Unpacking the evolution of port systems: a review study

Regional trade co-operation, economic growth and greater political stability have enabled increased container throughput and container port capacity development. Earlier academic work has indicated that the functional position of this port region in the global maritime network might be shifting from a remote region in the periphery of the network to a more intermediate position. This paper aims to analyze the changing level of peripherality and remoteness of the Southern African container port system as part of the global container shipping network. The central hypothesis is that Southern Africa has moved from a remote shipping region to a more central shipping region in the global network. The methodology consists of the calculation of network measures for Southern African ports. The changing geographical distribution of flows among the main container ports in South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique, Mauritius and Madagascar will also be explored in terms of their respective shipping services, port calling patterns, market structure (in terms of the number of active carriers) and the up-scaling of vessel and port capacity. The overall result is a mapped port hierarchical structure with a clear indication of the shifted maritime centrality of Southern African ports from 1996 to the present decade.

The overcapacity in China’s ports has spurred port integration across many provinces but not in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) due to its unique institutional environment. Effective port integration often involves coordinating differentiated functions. We therefore wonder whether port functional differentiation occurs in the PRD. Traditionally, port throughput has been a primary indicator for functional differentiation, constraining the exploration of diverse shipping-related characteristics. This study aims to propose an analytical approach to identify various port functions with seven indicators, considering the multifaceted shipping characteristics of ship traffic and shipping services within a regional port system. The research approach is applied to the PRD container port system in South China, utilizing Automatic Identification System (AIS) data from 2015 to 2022. Furthermore, the study investigates how geographical conditions, industrial development, institutional factors, and port governance structures contribute to the observed functional differentiation. The results reveal evolving functional specialization among the core ports within the PRD. Hong Kong primarily focuses on imports and transshipment, Shenzhen establishes its strength in exports and serves as a gateway, while Guangzhou handles the majority of domestic traffic. We found that the port functional differentiation in the PRD has been largely spontaneous, with minimal proactive policy interventions.

The container sector has been growing fast since its dawn, and it has almost reached a climax in terms of handling mega containerships at existing ports. In that respect the offshore port system presented here can offer operational advantages. Furthermore, it can bring improvements to the utilisation of ultra large containerships and the enhanced energy efficiency they introduce. In this framework, this paper presents a cost analysis of the possible offshore port systems including their investment cost. This research is based on data from relevant projects and studies coupled with a number of assumptions to be presented. The results suggest that the offshore container port system can play a remarkable role to reduce energy consumption in the container shipping.

The market environment in which ports operate has changed dramatically, and this continuous process of change raises questions on the role of port authorities. This paper discusses the impact of some structural changes in international trade, transport and shipping on strategic and operational issues in the framework of port management. The central hypothesis put forward is that a successful port (authority), like a successful actor, must be prepared to constantly adopt new roles in order to cope with the changing market environment. The content and strategic scope of these new roles are highlighted, especially with regard to the European container port system.

The market environment in which ports operate has changed dramatically, and this continuous process of change raises questions on the role of port authorities. This paper discusses the impact of some structural changes in international trade, transport and shipping on strategic and operational issues in the framework of port management. The central hypothesis put forward is that a successful port (authority), like a successful actor, must be prepared to constantly adopt new roles in order to cope with the changing market environment. The content and strategic scope of these new roles are highlighted, especially with regard to the European container port system.

Port commodity specialization is primarily influenced by economic functions, but also by unique geographic considerations. A port system's evolution is dependent upon a complex mix of both physical and human factors. A case study of Chilean ports examines their potential for increasing containerized traffic. By applying indices of port commodity specialization and national commodity specialization to maritime transport data, a series of working hypotheses pertinent to specialization is tested. Suggestions are made for developing a port system to accommodate containerization. The results indicate that Chile should support the development of three regional port subsystems.

Port development is challenged not only by growing trade flows, but by institutional conditions that are more contextual, exhibiting aspects of both path dependence and contingency. This paper analyses the intersection of two clear trends in the evolution of port systems, decentralisation of port governance and deconcentration of port traffic. The goal is to identify how the institutional setting governing the spatial diversification of container port activity has changed as a result of this intersection and whether it is suitable to deal with new challenges as they arise. An additional question is whether the new institutional settings created by port reform in developing countries are suitable to support the successful application of port devolution policies imported from developed countries with different political and institutional histories.Based on four national case studies of port reform in Latin America, the paper discusses how the interplay between structure and agency in the reform of port governance has in some cases created merely a “new” path dependency. Findings show that short-term gains in technical efficiency in individual ports contrast with a long-term loss of power from the public to the private sector and the lack of integrated transport and logistics policies necessary to support ongoing port development.

The waves of containerization: shifts in global maritime transportation

Container ports are critical components of global port and shipping supply chain (PSSC) systems. Their handling operation resiliencies can affect their performance, along with those of the overall port and shipping supply chain. According to the characteristics of the container handling operations, this study establishes a modeling paradigm for quantifying the resilience of handling chain system (HCS) in container ports. Considering the nonnegative arrive rate and the container handling completion rate, with the upper limit in real container port environments, nonlinear links have been added into the model of the HCS. The resilience of the HCS was analyzed according to the different pole distributions of unsatisfied freight requirement transfer function. Simulation results show that the upper limit of the container handling completion rate has a significant impact on the resilience of the HCS. The contributions herein demonstrate a starting point in the development of a quantitative resilience decision making framework and mitigating the negative impacts for port authorities and other players in the PSSC.

