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Resolving the Suez backlog: predicting ship transits in capacity-constrained areas
The recent Suez Canal blockage prompts us to revisit access arrangements and practices for individual ships using capacity-constrained maritime infrastructures and passages. In a new article on "Resolving the ship backlog puzzle in the Suez Canal: predicting ship transits in capacity-constrained areas”, PortEconomics co-director Theo Notteboom, joins Mikael Lind, Wolfgang Lehmacher, Lars Jensen, Torbjorn Rydbergh, Rachael White, Hanane Becha, Luisa Antonia Rodriguez Ortega, and Peter Sand and verify the model of deriving queue numbers based...
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Port system evolution in Ecuador: migration, location splitting or specialisation?
Port facilities expand or are relocated from their original locations according to several factors, such as outgrowing a limited space or avoiding clashes of use with expanding cities. Previous spatial models such as the famous Anyport model imply a natural evolution in port systems which can in reality be complicated by issues of port governance and competition. The goal of the lastest portstudy by PortEconomics members Gordon Wilmsmeier and Jason Monios along with Adriana Francesca Ballén Farfánc (Hochschule Bremen, Germany) is to enrich...
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The Analyst: further steps needed for new merger
On goes the wave of mergers of port development companies, this time between the ports of Antwerp and Zeebrugge, writes The Analyst Peter de Langen. The merger has been long in the making, in contrast with some other cases, where the initiative came from the ports themselves (for instance the nearby Ghent and Zeeland Seaports merger into North Sea Port, and the merger of Copenhagen and Malmo Ports), this initiative has long been advocated by the Flemish government. The public owners of the port development companies, the cities of Bruges...
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Port clusters' social licence to operate
PortEconomics member Michaël Dooms moderated a webinar on port-city governance for the AIVP-Association Internationale Villes et Ports (International Association of Port-Cities), on Wednesday, March 31st, 2021. Increasing attention is needed for the Social License to Operate of port clusters, in particular in the context of economic and energy transition. As any port expansion or (re-) development project, the implementation of these strategies are in need of environmental and construction permits. Notwithstanding the sustainability impact...
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Venice move a reminder that going green is key for cruising
The Italian government has announced that cruise ships will no longer be allowed to sail near the historic center of Venice. Large passenger boats must now dock at the city's mainland industrial port at Marghera, in a move made to "protect a historical and cultural heritage not only of Italy but of the whole world". Like any other economic activity, is also associated with externalities raising social, economic, and environmental questions and challenges for cruise port and the surrounding areas. PortEconomics members Thanos...
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Determinants of sustainability reporting in the present institutional context: the case of port managing bodies
Research on the practice of sustainability reporting that is specifically focused on the approach applied by port authorities (or port managing bodies—PMBs) and based on surveys as a data collection method, is very limited. Most research consists of single-case studies, only partly covers the different dimensions related to the implementation of sustainability reporting, or is based on content analysis. The latest portstudy by PortEconomics member Michael Dooms, along with Magali Geerts and Lara Stas (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) offers a...
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Future scenarios for maritime transport in Europe
The IV Strategic Plan of the Port of Barcelona, recently presented, includes a projection on the maritime traffic trends in Europe for 2040. PortEconomics member Peter de Langen partnered with the consulting firm blueFocus, analyze these trends two decades ahead to establish long-term traffic forecasts. Given the difficulties in making reliable forecasts, the scenario technique was used to predict this future. This is how the four scenarios arise in the IV Strategic Plan of the Port of Barcelona. The starting point of the maritime traffic...
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Comparing onsite and offsite rail access for dry port developments: a benchmark study in China
While large dry ports with high throughput are more likely to have onsite rail access, the question is more difficult for small and medium sites, which may not have sufficient throughput for rail viability. Thus whether a new dry port development should be located with or without direct rail access is a major concern at the proposal stage. This challenge is a current concern in many developing countries experiencing a surge in dry port demand. The aim of the latest port study by PortEconomics member Jason Monios along withYuhong Wang,...
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