Internationaler Studiengang Shipping and Chartering B. A.

• Management and management functions
• Organizational environments and cultures
• Ethics and social responsibility
• Planning and decision-making
• Control
• Managing information
• Managing service and manufacturing operations
• Innovation and change
• Global management
• Managing human resource systems
• Managing individuals and a diverse work force

• National legal systems (civil law and common law)
• Selective complex of topics of the German Civil Code (BGB), with focus on contractual law and overview on other parts of national law
• Overview on some parts of the German Commercial Code (HGB) as well as company law
• Overview of international commercial law
• International organizations and economic institutions in international trade and shipping
• International Sales contracts under consideration of The Convention on the International Sale of Goods (CISG); INCOTERMS 2010 and successors
• International Payment instruments
• International Private Law (Choice of law)

• Introduction to the concept of Blue Sciences
• Overview of the contents and requirements of the main studies
• Learning goals and study approaches and how to achieve them
• Introduction to the minor subjects
• Explore the various professional and technical areas and opportunities of the study programs
• Introduction to scientific work, library research and development of presentation and research skills
• Excursions or study visits

• Basic review of English grammar in use and exercises to enhance proficiency
• Shipping English: maritime and technical vocabulary, commercial correspondence, shipping documents and current maritime issues in specialized literature
• Sea Story Writing Competition – applied use of grammar and maritime vocabulary
• Application of acquired knowledge of shipping vocabulary, maritime expressions and basic business skills in role plays, meetings, negotiations and presentations
• Analysis and use of the English language in excerpts from contracts, shipping documents, insurance policies and maritime law texts
• Become familiar with the application of negotiation techniques and the diplomatic use of the English language when dealing with foreign cultures
• Exercise technical terms in law and economics and their practical application (ship – shore communication)
• Use of relevant phrases, expressions and abbreviations on board and in ports

• Basics in Economic theory
• Sea Transport and the Global Economy
• The Organization of the Shipping Market
• Shipping Market Cycles
• Supply, Demand and Freight Rates
• The four shipping markets
• The transport of general cargoes

• Differences of financial accounting, management accounting and cost accounting
• Introduction to cost terms and purposes
• Job-costing
• Process-costing
• Cost allocation among cost centers
• Joint-cost situations
• Cost-volume-profit relationships

• Types of charter contracts 
• Types of services 
• Standard charter contracts and selected clauses 
• Charter party negotiations 
• Agency contracts and rights of representation
• Delivery and supply/loading and discharging
• Instructions to Master and signing the Bill of Lading (B/L).
• Stevedore damages, including strategies and behavior in case of claims/damages
• Exercises in laytime and demurrage, including dispatch 
• Lien on the ship and cargo
• Additional safeguard clauses
• Re-delivery

Elective offered within the Blue Sciences Cooperation Study Programs. For example: Tanker Shipping of our sister degree ISMN.

Tanker Shipping

Currently on offer is import minor 1 Module Tanker Shipping from the International Study Program in Ship Management Nautical Sciences (ISMN).

• Tanker markets and logistic chain
• Market specific requirements
• Economical aspects
• International organizations
• Human resources and their requirements
• Audits and Vetting inspection
   

Part 1 - Basics

• Theory of sets, arithmetic, algebra
• Equations, inequalities, matrices and determinants

Part 2 – Details

• Geometry, trigonometry
• Vectors, analytical geometry
• Functions of one variable
• Differential calculus
• Integral calculus
• Theory of probabilities, statistics

Part 3

• Applied statistics
• Interpretation

Part 1: Shipping Law - Law of the Flag State, Port State

• 1982 UN LOS, 
• German Flag State Act

Part 2: Marine Environmental Law – Environmental Liability

• Duty to preserve and protect the marine environment; Vessel-sourced pollution; Enforcement; Liability – 1982 UNCLOS
• International Maritime Organization
• Marine Environmental Law in international conventions: Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention with application of International Safety Management (ISM) and International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Codes
• Maritime Safety: Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention with application of International Safety Management (ISM) and International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Codes
• Civil Liability and compensation conventions; Limitation of Liability
• German Flag State Law and civil and criminal liability

