The new governance structure of French seaports: an initial post-evaluation

France undertook a large port reform in 2008, which came into force in 2010–2011. It mostly applies a landlord port model to major French seaports, with the prediction that doing so will restore competiveness. This article presents the 2008 port reform, discusses why it was needed, notably with regard to the underperformance of container traffic, and details how new governing bodies are sharing their responsibilities amongst themselves. To this end, a textual analysis of the agenda items for the governing bodies created since 2011 of the largest French seaport, Port of Marseille, provides a means to compare the items discussed by the former management bodies. This analysis identifies a trend, in which the supervisory board focuses on global issues, the advisory board addresses local issues, and the board of directors considers internal issues. Even if ongoing, this transition creates favorable conditions to work more efficiently and may represent a step toward the better performance of French seaports.     

Environmental sustainability in seaports: a framework for successful innovation

Environmental sustainability in the port industry is of growing concern for port authorities, policy makers, port users and local communities. Innovation can provide a solution to the main environmental issues, but often meets resistance. While certain types of technological or organisational innovation can be satisfactorily analysed using closed system theories, in the case of seaports and in particular in the area of environmental sustainability, more advanced conceptual frameworks have to be considered. These frameworks need to be able to account for the multiple stakeholder nature of the port industry and of the network and vertical interactions that environmental sustainability calls for. This article investigates successful innovations improving environmental sustainability of seaports. The proposed framework builds in part on research concepts developed in the InnoSuTra EU FP7 project. From a methodological perspective, this article develops a method for quantifying the degree of success of innovation with respect to a set of specific objectives. Several case studies are used to test the framework against real innovation examples, such as onshore power supply, or alternative fuels. In this article, we argue that only those innovations that fit dynamically port actors’ demands and the port institutional environment stand a chance to succeed.     

An integrated framework for carbon footprinting at container seaports: the case study of a Chinese port

The objective of this research is to establish an integrated framework for carbon footprinting (CF) at container seaports (CSs). Three methodological approaches are used in this research: the multiple case study to choose suitable evaluation methods, the case study for verification of the proposed framework, and the quantitative method to calculate the emissions. The proposed integrated framework consists of five modules: policy components, sources structure, input data, emissions estimation and mitigation strategies. The effectiveness of the integrated framework is demonstrated through the practical application in Qingdao Port in China. The case study results in the detailed estimation of CO₂ emissions and detects the problem of data collection and data accuracy for CF and the necessity of stakeholders’ cooperation. The integrated framework serves to evaluate, analyze and control CO₂ emissions from the CS operations.     

Sustainable development in seaports: a multi-case study

Seaports are a vital part of the maritime transport industry and have a key role in integrated transport chains and regional economies. However, ports are also sites of environmental pollution originating from land-based activities, ship movements and ports’ own activities. It is, therefore, increasingly recognised that economic growth in ports must be balanced with environmental protection and social progress. This has led to enhanced appreciation of the need for sustainable development (SD) in ports. Whilst much has been written about port environmental practices in European and American ports, there is limited synthesis and comparison of sustainable port practices from different parts of the world. Furthermore, in-depth case analysis and critical examination of the practices and challenges of sustainable port development in a globalised era is limited. This paper presents findings from a qualitative multi-case study that aimed to compare sustainable policies and practices of ports in four different continents and to understand the dilemmas, challenges and opportunities they face in attaining SD. This paper reports findings pertaining to the following research questions: (1) What policy frameworks do ports adopt to attain sustainable development? (2) What specific sustainable practices do ports utilise to manage environmental aspects such as air pollution, water quality, ballast water, dredging and disposal of dredged materials, waste disposal, hazardous substances and land/resource use? (3) What are the driving and constraining forces in achieving sustainable development in ports? Port authorities were studied by reviewing documents and secondary data. The following ports were studied: Port of Long Beach (USA), Port of Rotterdam Authority (The Netherlands), Sydney Ports Corporation (Australia) and Transnet Limited that owns and manages South African ports. Findings of the study demonstrate that the SD paradigm has gained momentum, albeit to differing degrees, in the functioning, organisation and the very ethos of case study ports. An important theme from all case studies is that, whilst there is definite progress towards SD, several practices deemed to be sustainable can be controversial and must be critically examined from the perspectives of different stakeholders including shippers, port-related businesses and the local and global community. Lack of data to monitor environmental impacts, economic costs of implementing sustainable practices and complexities of international, regional and national regulations were other constraining factors. On the other hand, reconciling differences between stakeholders and capitalising on economic opportunities, operational efficiencies and cost savings offered by environmental friendliness can advance port SD. Public–private partnerships and policies negotiated by involving all stakeholders were found to foster port sustainability. Most importantly, this study found that, with globalisation, environmental impacts of ports are not always localised. ‘Sustainable’ practices can have unintended consequences in other parts of the world. Therefore, globalisation necessitates a more critical and global analysis of port operations and environment practices in order to be truly sustainable. Although the scope of the research findings is limited to case study ports, the lessons drawn can be constructively applied to any port operating within an institutional system of structured SD.     

