A Study on the Evaluation of Improvement Factors of Tug Services in Korea

The purpose of this study is to prioritize improvement factors of the tug services in terms of the structural problem, operating system and the present condition of the tug at each port in Korea. It was identified that the tug operating system needs to be mostly improved among the improvement factors of the tug services in Korea. In addition, free contract and rotating system were found to be important factors which need to be improved comparing to other factors such as service quality, tug rules, operating practices of council for tug operation and customer factor. The service attitude of the tug companies was regarded as an important element. And the tug entry system appeared to be an important item. Finally, laws relating to tug business needs to be revised which allow new tug companies enter into the market. As the result of AHP analysis for tug systems and service improvement factors, some fundamental changes of tug operation systems are urgently needed.