A multidisciplinary and -national team of Ghanaian and Danish researchers engage in a three year research project financed by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to address the question how communication, gender, and sustainability affect the cluster performance of the Port of Tema in Ghana. We approach the question from different angles ranging from quantitative survey datat to longitudinal anthropological observations and qualitative multilayered interviews with port workers, politicians, port officials, domestic and foreign investors, and representatives from the surrounding communities.
Port selection is of vital importance for both port operators and shipping lines. In this contribution, an Automatic Identification System (AIS) big data approach is developed. This approach allows identifying container ships using only AIS data without the need for supplementary information from commercial databases. This approach is applied to investigate the port selection statistics of container ships between Shanghai and Ningbo Zhoushan Port, two of the largest ports in the world in terms of calling frequency, to generate practical insights. Results show that: i) the ratios among large ships, medium ships and small ships of these two ports are both approximately 1: 4: 5; ii) these two ports both have an exclusive (i.e., more feeder ports covered in geographical coverage) and intensive (i.e., more feeder ships deployed in shipping service frequency) collection and distribution network mainly consisting of small ships, but that of Shanghai is more intensive; iii) in terms of ultra-large ships over 380 m, Shanghai has accommodated an extra 18.5% compared to that of Ningbo Zhoushan, this indicates Shanghai's attraction for such vessels in global fleet deployment; iv) the feeder network between Shanghai and Ningbo Zhoushan is weak, and their relationship is actually in competition; v) Ningbo Zhoushan could offer more choices for ultra-large container ships (over 380 m), which implies its greater potential in future port competition; vi) when the depth of channels and berths is sufficient, the distance to hinterland and the convenience of a collection and distribution network begin to get more important in port selection. The empirical findings unveil the decision-making of container lines, competition between ports and implications for shipping policy.
The ongoing shift toward a circular economy, in which end-of-life (EOL) products are reused, remanufactured, or recycled, has major implications for seaports, especially seaports in metropolitan areas, as in such areas, huge amounts of EOL products are available. Ports are therefore relevant locations for circular economy activities. This chapter identifies the main commodities in volume terms and the set of associated activities and assesses resulting opportunities and threats for ports. Case studies of Dutch ports are used to illustrate this analysis.
Cold ironing is the process of providing shorepower to cover the energy demands of ships calling at ports. This technological solution can eliminate the emissions of auxiliary engines at berth, resulting in a global reduction of emissions if the grid powering the ships is an environmentally friendly energy source. This paper conducts a literature review of recent academic work in the field and presents the status of this technology worldwide and the current barriers for its further implementation. The use of cold ironing is mandatory in Californian ports for ship operators and as a result terminal and ship operators were required to invest in this technology. In Europe, all ports will be required to have cold ironing provision by the end of 2025. Other regulations that target local emissions such as Emission Control Areas can have a significant impact on whether cold ironing is used in the future as a potential compliance solution. This paper constructs a quantitative framework for the examination of the technology considering all stakeholders. The role of regulation is shown to be critical for the further adoption of this technology. Illustrative case studies are presented that consider the perspective of ship operators of various ship types, and terminal operators that opt to invest in shorepower facilities. The results of the case studies show that for medium and high fuel price scenarios there is economic motivation for ship operators to use cold ironing. For the port, the cost per abated ton of pollutants is much lower than current estimates of the external costs of pollutants. Therefore, shorepower may be a viable emissions reduction option for the maritime sector, provided that regulatory bodies assist the further adoption of the technology from ship operators and ports. The methodology can be useful to port and ship operators in examining the benefits of using cold ironing as an emissions reduction action.
The port industry is in a state of flux which is affecting the roles of port authorities. Applying a business model perspective to explore this qualitative shift in competition, this paper argues that port authorities are increasingly managing multiple multilateral business models. This is analyzed through an integrative review of port research which identifies four challenges for port authorities: 1) diversification of port customers; 2) requirements for new value creation; 3) changing possibilities and constraints of value capture; and 4) network effects, clusters and strategic partnerships. The review contributes to literature by exploring how managing port authority business model innovation requires changing the underlying business logic, the activities and resources and the configurational fit with other port actors' business models. This proposition is based on the interplay between the macro level port industry, the meso level rule structures within port systems and the micro level of port authority organisations.