Marketing communications for seaports: a matter of survival and growth

Perhaps the most critical issue facing seaports is their survival and growth in today's highly competitive environment. Seaports are facing challenging times as the once monopolistic position of having captive markets diminishes. This situation is being replaced by growing sections of the hinterland now being considered by competing seaports as being contestable. In effect, for many business opportunities, captive and contestable hinterland regions are blurring resulting in attracting and retaining trade throughput becoming a major key to seaport survival and growth. One strategic tool that seaport management can utilize to both attract new customers and retain current customers is the use of marketing communications. An examination of the literature on marketing communication efforts by seaports tends to focus mainly on advertising and activities more suited to promoting physical products. Instead, this paper argues the need for a much broader approach to marketing communications that takes into account the challenges of seaports that are service-based businesses. That is, there tends to be a greater need for marketing communication efforts to be able to tangibilise the intangible service offered by seaports to reduce perceptions of increased risk and uncertainty on using another seaport. The purpose of this paper is to examine the benefits to seaports of managing marketing communications strategically and holistically for effective outcomes. More specifically, this paper explains the role of public relations, publicity, personnel selling, sales promotions, word-of-mouth communications, electronic communications, and the management of the seaport's servicescape and the sources of physical evidence provided by seaports in developing a broader and services-based approach to marketing communications. This includes thinking wider than attracting and retaining customers as being the purpose of marketing communications but to also include informing and educating other stakeholders such as employees and the local community about the benefits provided by the seaport. Also discussed is the necessity of a consistent message being provided by all marketing communication activities to customers and stakeholders that results in the development of a desired image of the seaport and appropriate positioning of the seaport in relation to competitors. To facilitate discussion, results from a recent empirical study of the Australian seaport sector are used.     

Economic policies and seaports: Strategies for port authorities

This paper discusses the strategies which might be adopted by port authorities, given that modern port technologies have considerably limited the scope for competition. It therefore analyses the several forms of competition relevant to ports, any or all of which may apply in any given instance.

It describes the 'minimalist strategy, which consists of recognizing that public sector bodies have many faults, may make many mistakes and that well-intentioned attempts to rectify faults in the private sector may make matters worse. Second, it describes the 'pragmatic' strategy, which involves establishing committees to examine problems and to recommend actions, if they can reach a consensus. Third, it describes the 'public sector' strategy, which involves the port authority taking over all port functions. Finally, it describes the 'competitive' strategy, which involves a careful reproduction of the circumstances of competition, even though there may be room for only one efficiently-sized operator at a time. Franchising, or short-term leasing on any of a variety of competitive bases, so as to produce serial competition is described. Each of these strategies is presented as having its own advantages and disadvantages, and each may be suitable to particular circumstances.     

The economics behind the awarding of terminals in seaports: Towards a research agenda

Terminal concessions in seaports have only recently gained interest in academic circles. Issues such as the allocation mechanisms (to be) used for granting those concessions, the determination of the concession term and concession fees, as well as the inclusion of special clauses aimed at assuring that the terminal operator will act in the interest of the port authority and the wider community, are increasingly relevant to both academics and the port industry. So far, insights from established economic theories have rarely been applied to terminal concessions in seaports. It, therefore, remains to be seen which kind of awarding procedure would be best for which type of terminal concession. This contribution provides a detailed overview of the different phases of the terminal awarding process, including a classification scheme for awarding procedures, and contains an extensive discussion on the economic issues that require further investigation. The paper concludes by proposing a comprehensive research agenda on the topic.     

Towards a meta-analysis and toolkit for port-related socio-economic impacts: a review of socio-economic impact studies conducted for seaports

Port authorities increasingly need to communicate with a variety of external stakeholders in order to maintain and strengthen the societal acceptance of seaport activities. The availability of socio-economic impact studies on port authority and regional development agency websites has often made this information accessible to the public at large. However, the differences in methodologies adopted, in terms of selecting, defining and measuring various types of socio-economic impacts, sometimes lead to misconceptions as well as misleading comparisons across ports within and between regions. In this paper, we suggest guidelines for the design and application of a potential best practice from an interregional perspective (UK, France and Belgium), based on research in the framework of a European Commission co-funded project, ‘IMPACTE’. The paper also aims to develop guidelines for comparing the socio-economic impacts of ports across regional and national borders and discusses the development of a European port economic impact measurement toolkit. We analyse a sample of 33 recent socio-economic impact assessment reports in terms of methodologies adopted and types of impacts measured. The review shows a great diversity among these studies, leading to important differences between the impacts of port activity communicated to stakeholders.     