• Key variables in the portfolio of the ship-owner
• Economies of scale
• Detailed overview of cost categories of shipping
• Simplified profit/loss and Cash-Flow accounts
• Relevance and dangers of gearing
• Optimization of voyage speed
• Economic implications of different charter contracts and link between time charter contracts and freight contracts
• Voyage earnings, concept, relevance and computation
• Discounted cash flow analysis and internal rate of return
• Discussion of spillover effects

• Introduction to transport and economic geography.
• International trade and globalization
• Network theory / Networks in the maritime industry – an analysis of the liner shipping market
• Connectivity and accessibility 
• Centrality and peripherality
• implications for a region in a global market
• The impacts of horizontal and vertical integration and network implications, the case of liner shipping
• Location theory applied to ports.
• Port functions and hinterlands.
• Port development: privatization, devolution.
• Port development in different economic environments and the wider institutional contexts

Elective offered within the Blue Sciences Cooperation Study Programs. For example: Dry Cargo Operations of our sister degree ISMN.

Dry Cargo Operations

Currently on offer as Import Minor 2 is the Module Dry Cargo Operations from the  International Study Program in Ship Management Nautical Sciences (ISMN).

• Cargo transportation technologies (ship types, cargoes, holds and hatch covers, maintenance).
• Cargo operations (loading and discharging processes, legal and organisational framework of operations, claim handling).
• Cargo handling (lifting appliances, rigging, operational safety).
• Stowage planning (cargo information, space calculation, stowage rules, stowage plans, work schedules).
• Ship’s stability and strength (stability in cargo operations, trimming, ballasting, limit assessments).
• Cargo securing (behaviour of cargo, principles of securing, securing devices and material properties, securing arrangement assessment, cargo securing manual)
• Ventilation of cargo holds
• Specific cargo requirements (container, heavy lift, Ro/Ro, bulk incl. grain, timber deck cargo, refrigerated cargo)

• Basic knowledge of ship building/construction and ship associations, as well as the use of correct terms for the different parts of a vessel
• Skills in reading drawings and plans
• Types of vessels, Classification.
• Maintenance, overhauling/repairs, corrosion prevention
• Knowledge of a vessel’s technical equipment, systems and technical construction.
• Engines and work equipment/machinery.
• Propulsion, propeller and rudder.
• Operating materials.
• Technical construction and function of the supply system.
• Planning and documentation of supplying provisions. Ship management.
• Ship’s theory in relation to buoyancy, stability, trim and strength, impact on stability due to shifting cargo, flooding, wind forces, etc.
• Bulk and heavy lift cargo, containers, Ro/Ro cargo, grain (grain code), minerals as bulk cargo (bulk cargo code) timber as deck cargo (timber code; guideline E1)
• stability and stress conditions under the application of appropriate procedures and methods (board computer, manual calculation)
• Preparation of the cargo holds, stowage regulations, stowage plan, cargo hold climate, documentation, work safety
• CSS Code (Code of Safe Stowage and Securing of Cargo) and the application of the cargo securing manual for bulk and heavy lift cargo, Ro/Ro cargo and containers
• Technical functions, operating criteria, testing, on-board documentation, control and maintenance of: cargo gear and cranes, gates, ramps, hold coverage, lifting platforms, conveying equipment, cooling plant

Maritime Labour Law

• International regulations as International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) and Maritime Labour Convention (MLC)
• Contracts and labour agreements
• Social insurances
• Work Time regulations
• Occupational health regulations, ISO standards, training and education on board

German National Laws in Shipping

• Maritime Labor Act and accompanying regulations including occupational health and safety law (Seearbeitsgesetz und Begleitvorschriften einschließlich Arbeitsschutzrecht)
• Industrial Basic  Law (Betriebsverfassungsrecht)
• Social Law (Sozialrecht)
• Seafarers' Qualification Ordinance, Seafarers' Training, Seafarers' Certificates (Seeleute-Befähigungsverordnung Ausbildung von Seeleuten, Bescheinigungen für Seeleute)
• Ship manning regulation (Schiffsbesetzungsverordnung)

