20 YEARS OF MARITIME ECONOMICS & LOGISTICS (MEL)

DALIAN MARITIME UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF MARITIME ECONOMICS & MANAGEMENT

Following our most successful and memorable 20-year celebrations at Kuehne Logistics University of Hamburg, in November 2018, in December it was the turn of the Dalian Maritime University, School of Maritime Economics and Management. At the opening of the “Belt and Road Initiative workshop, and upon welcoming speakers and guests, the dean of the School, Professor Qingcheng Zeng remarked: […] We are deeply proud to jointly organize this great workshop with Professor Haralambides on the occasion of the 20th anniversary celebrations of MEL. MEL is the flagship journal of the maritime industry and I can only congratulate it on its outstanding contributions.

In his salutation, as member of MEL’s Editorial Board, Professor Young-Tae Chang, Inha University, Korea, said: […] MEL is published quarterly, like most scientific journals for which quality is more important than quantity… I hear that in the European Union, Australia, New Zeeland and more, MEL is classified as the best economics- oriented journal in this area; probably Asia will follow soon… MEL is using rigorous methodological analyses to resolve problems in global supply chains, which include shipping, ports and marine terminals. The journal, however, also emphasizes the importance of practical insights and it has thus won not only us academics but also the business executive and policy maker.

Dr. Grace Wang (Texas A&M University), representing the International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME),  of which MEL is an official journal, said: […] MEL is the flagship journal in maritime logistics... Researchers have the highest esteem for MEL but also policy makers who want to know what's going on, what is the current debate, and what are the challenges and obstacles in daily operations. They know MEL is a place to find solutions…I know how important and how difficult it is to maintain the quality of a good journal. Under our editor-in-chief’s continuous efforts in the past twenty years, MEL has become the top rank, leading journal in the maritime field.

Closing the introductory session and thanking Professor Zeng, keynote speakers and participants, Professor Haralambides added: […] in these 20 years we have published around 600 papers by more than 1000 authors. In doing so, we have never compromised on quality; rather, we have helped authors to publish. Once we identify a paper of good potential, our refereeing procedures are meant to assist the author develop the paper further and, through advice, constructive comments, ideas and suggestions, bring the paper up to MEL standards of publication which are very high. In this way, we have not only distributed and disseminated research findings but, more importantly, we have shaped the future agenda of maritime economics and logistics research. Naturally, our greatest support has been towards the younger generation of researchers. Through our advice and support, we have taught them that it is one thing to get good results from a computer screen and quite another to write a paper which is enjoyable, understood and appreciated by others. I wouldn’t exaggerate if I said that we have transformed many of them from competent researchers to seasoned authors, and they have all acknowledged this with gratitude. Now I look forward to our workshop and I thank you again for attending.