Productivity change in Nigerian seaports after reform: a Malmquist productivity index decomposition approach

ABSTRACT

During the 1990s, Nigerian seaports were considered inefficient, unsafe due to massive cargo theft (wharf rat phenomenon) and one of the most expensive port systems in the world. This resulted in long turnaround times for ships and increased container dwell times. As a result, port operations were transferred to the private sector through concession contracts. This paper employs a Malmquist productivity index (MPI) technique to benchmark pre-and post-reform total factor productivity growth of the six major Nigeria seaports (Apapa, Calabar, Onne, Port Harcourt, TinCan Island and Warri) for the period 2000–2011 which represents six years before (2000–2005) and six years after (2006–2011) the reform. The results indicate progress in technical efficiency of the ports after reform but deterioration in technological progress. Overall productivity growth was higher in the pre-concession period compared to the post-concession period. The source of pre-concession period productivity growth was technological progress while the change in productivity of the post-concession period is generated by an increase in scale efficiency. This suggests that concessionaires have not brought in the much anticipated investment in modern technology to drive port efficiency. The ports of Calabar and Apapa experienced the highest productivity growth while lowest result was Onne.     

The foreign non-fuel cargo-traffic demand of the major British seaports in 1980 and 1985, a Markov Chain approach

Projections of the future traffic demand of British seaports are of great importance to port management bodies because of the huge capital investment required for installing modern port facilities. In this paper, the author uses a first order Markov Chain model to forecast the non-fuel cargo traffic demand of the major British seaports in 1980 and 1985.     

Freight forwarders speak: the preception of route comptetition via seaports in the European communities Research project —Part II

This paper, in two parts, reports on the perceptionof route competition via seaports in the European Communities Research Project wherein 72 interviews were held with freight forwarders throughout Europe (for the locations of the interviews see Part I, figure 1). This second part of the paper reports on the analysis of the openended tape-recorded responses of the interviewees to six separate sets of propositions they were shown; and there are extensive verbatim quotations. These quotations become longer as respondents warmed to the procedure. They tend to emphasize the increasing symbiosis of the land and sea operations within international transport. Among many vital topics of concern in a freight forwarder's life are costs and time. Not only does elapsed time equate with money expended, but also time limits equate with credit limits; any delay or unreliability results in sudden and enormous escalation of costs. Movement between countries in the mainland European Communities (EC) is more by truck than short-sea shipping. Customs are widely criticized as a cause of delays. The unfair (according to EC rules discrimination against UK forwarders by conferences tend to foster feeder services to mainland ports for British exports. But the opinion is that the power of conferences has declined markedly in recent years with the concomitant growth of independent lines. Freight forwarders may decline in numbers as their function changes. More capital is now required for computerizatio and credit bonds. There is a tendency to provide a more integrated service which would be symbolized by a growth of delivered price trading compared with free-on-board deliveries.     

谈航海专业教师上船任职锻炼的必要性

航运国际化的发展和航运人才要求的提高,对航海专业教师的要求也越来越高。本文从三个方面进行分析,阐述了航海专业教师上船任职锻炼的必要性。     

SiMoCo: the viability of a prototype platform for a coastal monitoring system: a case study

Coastal zones are among the most productive areas in the world, offering a wide variety of valuable habitats and ecosystems services. Despite the low population density in the Brazilian coastal zone, their distribution is quite concentrated near some coastal cities and state capitals. This concentration places enormous pressure on coastal resources. Therefore, the main objective of this paper is to present an overview on the current status of SiMoCo (Sistema de Monitoramento Costeiro, or Coastal Monitoring System in English) project as a possible early warning system that can be integrated to the Brazilian Coastal Management Information System. This prototype platform provides a real-time access to the composition, organization and simulation of planktonic communities. First, our results demonstrate such a system detecting a target dinoflagellate; second, we apply structural and functional indexes to compare and characterize the ecological networks from two different coastal areas. Conclusions are made about SiMoCo’s feasibility and its possible contribution to the decision-making process within integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) strategies.     

