What is known about smart ports around the world? A benchmarking study

Abstract

Approximately 80% of global trade is transported by sea, so ports must adjust to sustain competitiveness in the market. For this, ports are making a transition from traditional ports to digital ports, incorporating technology, giving rise to the concept of “Smart Port”. Considering the relevance and novelty of this topic, that researchers are trying to investigate, the main objective of this work is to contribute to it by answering the question: “What is known about smart ports around the world?”, with a focus on the impacts of smart ports on sustainable development goals (SDG) 8 (decent work and economic growth), 9 (industry, innovation, and infrastructure) and 11 (sustainable cities and communities). Thus, a Google search was carried out on the different websites of port authorities and maritime data solutions, to perform a benchmarking of what is already a reality regarding existing smart ports. Therefore, this study has contributions both at the theoretical level, by identifying good practices in terms of technology and initiatives, to bring knowledge to the academia about what already exists in smart ports, and at the practical level, by helping other seaports to advance in the digital state and become more intelligent, providing ideas for the implementation of initiatives that allow the modernization of ports (contributing to sustainability in different dimensions).