From as early as the seventeenth century, Southern Africa served as an important maritime space in the global network. The ports in this region have transformed from colonial halfway refreshment stations to viable container and bulk ports following various port investment initiatives. Today, however, due to greater social and economic stability, regional integration, and globalization, Southern African container ports in particular face increased pressure to provide sufficient port capacity. This growing misalignment between container demand and container port capacity impacts the quality of service experienced at the ports and leads to port congestion. Chang et al. (2008) cite an important attribute affecting service quality and port performance as port congestion. Port user costs rise sharply once the port traffic approaches the existing effective port capacity limits. To alleviate the problem of congestion, ports increase capacity by investing in port infrastructure such as canal enhancements, additional berths, or additional port handling equipment. Ceteris paribus, increasing port capacity should help to enhance service quality and reduce time costs for ships and cargoes and should therefore attract and accommodate more traffic to the port (Xiao et al., 2012).

The evolution of the single-hub container system in Southeast Asia into a multi-hub system, with several emerging container ports serving deep-sea container vessels and forming their feeder service network, may result in intense competition in the region and a transformation in the ports’ roles. Thus, major ports in the region have sought to enhance their competitiveness by offering improved cargo handling capabilities, well-developed infrastructure, and modernised facilities as well as increased service coverage and connectivity to more countries both directly and indirectly. Several major container ports in the area have taken full advantage of competitiveness to become new hub-ports in the area. To understand the dynamics of competition in this rapidly developing region more clearly, this paper presents an evaluation of connectivity of major ports. In addition, the competitiveness of the top ten Southeast Asian container ports is evaluated using the TOPSIS method and K-mean cluster analysis. The results indicate that the top ten ports are categorised into three groups, and while Singapore (Group 1) takes the most advantage of its connectivity, ports in Groups 2 and 3 may be able to enhance competitiveness by developing cargo handling facilities and infrastructure.

This study assessed the contribution of containerization to the development of Western Ports, Lagos Nigeria. The aim was to assess the influence of containerization on some indices of port development such as port infrastructure development, ship turnaround time, cargo dwell time and congestion. Questionnaire was used to gather information on the contribution of containerization to change in maritime trade in the country, the influence of containerization on terminal expansion, congestion, level of investment in container port infrastructure as well as the influence of such investment on container dwell time and ship turnaround time (TAT) and the competitiveness of container terminal within Nigeria port systems and with other developed container ports of the world. Secondary data used included statistics of reports of operations of Western Ports between 2000 and 2010 as reported by NPA, as well as reports of some selected ports derived from Containerization International Year Book, which were used in this study for the sake of global reference. Summary tables and ANOVA for the analysis of the data. Results revealed a significant contribution of containerization to maritime trade relative to the ports’ annual records but with no significant influence on ship turnaround time, cargo dwell time congestion which are determinants of port productivity and competitiveness. The study concluded that Western Ports have still not reaped gains of containerization and lacking in competitiveness when compared with other developed ports of the world.

This study assessed the contribution of containerization to the development of Western Ports, Lagos Nigeria. The aim was to assess the influence of containerization on some indices of port development such as port infrastructure development, ship turnaround time, cargo dwell time and congestion. Questionnaire was used to gather information on the contribution of containerization to change in maritime trade in the country, the influence of containerization on terminal expansion, congestion, level of investment in container port infrastructure as well as the influence of such investment on container dwell time and ship turnaround time (TAT) and the competitiveness of container terminal within Nigeria port systems and with other developed container ports of the world. Secondary data used included statistics of reports of operations of Western Ports between 2000 and 2010 as reported by NPA, as well as reports of some selected ports derived from Containerization International Year Book, which were used in this study for the sake of global reference. Summary tables and ANOVA for the analysis of the data. Results revealed a significant contribution of containerization to maritime trade relative to the ports’ annual records but with no significant influence on ship turnaround time, cargo dwell time congestion which are determinants of port productivity and competitiveness. The study concluded that Western Ports have still not reaped gains of containerization and lacking in competitiveness when compared with other developed ports of the world.

Globalisation and transport revolution, logistics integration and the consequent expansion of port area and hinterland in the maritime industry have redefined the functional role of ports in global logistics and supply chains and have generated a new pattern of freight distribution. The rapidly increasing world trade in the last decade has brought about a new round of port (especially, container port) development and caused the restructuring of the world port network as well as more intensive inter-and intra-port competition. This phenomenon again requires a new approach towards port development and related planning. This paper aims at, in a holistic way, providing an overview of the recent developments in maritime transport and logistics in the global scale and discussing strategic implications for the container port industry in the Asian context.

Enhancing the Competitiveness of Container Seaports Through Sustainability: A Case Study of Thailand