Utilization of passenger transport subsidy in Kolkata: A case study of Calcutta State Transport Corporation

The present study tries to see whether the subsidy given to CSTC, which is the oldest and the largest state transport corporation operating in and around Kolkata, is really being used to cover the losses they make over the years or to merely cover-up an inefficient performance. The state owned buses are required to serve, not only non-profitable routes in off-peak hours, but also to give social security or employment to a large section of society. The burden of carrying a huge staff structure and serving at an administered and less than competitive price for welfare reasons, makes CSTC liable to an operating loss. Therefore, it makes a case for subsidy. However, the regular commuters experience regarding the condition of and the services provided by these raises a question about the justification of subsidy. In the study it is seen that the subsidy given is not based on any of the components on which it should, economically.     

Independent Baltic State ports: the outlook for commercial viability?

This study employs the 'shift-share' technique to assay the status of seaport in the newly-independent Baltic States in terms of their prospects for commercial viability. It delineates the material, economic and political conditions confrontiger port managers and policy makers in these states. Each must deal with the consequences of disruption of long-standing trade dependencis and the transition from opeation within 'the Rouble zone' to free market structures integrated with western trade systems. These problems are compounded by Russia's appaent policy decision to re-route transit cargo away from Baltic State ports, the traditional 'window on the West'. to ports located in Russia itselft. Disruption of traditional hinterlands and transit cargo volumes for Baltic State ports will impact their ability to invest in essntial modernization and expansion projects, necessitated by emerging competitive pressures. It is speculated that one potential strategy available for capturing a niche and reclaiming the role of the East-West commercial bridge is through participation in the Trans-Siberian Railway 'land-bridge' trade.     

Developing a conceptual model for sharing container terminal resources: a case study of the Gamman container terminal

It is an important matter closely connected with saving logistics costs, as well as encouraging national competitive power, to improve the productivity of container terminals by efficient utilization of container terminal resources. In this respect, this paper tries to suggest a conceptual model for sharing container terminal resources, taking as a case study the Gamman Container Terminal (GCT) in the port of Pusan. In so doing, it identifies what kinds of resources can be systematically shared from the viewpoint of their common use and draws some problems resulting from terminal operation by four operators at GCT. The model does not imply the conception that each terminal has its own resources individually, but recommends that tentatively-called Container Terminal Resource Management Center (CTRMC) should be established and operated in order to save operation and investment costs and improve operational efficiency. In addition, the continuous acquisition and life-cycle support (CALS) concept is imbedded in the model so that it can control the supply and demand of resources efficiently by sharing the database, through which the CTRMC can automatically identify the status of the excess or deficit of a certain resource in each berth at GCT.     

Fleet deployment in liner shipping: a case study

The fleet deployment problem is an important planning problem in liner shipping. It deals with optimally assigning voyages to available vessels in the fleet and determining vessel routes and schedules in a way that minimizes costs or maximizes profit. This paper presents a new model for a fleet deployment problem in liner shipping, and we also propose a multi-start local search heuristic to solve the problem. The heuristic has been embedded in a prototype decision support system (DSS) that has been implemented and tested at Höegh Autoliners, a major global provider of ro-ro (roll-on roll-off) vehicle transportation services. The heuristic was able to produce high-quality solutions within a few minutes to a real planning problem with more than 55 vessels and 150 voyages over a planning horizon of 4–6 months. Tests indicated that the solutions suggested by the DSS gave between 2 and 10% improvements compared with solutions from manual planning. What is almost equally important is that using the DSS can ease the planning process.     

Developing a conceptual model for sharing container terminal resources: a case study of the Gamman container terminal

It is an important matter closely connected with saving logistics costs, as well as encouraging national competitive power, to improve the productivity of container terminals by efficient utilization of container terminal resources. In this respect, this paper tries to suggest a conceptual model for sharing container terminal resources, taking as a case study the Gamman Container Terminal (GCT) in the port of Pusan. In so doing, it identifies what kinds of resources can be systematically shared from the viewpoint of their common use and draws some problems resulting from terminal operation by four operators at GCT. The model does not imply the conception that each terminal has its own resources individually, but recommends that tentatively-called Container Terminal Resource Management Center (CTRMC) should be established and operated in order to save operation and investment costs and improve operational efficiency. In addition, the continuous acquisition and life-cycle support (CALS) concept is imbedded in the model so that it can control the supply and demand of resources efficiently by sharing the database, through which the CTRMC can automatically identify the status of the excess or deficit of a certain resource in each berth at GCT.     

Illusion as a factor in determining policy in development of a port: the case of Haifa

The mayor and citizens of Haifa live under the illusion that their city port possesses geographical advantages over competitor-ports, an attitude which gives rise to great hopes for the city's prosperity, especially after the peace agreement with Egypt.

On the basis of this illusion, decisions are made that may have severe consequences for the development of the port and the city. The aim of this article is to demonstrate that the changes in the Middle East over the years have deprived Haifa of most of the geographical advantages it had, and so expose the illusion for what it is.