Clustering provides significant added value to companies belonging to it, well verified in practice and in literature. Informally, at least, shipping clusters exist in many cities (i.e. Singapore), some developed around a port with obscure boundaries.
Such a case is the Piraeus in Greece, relying heavily on the Greek shipping companies, principal merchant fleet owners globally in terms of tonnage, located in the area in and around Piraeus. Despite the volume and importance of the shipping companies, the presence, though, of a shipping cluster there, remains unexplored.
The latest port study of PortEconomics members Thanos Pallis and George Vaggelas along with Evie Kladaki, sheds light on the yet to be documented size and features of the shipping related clustering of Piraeus, through an analysis of secondary data. It also analyses the reasons behind the lack of a more extensive cluster development at a well-known shipping centre that is linked with a well-known port, which, in turn, has the potential to foster relocation of companies.
The study initiates a discussion that goes beyond the classic port cluster aiming to identify – similarities and differences with the shipping clusters as well as their core elements. Based on the outcomes of the Piraeus shipping cluster, the discussion is moving beyond the port area and the port operations.
The port study titled “Unveiling configurations of shipping clusters: challenges and Opportunities in the case of Piraeus” was presented in the IAME 2017 Conference held 27-30 June in Kyoto, Japan. The paper and presentation of the study is available and can be freely downloaded @PortEconomics.