HR Management

• Leadership and managing of people in shipping
• Communication
• Organizational behaviour and opportunity
• Cultural behaviours
• Employee appraisal and disciplinary actions
   

• Introduction to Controlling and Financial Accounting
• Overview of Financial Statements
• The Bookkeeping process
• Discussion of Assets (Current Assets and Noncurrent Assets)
• Discussion of Liabilities (Current and Long-term Liabilities)
• Discussion of Equity
• Income Statement
• Statement of Cash Flows
• Balance Sheet
• Statement of changes in equity of owners
• Horizontal and Vertical Financial Statement Analysis
• Key Financial Ratios used in the Analysis of Financial Statements

• Bulk shipping theory
• Impact of round trip distance on bulk shipping economics and logistics
• Economic principles of bulk shipping and properties of bulk commodities
• Bulk shipping market conditions in academic theory and reality
• Market participants and their strategies
• Trade theory
• Exercise: analysis of a bulk shipping market
• Bulk shipping markets then and today
• Crude oil, oil products, chemicals
• Dry bulks
• Stopford’s specialized shipping market model
• Introduction to Logistics and Supply Chain Management beyond the maritime industry

Elective offered within the Blue Sciences Cooperation Study Programs. For example: Dangerous Cargo of our sister degree ISMN.

Dangerous Cargo

Currently on offer as Import Minor 3 is the Module Dangerous Cargo from the International Studies in Ship Management Nautical Sciences (ISMN).

• Fundamentals concerning chemical hazards, chemicals on board.
• Hazard classes and related provisions.
• International regulations 
• SOLAS (International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea), especially SOLAS II-2 Regel 19 and SOLAS Chapter VII
• IMDG-Code (International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code)
• IMSBC-Code (International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes Code)
• CSC (Convention for Safe Containers)
• Handling, stowage and segregation of dangerous cargoes
• Documentation
• National laws, regulations and guidelines on classification, packing, documentation Gefahrgutverordnung See (GGV See)
• Procedures and communication in operations with dangerous cargo.
• Emergency response (MFAG, EmS)

• Introduction on types of international marine insurances 
• The basics and mechanisms of common marine insurances 
• Parties involved in large casualties, their roles and interaction with these parties
• Enforcement of claims, recoveries, guarantees and arrest
• Repairer's / builder's liability and knock for knock regime
• Settlement of disputes, litigation / court actions, arbitration and mediation
• Casualty analysis, management and coordination
• Collecting evidence and information
• Dealing with media
• Global limitation
• General Average
• Commercial tug contracts / salvage

• Carriage contracts and transport documents under the German Commercial Code and conventions and charter contracts
• Rules relating to the payment of freight, demurrage/detention and other costs under the German Commercial Code
• Rules on liability arising out of damages, loss and/or delays in the carriage of goods on land or by sea or multi-modal
• Multimodal transport law regime, contracts for storage, cargo handling and special transports
• Master’s obligations regarding seaworthiness and preparedness for loading, carriers’ liability, conservation of evidence, sea protest
• Legal situation of the Master and his/her status as representative of the ship owner according to the German Commercial Code

• During the preparation for an internship, all relevant administrative and topic-related aspects of internships are discussed in detail with the students.
• The module deals with the following: placement, i.e., assisting students during their search for an internship position (if possible, within a shipping company or another maritime institution), clarifying organizational issues (such as visas for work and residency abroad), conveying the content, form and design of the various elements of the internship report, as well as the appropriate conduct for an intern, and the objectives of the intern-ship.

The specific content of the internship is established by the shipping company or other maritime company offering a posi-tion or, respectively, the student’s pre-arrangement report.

• In the post-processing, all topical aspects of the internship are discussed in detail with the student based on the submitted reports.
• Students will exchange information with each other regarding their experiences at the different companies and will give the university comprehensive feedback.
• The post-processing should also be a platform to disclose any deficiencies and discuss any proposals for potential improvement as well as other relevant issues.
• In addition, the contact data of the different companies are collected and entered into a data bank so that this data is available to students in subsequent years of study.

