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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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¿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,...
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PortGraphic: towards a “Rotterdamisation” of the european container port system?
By Theo Notteboom Last week, the Rotterdam Port Authority presented the port’s cargo throughput figures for 2017. With a 10.9% y-o-y growth, the Dutch port handled 13.73 million TEU in 2017. The strong results in 2017 reinforced Rotterdam’s position as the largest European container port, followed by Antwerp (10.45 million in 2017, a growth of 4.1%), Hamburg (8.82 million TEU, -1%), Bremerhaven (5.54 million TEU, +0.9%) and Valencia (4.83 Million TEU, +2.3%). With a 10.9% y-o-y growth, the Dutch port handled 13.73 million TEU in...
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Mapping the globe: the patterns of megaships
PortEconomics member Cesar Ducruet - along with Justin Berli (CNRS) - address the distribution of the largest containerships across the globe, and build a picture of the global network has been published in the PortEconomics partner in publishing magazine Port Technology International. Many issues have been raised since the advent of socalled ‘mega-ships’, ranging from port capacity issues, competitiveness, shipping alliances, and technological change, but the precise geography of their circulation had remained somewhat overlooked...
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The Analyst: realities of 'working waterfront' visions
By Peter de Langen The inevitable is likely to happen to the Red Hook Container Terminal in Brooklyn, New York After decades of policy to keep the terminal open to ensure that Brooklyn continues to have a blue collar ‘working waterfront’, the only container terminal in the state of New York may finally close down and give way to the development of urban functions. The state governor Andrew Cuomo has suggested a “more productive community use” for the approximately 80 acres of waterfront land. Even though the announcement...
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