Thematic Area
Thematic Area
Thematic Area
The Analyst: Sustainable port-industrial ‘islands’?
By PortEconomics member and Port Strategy Analyst, Peter de Langen The energy and raw materials transition, critical for achieving a sustainable and (more) circular economy, creates a huge demand for new private investments in ports, in activities like production, assembly, storage and maintenance of offshore windmills, hydrogen plants to convert sustainable energy in hydrogen and ammonia, plants for biofuels and circular recycling and production activities. Many ports struggle with land availability, especially in advanced...
Thematic Area
Emerging trends and developments in multimodal freight transportation: a scientometric analysis
The latest publication by PortEconomics co-director, Theo Notteboom, along with esteemed colleagues Shuang Yuan, Peng Jia, and Qifei Ma, in the renowned International Journal of Transport Economics is available. The paper titled "Emerging Trends and Developments in Multimodal Freight Transportation: a Scientometric Analysis Using CiteSpace" presents a comprehensive scientometric analysis of the evolution of multimodal freight transportation research over the past few decades. With a focus on 1297 articles published between 1996 and...
Thematic Area
Regional analysis of Liner Shipping Connectivity: What does the revised LSCI reveal?
by Thanos Pallis, Theo Notteboom and Jean-Paul Rodrigue The Liner Shipping Connectivity Index (LSCI) measures the extent to which countries are linked to global shipping networks, serving as an indicator of their maritime transport sector's strength. Developed by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the index factors include the number of ships, container-carrying capacity, vessel size, service frequency, direct connections between countries, and shipping companies operating in a country's ports. By...
Thematic Area
Exploring the EU container port sector in 2023
PortEconomics co-director Theo Notteboom compiled a table showing the EU container port landscape in 2023, and provides a comprehensive overview of the trends, challenges, and notable developments within the EU container port sector in 2023: By Theo Notteboom The top 15 EU ports combined handled 72.5 million TEU in 2023, or 5.3% less than in 2022. This compares to -4.2% in 2022 and +5% in 2021. The economic and geopolitical situation is reflected in the handled container volumes. The top three ports in the EU all recorded a traffic...
Thematic Area
Port-cities, ports and cruise: Enhancing a mutually beneficial symbiosis
by Thanos Pallis Ports are eternal motors of growth and change. People, ideas, essential supplies, and goods have always moved via sea and ports. Thanks to cruise activities, the role of ports in advancing the prosperity of port cities has expanded. Guests onboard cruise ships combine seagoing voyages, tourism, and entertainment. By visiting several ports, cruisers enjoy exploring destinations, tourist sites, living conditions, and cultures. An extra dimension has been added to the flows that ports bring to the cities and the broader...
Thematic Area
Cruise Port-City Compass
PortEconomics co-director Thanos Pallis discusses the relationship between port cities, ports and cruise activities in an introductory chapter of the collection Cruise Port City Compass-Global Cases Inspiring Sustainable Connections & Communities published by MedCruise and AIVP. The publication counts on the participation of different stakeholders. Fifteen working group members highlight the best practices and initiatives carried out in their respective cruise ports from seven countries worldwide on key topics such as...
Thematic Area
The Analyst: First movers in feeders on methanol
By PortEconomics member and Port Strategy Analyst, Peter de Langen X-Press Feeders has recently decided to deploy green methanol-powered ships on its feeder network in Europe, with Evergreen committing to using X-Press Feeders services. The ships will operate out of and receive methanol in Rotterdam and serve feeder markets in Scandinavia -with plans to expand the green feeder services to other destinations in Europe once new methanol-powered vessels are delivered to X-press. This decision is a first in container shipping and shows...
Thematic Area
Berth allocation in cruise ports: ports and cruise lines need to work together
by Thanos Pallis The forecasts for a 24% increase in the cruise ship fleet over the next five years, i.e. from 272 ships in 2022 to 338 by 2028 - and for a +33% increase of cruise passengers, from 30 million single pax in 2019 to 40 million pax by 2030 or earlier, issue a call for significant adjustments by default. Considering that 80% of cruise passengers visit approximately 115 ports, or 20% of all destinations, while the number of cruise ports remains constant, the necessity is more than obvious. By 2030, the 595...
Thematic Area