The “Initial IMO Strategy” was adopted in the 72nd session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 72) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in April 2018. It has set, among other things, ambitious targets to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships, and purports to express a strong political will to phase them out as soon as possible. The most ambitious of these targets is to reduce GHG emissions by 2050 at least 50% vis-à-vis 2008 levels, and there is also an intermediate target to reduce CO2 emissions per transport work by 2030 at least 40%, again vis-à-vis 2008 levels (IMO, 2018). In the period after MEPC 72, the focus of the IMO discussion has been on the formulation and eventual adoption of the short-term measures, that is, measures that are to be agreed upon and implemented by 2023. In fact, MEPC 76, held in June 2021, and after a rather difficult discussion, adopted such a short-term measure. MEPC 77 (November 2021) saw the initiation of the discussion on mid-term and long-term measures, which include, among others, market based measures (MBMs) and alternative fuels. The discussion continued at MEPC 78 (June 2022) and is expected to continue at future meetings of MEPC.
Integrated community energy systems are an emerging concept for increasing the self-sufficiency and efficiency of local multi-energy systems. This idea can be conceptualized for the smart island energy systems due to their geographical and socioeconomic context, providing several benefits through this transformation. In this study, the energy system of the Ballen marina—located on the medium-sized Danish island of Samsø— is investigated. Particular consideration is given to the integration of PV, BESS, and—in the future—flexible loads. For this purpose, the BESS is modelled, incorporating the battery degradation process. The possibilities to improve energy utilization and maximize self-consumption from the marina's PV units are identified and evaluated, demonstrating a substantial enhancement of the local system operation.
We present a novel solution approach to the container pre-marshalling problem using the A* and IDA* algorithms combined with several novel branching and symmetry breaking rules that significantly increases the number of pre-marshalling instances that can be solved to optimality. A* and IDA* are graph search algorithms that use heuristics combined with a complete graph search to find optimal solutions to problems. The container pre-marshalling problem is a key problem for container terminals seeking to reduce delays of inter-modal container transports. The goal of the container pre-marshalling problem is to find the minimal sequence of container movements to shuffle containers in a set of stacks such that the resulting stacks are arranged according to the time each container must leave the stacks. We evaluate our approach on three well-known datasets of pre-marshalling problem instances, solving over 500 previously unsolved instances to optimality, which is nearly twice as many instances as the current state-of-the-art method solves.
With the rise of ‘new’ state capitalisms, control over transport infrastructure has returned to the forefront of competition in the global economy. This article investigates how different state capitalisms interact to enable economic developments in ports. It tracks the relationship between state-owned firms in the shipping and ports sectors through a case study of the port of Valencia in Spain and COSCO shipping group. The article identifies state capitalisms as variegated and relational to analyze the ways in which qualitatively different state capitalist dynamics interact at different scales. The article identifies two state capitalist dynamics which have been dominant in determining relations between Spanish and Chinese state capitalisms: 1) A commercial dynamic of maximizing Spanish ports profits by establishing new relationships with Chinese firms; and 2) an expansionary dynamic of increasing market share of Chinese state-owned firms in European shipping markets. These two dynamics are synergistic and have contributed to the competitiveness of Spanish ports and Chinese shipping firms by providing new capital to the port of Valencia and expanding the port's profile as a hub in the eastern Mediterranean, while also further solidifying COSCO's position in European shipping markets and its internalization and vertical integration strateg
Shore power is an important green technology used by ports to reduce carbon emissions. This paper investigates how to design subsidy strategy for promoting the installation and utilization of shore power. However, while installation subsidies may promote the installation of SPI in ports, resulting in a reduction in ship emissions, utilization subsidies may attract more ship visits, which may increase the total emissions of a port. Therefore, subsidies for shore power utilization and installation should be optimized to minimize the cost to government (comprising the environmental costs of ship emissions, the cost of utilization or installation subsidies, and carbon taxes) and maximize the profit for ports (including profit from original and new ships, utilization and installation subsidies, and carbon taxes). Using the Stackelberg game methodology, we discuss five cases to give a comprehensive analysis of the design of different subsidy policies, including no subsidy, SPI-utilization subsidy undertaken by port, SPI-utilization subsidy undertaken by port and government, carbon emission tax policy considering SPI-utilization subsidy, and SPI-utilization and SPI-installation subsidies undertaken by port and government. Managerial insights are generated according to the theoretical analysis and numerical experiments results, which can give references to the government and port operators.