Viewpoints
Viewpoints
Viewpoints
Towards smarter port-city stakeholder collaboration?
A better understanding of what matters to whom… from the Court to the Cloud! The emergence of the expansion mindset Port managing bodies and the cities located near or around them often have long, common histories of joint economic and social development. For a number of ports, this has been extensively documented by researchers in economic and social history. Often, port development, through mostly outward expansion projects has led, especially during the second half of the 20thcentury, to great sacrifices by surrounding local...
Viewpoints
Port automation: a paradox for the shipping industry
By Jean Paul Rodrigue Automation is bringing a series of paradoxes to the shipping industry. Since maritime shipping is in the derived demand business, it is misleading to assume that automation does not affect the demand for shipping as well. Although automation is mostly considered by the industry at the port terminal level, it also takes place across entire supply chains, a process associated with the fourth industrial revolution (manufacturing 4.0/4IR). The impacts of automation may thus be more significant on the...
Viewpoints
The Analyst: flexibility key to wind ambitions
By Peter de Langen This year’s Danish Port Days were held in Esbjerg, with the theme of ‘port transformations’ guiding a conference that included sessions where academics and industry leaders discussed management research issues worth exploring One of those issues came straight from a tour of the port: over the last few years Esbjerg has developed into the leading Danish offshore wind port, hosting a large number of companies involved in construction, assembly, and transport of components of offshore windmills, as well as related...
Viewpoints
Details of a port privatisation: Thessaloniki port
By George Vaggelas and Thanos Pallis The port is Thessaloniki in Greece. The date is March 2018. A long port privatization process that lasted almost 13 (!!) years is finally concluded, with the Greek state handing 67% of the shares of the Thessaloniki Port Authority S.A. to the new owners of the port, the South Europe Gateway Thessaloniki (SEGT) Ltd. This transaction is the outcome of an international call by the Greek government, that was initiated in 2014 and the winning of the tender by SEGT; the other two binding bids for a majority...
Viewpoints
Cruise ports need to upscale their representation by subscribing to the WPSP
By Thanos Pallis The launching of the World Ports Sustainability Programme (WPSP) by the International Association of Ports and Harbours (IAPH), the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA), the European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO), AIVP – The Worldwide Network of Port Cities (AIVP) and the World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure (PIANC) in March is a major step towards a responsible growth of the port industry. It is a most welcomed initiative by all of us serving ports and the maritime world. WPSP aims to...
Viewpoints
Seaborne trade has brought prosperity. How to ensure its sustainability
By Jan Hoffman Chief, Trade Logistics Branch, DTL, UNCTAD (Note: The blog is reproduced from Global Maritime Forum. This blog post benefits from half a century of data and analysis of UNCTAD colleagues, reported in UNCTAD’s Review of Maritime Transport RMT since 1968. See http://unctad.org/RMT. The 50th anniversary issue of the RMT will be launched at the GMF on 4 October in Hong Kong. The views expressed in this Insight are those of the author alone) Shipping and seaports are at the forefront of globalization. This...
Viewpoints
The Analyst: battle of hinterland expansion
By Peter de Langen Many port development companies, including port authorities, develop commercial strategies which guide their commercial and investment activities. One common ambition in those strategies is the aim to expand the hinterland The Port of Algeciras aims to serve the Madrid metro area, where Valencia is currently dominant; Rotterdam and Antwerp aim to improve competitiveness in Bavaria, where German ports, especially Hamburg, are dominant; and various US East Coast ports aim to expand their hinterland to destinations such...
Viewpoints
¿Quo vadis América Latina?: the triple "E"-evolution, strategies & expectations (in Spanish)
¿Quo vadis América Latina? by Gordon Wilmsmeier El sector marítimo y portuario está experimentando cambios profundos en su organización (concentración de la oferta, alianzas estratégicas, integración vertical entre operadores de terminales y navieras) y tecnología (mayor oferta de capacidad de buques y puertos, automatización y electrificación de terminales portuarias, mayor eficiencia en propulsión de buques, etc.). Estos cambios son globales y ya han comenzado a llegar a nuestra región. ¿Los actores públicos,...
Viewpoints