• Contracts for sale and purchase, especially the memorandum of agreement
• Advance payment guarantees / refund guarantees
• Ship building – standardized contracts for new buildings
• Measures of safeguarding liquidity for ship finance
• Source and types of capital procurement
• Phases, structure and investors of ship financing in an international context
• German KG (limited partnership) model and its shift in role in light of the financial crisis.
• Alternative forms of financing with equity (ownership capital) and debt (loan capital) as well as their effects on the balance sheet.
• Key mathematical financial figures and their critical interpretation in practice.
• Rating assessments and credit rates regarding ship financing in view of bank regulations on capital ownership.
• Tasks and duties of classification societies.
• Content and collateral of ship mortgages.
• Economic and legal structure of closed-end ship funds and their development in the course of time.
• General fiscal and economic conditions of shipbuilding – tonnage tax, currency hedging, charter rates.
• Analysis of offering prospectuses with regard to legal issues and content as well as the status of issuing houses.
• Basics in derivatives and in forward markets
• Restructuring of capital and secondary markets for closed-end funds

Selected case law and practical discussions via seminar papers on a series of common charter party disputes, including, but not limited to:

• Basics of maritime arbitration
• Charter party fixtures
• Charter parties compared to other maritime contracts (such as salvage, towage, offshore)
• Seaworthiness / cargoworthiness / bill of lading disputes
• Vetting disputes
• Payment of freight or hire
• Bunker quality or payment disputes / claims
• Apportionment of cargo claims (NYPE ICA).
• Non-performance claims
• Agency disputes
• Lien on cargo, bunker or vessel
• Arrest disputes
• Notice of readiness disputes
• Laytime and demurrage disputes
• Speed & consumption claims
• Off hire
• Routing / lawful and unlawful deviation / piracy issues
• Frustration of contract
• Delivery and redelivery of ship
• Damages calculation under charter parties
• Ship-building disputes / sale and purchase disputes
• Legal consequences of environmental disasters

The focus of Elective 1 are specific aspects of shipping markets and technologies. The objectives of the offered modules are contemporary issues of maritime markets and technological developments. The content of the modules is documented in the specific module descriptions.

The following electives may be offered:

• Passenger Ships 1 - Operations of Passenger Ships
• Passenger Ships 2 - Environmental Issues
• Project Cargo / Heavy Lift 1 – Project Cargo Shipping
• Project Cargo/Heavy Lift 2 - Stowage & Securing

• Conducting Research for maritime markets and industries
• Basic research principles
• Working with statistics and large amounts of data
• Suitable visualization of different types of data
• Relationship between audience and research report design
• Scenario development and forecasting methodologies
• Introduction to Logistics and Supply Chain Management beyond the maritime industry

Technical Ship Management

• Maintenance strategies and planned maintenance systems
• Purchasing and logistic chain, spare part logistics and warehousing
• Docking requirements and preparation for shipyard
• Inspections, Audits

Fleet and Ship Performance

• Ship and fleet performance control systems
• Data capture and databases
• Key Performance Indicators
• Data analysing and applied statistics
• EEDI/EEOI, SEEMP

• Integrated management systems to manage and optimize maritime companies
• ISO 9001/4, ISO 14001, ISO 18001, ISO 13000, EFQM: principles, content, structure
• Maritime-specific models as ISM, TMSA, Green Ship
• Relevance of management systems to achieve performance excellence and customer satisfaction
• Modules of a management system
• Methods and tools for quality planning, assurance and improvement
• Implementation of management systems

Elective 2 topics will be based on current developments in the maritime industry and their impacts on the maritime industry. Specific legal courses will also be offered. 

The following electives may be offered:

• International Law of the Sea
• Digitalisation of Maritime Affairs
• Offshore Shipping

The focus of Elective 3 are specific aspects of shipping and port management as well as developments in maritime law. The content of the modules is documented in the specific module descriptions.

The following electives may be offered:

• Shipping Management and Organization 
• Specific Topics of Shipping
• Special Topics in Maritime Law

• Determine the research task or question
• Identify and analyse literature
• Plan and determine the frame of content and time (exposé and draft of Table of Content)
• Determine methods of research
• Work on scientific development of answers
• Analyze and discuss data
• Structure, develop and write the thesis
• Defend the thesis