Global Port Research Articles

Prioritizing port resilience drivers and strategies: a case study of Chilean ports

ABSTRACT Disruptive events increasingly challenge global port operations and infrastructure, emphasizing the need for robust resilience plans to maintain operational continuity during crises. Designing effective resilience strategies in port operations involves prioritizing key drivers and strategies by establishing a hierarchical structure and analyzing their systemic interactions. This paper proposes a methodology to prioritize resilience drivers with its strategies by considering multiple key port stakeholders. This approach aims to create a roadmap for implementing these drivers, providing ports with a comprehensive tool for planning and executing resilience strategies. The methodology integrates the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) with Interpretative Structural Modeling (ISM). To illustrate its development, a case study focusing on two primary stakeholders, terminals and port authorities, in the Chilean port context is presented. The findings reveal that the main resilience strategies in Chilean ports include remote access to information by port authorities, alternative transport modes for port access and exit, rescheduling dispatches and cargo reception by port terminals, communication and call chains of the port authority, and remote access to information by port terminals. These results offer practical implications for port operations, providing clear guidance for implementing resilience strategies.

Value-Focused Assessment of Container on Barge Freight Transportation Readiness

Container on Barge (COB) is a freight transport mode that utilizes barges to transport shipping containers. This mode has been relatively slow to develop in the United States compared to Europe and Asia. This research contributes a comprehensive and practical readiness assessment scorecard based on value-focused thinking for inland waterway ports to evaluate the feasibility of COB development. Based on a comprehensive literature review, the Container on Barge Readiness Assessment Scorecard covers important attributes and provides constructed measurements to assess COB port readiness. Applicability of the scorecard is demonstrated on nine global ports, and implications for engineering managers are presented.

A bibliometric examination of global port facility research propagation (1975 - 2023)

Seaports play a crucial role in international trade and economic development. This study aims to analyze the existing literature on port facilities to identify research patterns and emerging areas of interest. Using the Scopus database, the researchers searched for publications related to port facilities and found a total of 178 scholarly articles. The data was analyzed using Microsoft Excel, Publish or Perish and VOS viewer. The study examined subject areas, keywords, citations, and Journal/publishers metrics, to understand the key contributors and collaborative efforts in this field. The findings revealed a lack of scholarly evaluation of port facilities literature until 1975. From 1975 to 2003, there were 57 publications with very few citations. However, interest in this field grew significantly between 2004 and 2023, with 114 publications and 496 citations. Most of the documents were written in English, and there was concentration of research efforts in specific areas. International collaboration was observed among 12 countries. The study suggests the need for more research, collaborations, and citations in the field of port facilities, particularly in areas beyond engineering and earth and planetary sciences. Logistics management, computing, and maritime should be further explored to address gaps in the current literature.

제미나이 출범에 따른 글로벌 주요 항만의 영향 분석

Purpose : The purpose of this study is to analyze the representative differences between the services implemented by the launch of the Gemini alliance and the existing alliance services. Additionally, it forecasts the impact of the Gemini launch on Busan Port and other top 20 global ports. Research design, data and methodology : An empirical analysis is conducted using data from the Gemini alliance and the top 20 global ports. Specifically, the analysis derives the impact on ports by utilizing the representative differences of the Gemini service, such as the size of the ships and the frequency of regular service calls, including GDP. Results : All three independent variables (ship size, frequency of regular service calls, and GDP) were found to have a significant impact on port throughput. In particular, the size of the ships and the frequency of regular service calls have a relatively greater impact compared to GDP. Conclusions : The frequency of regular service calls by Gemini at Busan Port is expected to decrease significantly, raising concerns about a potential reduction in Busan Port's throughput. However, considering the increase in the size of feeder ships and Gemini's market share of 20%, it is deemed unlikely that Busan Port's throughput will immediately decrease significantly due to the Gemini launch. Therefore, the success of the differentiated services promoted by Gemini is crucial.

