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The Analyst: cruising for better port pricing
By Peter de Langen Cruises are increasingly relevant in port development so taking a look at pricing can be insightful, writes Peter de Langen. In Spain, dues charged by the port authority for cruise ships, expressed per passenger, vary from about €1 to about €6, depending on the port and ship capacity. These costs seem below the costs for the infrastructure and facilities. As a comparison, average ‘airside’ revenues of the Spanish airport company (AENA) are more than €9 per passenger. I acknowledge that this comparison...
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A new dawn for Greek ports
By Thanos Pallis August 11, 2016 is a historic day for Greek ports: This is the first day that Port of Piraeus, the major commercial port of the country operates under the ownership of COSCO-China Pacific Ltd. Given (a) the long-term commitment of the Chinese government to gain this right in this very specific way (i.e. via a buy of the ‘master concession’ by state controled corporation) and develop Piraeus, (b) that the company (and the specific management team) operates since 2009 the major container terminal of the port in a most...
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PortGraphic: measuring and sharing cruise port users' perspectives in the Med
By Α.Α. Pallis and A.Α. Papachristou Mediterranean cruise ports have gone a long way in measuring the perspectives of their users. Our PortGraphic details a survey of 71 cruise ports in the Med and its adjoining seas, the second biggest cruise region of the world. The PortGraphic reveals that the measurement of users’ satisfaction has turn to a standard practice for most cruise ports. Eight out of 10 cruise ports conduct regular users’ satisfaction surveys. 56% of them receive feedback from the passengers, 71% from the cruise...
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Green port infrastructure pricing
Providers of large-scale transport infrastructure are under increasing pressure to regulate the behavior of their users, in particular towards sustainable development objectives related to the environment. Just like airport managing companies apply environmental factors such as noise emission parameters of aircraft into their airline pricing schemes, port authorities have been applying various schemes to provide green incentives to their users, mainly shipping lines, to reduce the environmental impacts of their operations. The main driver for...
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PortGraphic: Brexit and seaports-the UK's share in EU port volumes
UK ports handle about 14% of the total EU port throughput while the country's share in total EU population and EU GDP amounts to 12.8% and 17.6% respectively. UK ports are particularly important in the Ro-Ro business as a result of the many cross-channel ferries, services to Ireland and within the UK, and Ro-Ro lines to the rest of Europe. The UK's share in liquid bulk cargo amounts to 15.6%. Just over 9% of total EU container throughput passes via UK ports. The announced Brexit will thus have a very visible impact on EU port throughput...
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The Panama canal expansion: they dug it, will they come?
By Jean-Paul Rodrigue and Theo Notteboom Shifting Rationale The interoceanic canals of the global shipping network are undergoing a major upgrading. One year after the expansion of the Suez Canal aimed at facilitating two-way vessel traffic, we are witnessing the opening of a new and larger set of locks at the Panama Canal. The new locks are designed to allow the transfer of ships with a length of up to 366m, a width of 49m and a draft of 15.2m. These New Panamax dimensions are 25% longer, 52% wider and support a draft which is 26% deeper...
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Why ports should be managed like airports
"An effective management model to bring down costs can be gleaned from the airport industry". That is the central argument of a viewpoint article by Peter de Langen and Periklis Saragiotis - published at the blogs page of Brookings Insitute, and PortEconomics.eu. The viewpoint: Why ports should be managed like airports Sea transport is the cheapest form of transport and more than 75 percent of international merchandise is carried by vessels. Yet, costs are still substantially higher than they should be. This is especially evident in...
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GREPORT2016: Report on Greek ports
With total throughput 6.36 million tonnes of dry bulk cargo, 3.98 million TEUs, 28.23 million coastal passengers and 2.07 cruise passengers in 2014, Greek ports are important actors in local, national and regional level. In 2014, their turnover exceeded the €326 million. GREPORT 2016, the Report on Greek Ports by PortEconomics members Thanos Pallis and George Vaggelas is the first comprehensive record and analysis of the developments of the Greek port industry over the last decade. The port study, published by Port &...
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