WCEQ - Contemporary Issues in Port management and Logistics

This study presents an advanced methodology for port investment decision-making by enhancing UNCTAD's Port Development Handbook framework through sophisticated queueing theory applications. While the original UNCTAD guidelines provide fundamental investment criteria, they fail to capture the complex characteristics of modern port operations, including non-exponential vessel distributions and time-dependent arrival patterns. We develop an integrated framework combining pointwise stationary approximation with M/G/c queueing models, incorporating detailed cost structures and environmental considerations. Using empirical data from Busan Port and Korean preliminary feasibility studies, we demonstrate how this enhanced methodology better reflects regional economic disparities and sustainability requirements in port investment decisions. Our findings suggest that this refined approach significantly improves the accuracy of port capacity planning and investment optimization, particularly for regions with varying cargo values.

The sustainable development of port cities is increasingly influenced by concession agreements (CAs), which define the terms of collaboration between public authorities and private entities. CAs often involve large volumes of heterogeneous information that need to be collected from multiple stakeholders and managed to achieve sustainability targets. In this context, we present a five-pillar Information Governance framework specifically designed for the port industry, with a strong emphasis on CAs.

Ports represent significant challenges for maritime spatial planning, particularly as rapid changes in the port industry shape specific requirements, constraints, and opportunities. Ports occupy extensive areas and involve intensive use. While they generate many positive impacts, they also exert negative environmental effects on the regions they are part of. Moreover, ports attract transport flows and associated activities, as well as the establishment of other enterprises, which further influence and reshape the surrounding space. The role of the state is critical in this context, as it must establish a robust framework for MSP as a public policy and governance tool, ensuring rational and effective use of space while promoting the coexistence of often competing activities. This paper examines ways to address environmental sustainability in port areas within MSP frameworks and identifies enablers and barriers to the effective incorporation of ports into MSP processes. It argues that MSP facilitates rational strategic planning and decision-making and has the potential to deliver multiple benefits for all stakeholders. MSP can initiate key processes to enhance the environmental dimension of port activities, contributing to the reduction of their environmental footprint. Particular emphasis is placed on participatory planning and the active involvement of all stakeholders in achieving sustainable outcomes.

The study contributes to a realistic estimation of the economic benefits that cruise activities create on ports and destinations. The growth of several cruise passenger source markets is expanding the multicultural nature of the industry, where passengers from different nationalities and cultures interact and experience the same cruise services and destinations. This research is devoted to exploring the variation of cruise passengers and crew behavior at the destination (i.e., shorex, private walks, etc.), spending patterns, and destination assessment based on the nationalities of these two populations, and the cruise shipping segments in two cruise ports and destinations in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The empirical part analyses the replies to a survey by 10.269 passengers and 525 crew members who disembarked at the Greek ports of Heraklion (an established destination) and Thessaloniki (an emerging destination) during the cruise seasons 2022-2024.The findings allow ports, destinations, and stakeholders to target certain market segments and endorse initiatives to improve the hosted cruise activities' direct economic impact and the 'world of mouth' impact on the destination. Moreover, identifying such diverse spending behaviours is critical for cruise lines to structure their pricing and offerings to cater to different markets.