Climate change and seaports: hazards, impacts and policies and legislation for adaptation

Seaports are critical for global trade and development but are at risk of climate change-driven damages, operational disruptions and delays with extensive related economic losses. The aim of the present contribution is to (a) provide an overview of the main impacts of climate variability and change (CV&C) on ports; (b) present recent research on trends and projections involving the main climatic factors/hazards affecting global ports; (c) provide an analytical overview of emerging international and regional policies and legislation relevant to port risk assessment and resilience-building under climate change; and (d) consider issues and areas for further action. As shown by projections under different climatic scenarios and timelines, many global ports will increasingly be exposed to significantly growing hazards under increasing CV&C, including extreme sea levels (ESLs), waves, and extreme heat events. Depending on scenario (RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5) by 2050, 55% to 59% of the 3630 global ports considered could face ESLs in excess of 2 m above the baseline mean sea levels (mean of the 1980–2014 period); by 2100, between 71% and 83% of ports could face ESLs of this magnitude. Ports in most tropical/sub-tropical settings will face the baseline (mean of the 1976 – 2005 period) 1-in-100 year extreme heat every 1 – 5 years, whereas with 3 oC global warming, most global ports (except some in higher latitudes) could experience the baseline 1-in-100 years extreme heat event every 1 – 2 years. A range of policy and legal instruments to support climate change adaptation, resilience-building and disaster risk reduction have been agreed internationally as well as at regional levels. At the EU level, relevant legal obligations and related normative technical guidance aimed at ensuring the climate proofing of new infrastructure are already in place as a matter of supra-national law for 27 EU Member States. These could significantly enhance levels of climate-resilience and preparedness for ports within the EU, as well as for EU funded port projects in other countries, and may serve as useful examples of good practices for other countries. However, further action is needed to advance and accelerate the implementation of effective adaptation measures for ports across regions.

Data-driven approach for port resilience evaluation

As pivotal nodes in international trade, ports have faced unprecedented challenges, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. From the perspective of port congestion, this study investigates port resilience based on a quantitative approach. Port resilience is specifically evaluated using five novel metrics derived from resilience capacities and port congestion indexes, employing data-driven approaches, which are then applied to analyze nine global ports across six regions. The findings of the study indicate that: 1) The ports of Southampton and Shanghai display better resilience levels, whereas New York/New Jersey and Los Angeles/Long Beach show poorer resilience performance during the research period. 2) Ports in West Coast North America demonstrate relatively low resilience levels, while those in South East Asia showcase superior resilience. 3) The changing dynamics and evolution of port resilience rankings across different years underscore the multifaceted nature of port resilience and its capacity to adapt to external factors such as global events. Our study emphasizes the importance of quantifying port resilience, with a specific focus on port congestion. It provides valuable insights that have significant implications for port management and disaster preparedness within the maritime industry.

The Shore as a Politicized Space for Community Heritage: The Case of Pra’, Genoa

Changes in coastal and maritime environments, increasingly caused by the climate crisis and large infrastructural projects such as global port construction, significantly impact community identity. When a community’s terraqueous space – a space that transcends the land-sea binary distinction – suffers a shock, long-term sociability within the community and relationships with nature are altered. This article connects the challenges of coastal community spaces and the community’s cultural heritage by articulating a critical ontology of the shore. The connection is illustrated using the example of Pra’ in Genoa, where constructing a large port terminal has detached the local maritime community from the sea.

Digital Twins in the Context of Seaports and Terminal Facilities

Increasing freight volumes and challenging environments in seaports and container terminals worldwide require streamlined and reliable operations. Digital twins are seen as important drivers of the digitalization in seaports by providing a basis for higher transparency, control and data-driven decision making. In this context, however, the concept is rarely studied, and implementation issues are not comprehensively discussed. The paper presents an exploratory study of digital twins in seaports based on a literature review and case studies. The analysis reveals a standardization deficit for digital twin implementations, an inflationary and improper use of the term digital twin, and fields of research that need to be explored further. The application of optimization methods and the integration of simulation-based optimization in the field of seaports and container terminals is examined, due to its relevance for digital twins. Important lessons learned can be taken from the most advanced implementations, integrating simulations and emulations with optimization methods. An in-depth examination of multiple case studies and discussions with global port leaders yields valuable perspectives on the varied levels of digital twin implementations being applied today, including insights into the most advanced implementations currently being used in ports and container terminals. As a result of the analyses conducted, various research directions and a research agenda are presented.

