastal communities during disruptions: findings from a case study of Vancouver Island in Canada
The International Journal of Logistics Management
ISSN: 0957-4093
Article publication date: 8 July 2021
Issue publication date: 15 October 2021
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to improve understanding of how coastal maritime transport system of Vancouver Island would be disrupted in disaster events, and the strategies could be used to address such risks. Any transport disruption at the maritime leg of the supply chain can affect the needs of vulnerable residents and thus, the supply of many goods to coastal communities.
Design/methodology/approach
This case study focuses on the disruption that can be expected to occur for ferries that serves coastal communities of Vancouver Island in Canada. A landslide scenario in the Fraser River (which connects coastal communities) is developed, and interviews and focus groups are used to gain understanding of the vulnerability and resilience of shipping.
Findings
The findings show that the maritime leg of the supply chain for the coastal communities of Vancouver Island is resilient to a landslide disruption of ferries. Besides, there would be no impact on the operability of tugs and barges. This study also offers suggestions for creating the conditions for increasing resilience of maritime supply chains to any such disruption.
Research limitations/implications
A research gap exists with respect to minimizing disruption in maritime supply chains, mainly in regard to lessening the impact on the vulnerable residents of coastal communities. This study contributes to filling this gap in the literature.
Practical implications
The findings have significant implications for maritime service providers and for people working on disaster preparedness, emergency response and recovery.
Originality/value
Studies which focus on alleviating the impact of disruptions in the maritime supply chains and the mitigation strategies for coastal communities are scarce in the literature.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Funding: This study is conducted in context of the project “Shipping Resilience: Strategic Planning for Coastal Community Resilience to Marine Transportation Risk (SIREN)”. It has received financial support through the Marine Environmental Observation Prediction and Response (MEOPAR) Network of Centres of Excellence, and from the Province of British Columbia. Research partners are University of British Columbia (Canada), University of Washington (USA), University of Victoria (Canada) and University of Dalhousie (Canada). Dr. Yangyan Shi thanks the key fund programme for the Scientific Activities of Selected Returned Overseas Professionals in Shanxi Province [2018, RSC1617] and the programme for the Top Young Academic Leaders of Higher Learning Institutions of Shanxi [TYAL, 2019052009].
The authors would like to thank a co-operative student, Mohamed Baiumy, for assisting in the scenario development process. The authors would also like to thank another co-operative student, Tianlang Zhao, for assisting in the data collection and transcription process.
Citation
Islam, S., Goerlandt, F., Uddin, M.J., Shi, Y. and Abdul Rahman, N.S.F. (2021), "Exploring vulnerability and resilience of shipping for coastal communities during disruptions: findings from a case study of Vancouver Island in Canada", The International Journal of Logistics Management, Vol. 32 No. 4, pp. 1434-1460. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLM-12-2020-0466
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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