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Singapore stuck between a shipping hub and a hard place
by Jean-Paul Rodrigue Despite facing growing competition and uncertainty due to geopolitical events, Singapore has maintained its prominence in maritime shipping, with its status as a primary transshipment hub evident in its sizeable port activity. The 2023 Red Sea crisis resulted in a temporary surge in Singapore's traffic, but also underlined its vulnerability to geopolitical events. Though its future prospects remain solid, particularly with its geographical advantages and the development of the Tuas mega container port, the...
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PortGraphic: Top-15 container ports in the EU, Jan-Sep 2024
By Theo Notteboom The top 15 EU container ports are strongly recovering in the period from January to September 2024 after a challenging 2023: While 2023 was characterized by a strong to moderate traffic decline in most ports, the first nine months of 2024 brought double-digit growth in 6 of the top 15 ports. The effects of the Red Sea crisis and the associated shipping network modifications continue to be traceable in the West Med and the Atlantic coast with Sines, Barcelona, and Valencia all recording robust growth. Also Gioia...
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What is happening in 2024 in the container ports of the Americas?
PortEconomics members Ricardo J. Sánchez and Eliana P. Barleta highlight that in the aftermath of the pandemic, the impact on container maritime trade was evident, as disruptions in global supply chains during the early months of 2020 affected international container trade. With the reopening of markets and the revival of economies, an increase in cargo movement was observed across all regions in 2021. However, global maritime activity experienced a slowdown following the onset of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, coupled with the...
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Investment in European ports, challenges and opportunities from a circular economy perspective
by Peter W. de Langen In line with their “Memorandum for the European Elections”, the European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) recently published the “Port Investment Study 2024”, as an update of the ESPO 2018 study. This study shows that the changing and wider role of ports, comes with new and wider responsibilities and investment needs. Dr. Peter de Langen assisted ESPO with the survey, analyzed the responses, and co-authored the final report. Circular Flanders asked Dr. Peter de Langen to also reflect on the investments of...
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A case for ‘energy management services’ by the port development company?
By PortEconomics member and Port Strategy Analyst, Peter de Langen In April 2024, the European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) launched the results of a study on the investment pipeline and investment challenges of European ports. The report concludes that PMBs in the EU have an investment pipeline of about 80 billion in the next 10 years and yields a couple of interesting additional insights that merit some more reflection. The central one in this contribution is the potential role of the PDC (port development company) in...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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