Monitoring the modes and phases of global human activity development over 30 years: Evidence from county-level nighttime light

The extent of human activity has expanded, and the intensity of human activity has increased, supported by a progressive economy and powerful technology. Compared with daytime remote sensing images or statistical data, nighttime light (NTL) remote sensing has the advantages of long time series, global coverage, objectivity, and quantifiability in observing the development of global human activities. Existing studies have focused more on the levels of human activity development at multiple points in time and less on overall patterns of human activity development during a period. We developed a non-parametric time-series curve morphology classification methodology combining trend analysis and change-point detection. We identified modes and phases of human activity development based on NTL datasets and analyzed the spatial and temporal patterns, modes, and phases of county-level human activity development globally over the past 30 years (1992–2021). We found that the level of human activity development is generally on the rise globally, with areas of significant growth mainly along the coast of China and in global ports. In more than half of the counties, the extent of human activity development is saturated. A significant increase mode was observed in most counties (71.5 %), while a few counties (1.1 %) saw a decrease mode. 10.1 % of global counties are in an anomalous phase, with low levels of human activity and slower or even stopped development. The new method has been validated in cases of different development modes and has the potential to generalize to the pixel level. Monitoring human activity development facilitates understanding development modes globally over a long time series, which can guide future policy formulation and socioeconomic progress. We recommend a greater focus on inequalities within and between countries.

Does just transition increase social and environmental risks? Evidence from global port cities development

With the acceleration of globalization, the role of ports in urban economic growth is becoming increasingly prominent. However, its traditional operating methods have also caused significant pressure on the environment, leading to worsening air pollution problems. Public concern for health and the environment has made transforming ports a top priority. Despite these measures, air and health indicators in some port cities have not improved significantly, and health conditions in some cities have even deteriorated. In addition, many academic explorations research on port cities has focused on reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gases, without systematically studying the social and environmental risks of just transition in port cities. Therefore, this article uses data from 10 port cities from 2013 to 2022, combined with multiple regression and Kuznets curve for in-depth analysis. The research found that in areas with high population density, the relationship between port transformation and Air Quality Index(AQI) forms an inverted N-shaped curve, while in areas with low population density, it is an n-shaped curve. This reveals the non-linear impact of port transformation on air pollution. From a health perspective, the just transition of ports has always been beneficial for the health of urban residents, especially in areas with high population density. This means that the impact of the transformation of ports on the environment and on health depends not only on the depth of the transformation, but also on regional characteristics. This study focused on how the transition could improve air quality, and the study also delved into its long-term impact on the health of city residents. This provides valuable information for the development of sustainable strategies in port cities, helping them to more effectively improve their environmental and health conditions.

Mismatch between volume and value: a new perspective on the significance of global ports

ABSTRACT To achieve high-volume and high-quality development of maritime transport and establish a port industry ecosystem, maritime stakeholders and national policymakers must recognise ports as crucial economic and trade windows. For a comprehensive and in-depth interpretation of a port, this study focuses on seaborne cargo as the entry point and proposes a methodological framework for assessing port importance. The proposed framework is based on a multi-methodological fusion and considers the relationship between the type, direction, volume, and value of the maritime cargo transported through the port, while distinguishing between the associated economic sectors, industry types, imports, exports and transhipments, and volume and value. Hence, port importance is assessed based on three dimensions: identification of the maritime transport cargo types for which the port has a comparative advantage, measurement of the port combined cargo transport capacity, and differentiation of the port type. The results reveal that seaborne cargo volumes and values are mismatched in global ports; high seaborne cargo value increases port importance to a greater degree than high seaborne cargo volume; and ports can be classified as inland serving, balanced inland and outward serving, and outward serving. These findings provide a research basis for a new port industrial-ecosystem construction strategy.

Monitoring and evaluation of ship operation congestion status at container ports based on AIS data

With the rapid development of the shipping industry, many factors, such as larger ships, harsh weather, workers' strikes, surging port throughputs, and the global pandemic, have made port congestion frequent worldwide. How to effectively monitor and evaluate the ship operation congestion status at ports becomes a key challenge for global ports to seek sustainable development. Based on Automatic Identification System (AIS) data, this article analyzed the semantics of ship trajectory by using data mining methods such as the sliding window algorithm, explored ship berthing and berth-waiting operation events, and established models for calculating the congestion index at ports, as well as the time cost, capacity resource cost, and economic cost caused by ship delays to monitor and evaluate the ship operation congestion status at ports. The results showed that the monitoring and evaluation system for container ports based on AIS ship data can effectively monitor and evaluate the port congestion status and support the decision-making efforts of all parties on the supply chain, such as ports, ship enterprises, cargo owners, and shipping agents.

