The research project is grouped into six initial research tasks or research topics. The main node of each research task is the PhD student related to that topic. Each PhD student will have resources to deal with both the industrial competence development process and the academic research processes. The industrial competence development process will be handled by scientific researchers and industrial participants in the form of case studies. The academic research process will be dealt with by the academic members of the project, the post doc, and international co-operation, and masters students are also included into this process. The six research tasks or research topics, are:

• Vulnerability and resilience of the global shipping system: The global shipping system is a prerequisite for global trading patterns. The question in this task is related to in which ways the global shipping systems are vulnerable, and with our ability to analyse the consequences for global trading patterns and the shipping industry of these vulnerabilities, as well as the resilient measures within the shipping systems that are intended to cope with the vulnerabilities.
• Risk and vulnerability taxonomies in maritime logistics: The point of departure for studies of vulnerability, risks or resilience is a structured overview and understanding of the sources and processes from and through which vulnerabilities and risks mature. The aim of this task is to establish such category structures or taxonomies in the context of maritime logistics.
• Maritime logistics law: The contract or law dimension of inter-organisational relationships as found in logistics chain constructs is based on a diverse set of sanction mechanisms. In this task we want to alter our focus to how the contract and the law or juridical approach may act as an incentive mechanism to join up the interfaces in chain operations, rather than a mechanism that breaks up the interfaces of the chain, i.e. a legal focus on the broader context, or scope of work of the logistics chain rather than the single elements, where the ‘logistic chain focused contract’ could be an instrument capable of building incentives for the mission focus of the logistics chain, thereby contributing to the resilience of the maritime logistics chains.
• Fleet and chain planning and control under uncertainty: Fleet (e.g. vessel fleet) and chain planning are mostly conducted with predictable inputs. However, in real-life situations, uncertainty both as stochastic and dynamic influence up to and including execution will influence both planning and control. The aim of this task is to see how uncertainty could be treated in the optimisation, planning and control of fleet and chain planning in maritime logistics.
• Vulnerability and resilience in logistics IT systems: Logistics and logistics chain operations are characterised by a large transaction volume. Such transactions cover both commercial and market relationships and operational relations. The aim of this task is to address vulnerability following the use and dependability of IT systems in logistics chains, including security aspects, as well as looking at how such IT systems may contribute with resilient measures in logistics systems, e.g. through supporting dynamic measures in the planning and control situation.
• Vulnerability and mitigation analysis in maritime logistics: This task aims to develop methods and tools for vulnerability analyses of maritime logistics chains. The focus will be on both vulnerability and risk scenario development, with quantitative analyses of likelihood and consequence, and the qualitative evaluation and quantitative assessment of mitigation aspects, e.g. aimed at loss prevention and the re-establishment of logistics services.