PortStudies
PortStudies
PortStudies
The impact of innovation on dock labour: evidence from European ports
The market environment of ports and terminals is continuously pushing terminal operators to achieve higher levels of dock labour performance. The latest port study by PortEconomics member Theo Notteboom along with Francesco Vitellaro (University of Genoa) proposes an original conceptual framework to identify, classify and evaluate innovative initiatives of terminal operators addressed to enhance dock labour performance. The authors link the innovation concept to a market-driven perspective on the organization of dock work in light of...
PortStudies
Investment strategy of chinese terminal operators along the “21st-century maritime silk road”
After the the Belt and Road initiative launched in 2013, Chinese terminal operators invested in ports situated along the “21st- century Maritime Silk Road (MSR)”. Identifying which ports are important is made possible through applying complex network methods and GIS analysis. PortEconomics member Cesar Ducruet co-authors with Liehui Wang (East China Normal University), Yuanbo Zheng (East China Normal University) and Fan Zhang (East China Normal University) a port study that identifies strategic hub ports and investment strategies along...
PortStudies
Towards 25,000 TEU vessels?
The introduction of ever-larger containerships is a much-discussed topic in academic and business circles. The largest containership size has evolved from about 5,500 TEU in 1995 to more than 23,000 TEU in 2019. The economic rationale for further scale increases in ship size is largely dependent on the current and future market conditions in the container shipping market, the adaptive capacity of ports and terminals (both economically and technologically) and, as of late, environmental requirements and considerations. The latest paper...
PortStudies
Port policy: which principles are still relevant today?
In 1990 Richard O. Goss wrote four seminal articles about the economic principles underlying port policies, which were published in Maritime Policy and Management under the title Economic Policies and Seaports. These explored the economic functions of seaports, the diversity of port institutions, the need for port authorities, and the strategies that ports might adopt to promote port efficiencies. Economic principles included the existence of seaports for the benefit of traders, the use of competition to maximise public welfare, the...
PortStudies
Polycentric port governance
The latest port study of PortEconomics member Jason Monios applies the theory of polycentric governance to the port sector. The study demonstrates that port governance is already polycentric, including a variety of actors at different scales with overlapping jurisdictions, but some of the established principles of effective polycentric governance such as collective choice arrangements and distribution of costs are not currently in place. This has resulted in an inability to manage current challenges, which can be broadly divided into...
PortStudies
Unveiling the configuration of Piraeus shipping cluster
With Greece being a major shipping country worldwide and Piraeus being one of the most dynamic ports in Europe, the clustering of shipping and shipping related activities can be of valuable importance in the formation of a leading maritime capital as well as a significant value added for the country’s economy. In the case of Greece and more specifically in the case of Piraeus, the presence and the structure of a shipping cluster remained unexplored. The latest port study of PortEconomics members George Vaggelas and Thanos Pallis, is...
PortStudies
LNG bunkering solutions in ports
LNG as a marine fuel represent a viable solution for making the maritime and port industry more sustainable, as it allows reducing emissions and pollutants, such as SOx and NOx, compared with traditional fuels. Although a number of academics and practitioners has addressed the phenomenon, by investigating environmental, social economic and financial issues related to the adoption of LNG-propulsion systems in the shipping sector, prior studies predominantly assumed a ship-owner or a shipping company’ perspective. Conversely, the analysis of...
PortStudies
Measurement of port performance from users’ perspective
Going beyond the usual approach of measuring port performance – focusing on the efficiency of port operations – the latest port study of PortEconomics member George Vaggelas, aims to look into shipping lines and other port users’ perceptions on port performance. The study develops a framework measuring the perceptions of port users (i.e. shipping companies, shippers, etc.) on port performance. A typology of elements that shape port users’ perceptions has been developed with an eye on capturing the peculiarities of different port...
PortStudies