Cost-benefit analysis of ballast water treatment for three major port clusters in China: evaluation of different scenario strategies

IntroductionThe expansion of maritime trade has led to the introduction of invasive species into aquatic ecosystems through ballast water discharge. China, being a major player in global trade and manufacturing, has experienced negative impacts on its coastal ecosystems and marine biodiversity.MethodsThis study examines the cost‒benefit trade-offs of ballast water management policies for major port clusters in China and other global ports. This paper evaluates compliance costs for individual vessels and fleets under different policy scenarios and ballast water treatment system (BWTS) installation strategies.ResultsThe onboard BWTS installation strategy appears to be more cost-effective under the existing International Maritime Organization (IMO) policy. However, with stricter global discharge requirements or a substantial increase in BWTS capital and operating costs, strategies based on port location could prove more beneficial due to potential economies of scale. Notably, ships with high ballast water discharge volumes, like bulk carriers, are potentially better equipped to cope with future policy shifts. In the face of stricter regulations in China, projected annual compliance cost increases range from $456 million (cost data based on China) to $1.205 billion (cost data based on US).DiscussionPolicymakers are advised to adopt a comprehensive view of ballast water management policies, taking into account the trade-offs between compliance costs and environmental risks. Other essential factors, such as advancements in BWTS technology, fuel consumption, emissions, and maintenance costs, also demand careful consideration in policy development.

Exploring the Factors Influencing the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Global Shipping: A Case Study of the Baltic Dry Index

The outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020 resulted in notable disruptions to global shipping and the global economy. As a key indicator influenced by supply and demand conditions in the shipping industry, the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) serves as an early economic indicator for global economic production. Contrary to expectations of decline, the BDI has exhibited a substantial increase. This research paper aims to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global shipping through a comprehensive analysis of the BDI. The study incorporates data spanning from 2019 to 2021, encompassing the pre- and post-pandemic periods. It examines 13 independent variables, including raw material prices (such as iron ore prices), international scrap steel prices, energy prices, stock market indexes, international commodity price volatility (as represented by the Commodity Research Bureau Index), global port calls, and confirmed COVID-19 cases. The primary objective is to explore the factors influencing the BDI and how they were affected by the pandemic. The study employs stepwise regression to select variables and build models before and after the pandemic. The findings of this study elucidate the prominent factors that influence the BDI in different temporal contexts. Before the outbreak, the BDI was notably impacted by variables, including the US Dollar Index (positive relationship), Brent, Port Calls, and CRB Index. However, a discernible shift in the relative significance of these factors has been observed in the post-pandemic period. Specifically, the US Dollar Index now exhibits a negative relationship with the BDI, whereas variables such as Port Calls, Iron Price, Steel Scrap Price, and confirmed COVID-19 cases had attained heightened prominence in shaping the dynamics of the freight index. These findings underscored the dynamic nature of the factors influencing the BDI, particularly in light of the unique circumstances brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Spatial-temporal heterogeneity of global ports resilience under Pandemic: a case study of COVID-19

ABSTRACT As a major global public health emergency, the COVID-19 epidemic has had a significant impact on the development of the global port operation. Based on the data from 1 January 20191 January 2019 to 31 December 202231 December 2022, this study utilizes the global spatial autocorrelation and local spatial autocorrelation to measure and evaluate the resistance and resilience of global ports. From the outcomes, we find that the overall level of resistance and resilience for the global ports is relatively low, further have not been effectively restored and adjusted, and the resilience of ports in the world is generally heterogeneous. In addition, the impact of the epidemic on global ports is temporary, where the resilience of ports has been significantly improved after the end of 2021, and most ports have recovered from the impact of the epidemic and have a positive trend in 2022. Meanwhile, the ports have a significant positive spatial correlation in response to the effect of the COVID-19 epidemic.

Towards sustainable port management: Data-driven global container ports turnover rate assessment

Accurate assessment of port turnover rate is essential for port operators and shipping carriers to benchmark and improve their operations. This study proposes a standardized method to estimate the port turnover rate based on satellite data of ocean ships. This method can be generalized to accommodate ports of different geographic and operational characteristics with minimum input and running times. To achieve the research objective, we first construct berth polygon areas for terminals based on Greatmaps (GMap) visual technique. Then, two tailor-made algorithms are proposed to estimate the berthing time of ship in a berthing event. Finally, we assess the port turnover rate with aggregate berthing time at a port and its historical port throughput. Assuming that the turnover rate is unchanged in the short term, we can use the estimated turnover to estimate the monthly throughput of global ports. The findings suggest the average Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) of our estimation is 3.84%. Standardized and high-frequency port statistics are highly valued by the industry but very costly to access. The proposed method makes high-frequency port turnover rate and throughput available for a wide range of users. The statistics and findings will enhance standardization and transparency of port statistics and promote the sustainable development of port industry.

Evaluating The Prospects of Financial Performance After Merger at PT Pelabuhan Indonesia (Persero

Port is a gateway which facilitates connection between regions, islands and even continents as well as between nations that can develop the hinterland area behind or also known as the area of influence. Previously, to manage ports in Indonesia, four state-owned ports were formed that play a role in the development and operation of national ports which were divided based on different regions, namely PT Pelabuhan Indonesia I (Persero)/Pelindo I, PT Pelabuhan Indonesia II (Persero)/Pelindo II, PT Pelabuhan Indonesia III (Persero)/Pelindo III, and PT Pelabuhan Indonesia IV (Persero)/Pelindo IV which have their respective operating areas coverage.. The separation of BUMN Ports into several operating areas contributes to the challenges of the national port industry. The merger of SOE Ports is expected to have significant benefits for stakeholders such as the government.
 This research aims to evaluate the prospect financial performance of PT Pelabuhan Indonesia (Persero) after merger by comparing the financial ratio before and after merger , as well as comparing the financial ratio of PT Pelabuhan Indonesia (Persero) with another 12 Global Port Company using descriptive analysis and K-Means Clustering.
 The research result shows that the financial performance before merger decreased, the company ‘s financial performance cluster before merger is low (in the 3rd cluster) and yje company financial performance after the merger is stable on the 3rd cluster. Therefore, PT Pelabuhan Indonesia (Persero) need to formulate several strategy to increase their financial performance especially in optimizing their assets and inventory to have more efficient operational to generate higher sales.

Port resilience in the post-COVID-19 era

With the COVID-19 pandemic evitably becoming the “New Normality” and will continue to impact human society much longer than anticipated, it is essential to explore effective measures that global ports can take to adapt to unexpected challenges in the post-COVID-19 era. This paper builds a port resilience index system based on the entropy weight method from a multistakeholder's view. We utilize the port resilience index system for 22 major Chinese ports during 2020–2021. We further investigate the direct impact of port resilience on port governance performance. Our results indicate that resiliently-governed ports can guarantee higher port throughput while sustaining lower congestion when facing challenges from the global pandemic.

Increasing Efficiency of Nautical Chart Production and Accessibility to Marine Environment Data through an Open-Science Compilation Workflow

Electronic Navigational Chart (ENC) data are essential for safe maritime navigation and have multiple other uses in a wide range of enterprises. Charts are relied upon to be as accurate and as up-to-date as possible by the vessels moving vast amounts of products to global ports each year. However, cartographic generalization processes for updating and creating ENCs are complex and time-consuming. Increasing the efficiency of the chart production workflow has been long sought by the nautical charting community. Toward this effort, approaches must consider intended scale, data quality, various chart features, and perform consistently in different scenarios. Additionally, supporting open-science initiatives through standardized open-source workflows will increase marine data accessibility for other disciplines. Therefore, this paper reviews, improves, and integrates available open-source software, and develops new custom generalization tools, for the semi-automated processing of land and hydrographic features per nautical charting specifications. The robustness of this approach is demonstrated in two areas of very different geographic configurations and the effectiveness for use in nautical charting was confirmed by winning the first prize in an international competition. The presented rapid data processing combined with the ENC portrayal of results as a web-service provides new opportunities for applications such as the development of base-maps for marine spatial data infrastructures.

A temporal assessment of risk of non-indigenous species introduction by ballast water to Canadian coastal waters based on environmental similarity

The environmental similarity scores between source and recipient locations are essential in ballast water risk assessment (BWRA) models used to estimate the potential for non-indigenous species (NIS) introduction, survival, and establishment, and to guide management strategies aiming to minimize biodiversity loss and economic impacts. Previous BWRA models incorporate annual-scale environmental data, which may overlook seasonal variability. In this study, temporal variation in sea surface temperature and salinity data were examined at global ports, and the influence of this variation on environmental distance calculations (and corresponding risk of NIS) was examined for ballast water discharges in Canada by comparing outputs from monthly and annual scale assessments in a BWRA model. Except for some outliers in the Pacific region, the environmental distances based on monthly scale data generally become smaller in all regions, demonstrating that the model using annual decadal average environmental data to inform environmental matching can underestimate risk of NIS survival and establishment in comparison to monthly data. The results of this study suggest future evaluations incorporating the date of ballast water uptake and discharge can provide a more sensitive assessment of risk reflecting seasonal variability compared to an annual average risk model.