TDEM - Port economics, competitiveness and governance

On 21 January 2016, the European Commission decided that the corporate tax exemptions granted to ports under the existing Dutch and Belgian tax regimes constitute State aid. Belgian and Dutch ports undertook actions for annulment, with arguments such as both the hybrid governance model of ports as well as the annihilation of a level playing field given that seaports from other European countries' tax regimes were yet to be investigated. However, the European Commission Decision 2017/2115 ordered the Belgian State to abolish this tax exemption. This qualitative study addresses two key questions through port authority expert interviews: (i) To what extent were the corporate tax exemptions for Belgian ports, prior to 2017, materially significant? (ii) Following the 2017 decision, how have Belgian ports adapted to the removal of these exemptions, and what strategic measures have they undertaken to maintain competitiveness in the absence of the previously recognized State aid? This in-depth analysis will offer conclusions on both the consequences of the European Commission Decision on the Belgian ports industry, as well as insights on the validity of the initial opposing arguments that were voiced by Belgian ports.

Over the past decades, the European Commission has made significant investments to promote alternative transportation modes to road transport-specifically Short Sea Shipping (SSS) and rail-for intra-European freight corridors. A key objective of EU transport policy has been to concentrate freight flows on sea-based logistical routes and alleviate road congestion by encouraging a modal shift to SSS. To achieve this, the EU has implemented policies targeting the demand side of SSS, including financial incentives for road transport operators. These incentives, such as freight subsidies, are designed to reflect the environmental benefits of intermodal maritime chains compared to road-based routes. However, are all intermodal maritime chains truly more environmentally efficient than road transport? To explore this question, we apply iso-emissions maps to trade flows and transportation modes along the Spain–Northern Italy corridor, which benefits from the Eco-incentive to promote SSS. This research aims to analyze origin-destination pairs of cargo shipments to quantify and compare the emissions generated by intermodal SSS and road-based routes. The findings have important implications, as demand-based financial incentives may be allocated to routes where SSS is not necessarily the most environmentally efficient alternative.

Port connectivity has increasingly become a critical topic in maritime and transport economics. However, limited research has been conducted on the determinants of port connectivity, and even fewer studies have examined how the presence of a competing port in close proximity influences connectivity levels. This study seeks to address this gap by analyzing the Spanish port system using a panel dataset spanning the period from 2006 to 2019. Employing a two-way fixed effects estimator, the study investigates the impact of port competition and spatial interdependence on connectivity. The Spanish port system presents a unique case, as it consists of multiple ports that, while operating under the national port agency Puertos del Estado, function independently and compete with one another. The analysis focuses on the Spanish container ports. Contrary to conventional expectations that the presence of nearby large ports would negatively affect connectivity, the findings reveal the opposite effect in Spain, when it comes to the mayor Spanish ports. This result has important policy implications for the Spanish port governance and competition, offering valuable insights into the competitive dynamics among major Spanish ports.

The rapid expansion of the cruise industry has generated environmental and social concerns in port cities, particularly in established cruise destinations that host high cruise calls and passenger visits. While cruise tourism generates economic benefits, the produce externalities are notable. Irrespective of the disputing approaches as regards the magnitude of these externalities, cruising contributes to pollution, energy consumption, excess tourist flows, and governance challenges. This study examines stakeholder management in the cruise industry, focusing on the tensions between economic interests, environmental sustainability, and local opposition. The scope is to understand and conceptualise the (potential) impact of the evolved stakeholder management patterns on advancing/hindering the transformation of the observed inexorable growth of cruising to a sustainable one.
Using a qualitative case study approach focusing on two cruise destinations, Hamburg and Venice, the research integrates site visits, semi-structured interviews, and secondary data analysis to assess how different governance frameworks influence stakeholder dynamics. The findings indicate that weak sustainability measures, potential regulatory capture, and fragmented stakeholder priorities hinder effective sustainability initiatives. In Hamburg, air pollution and corporate dominance in port governance fuel public resistance, while in Venice, environmental degradation and overtourism have led to policy restrictions that shifted underlying issues to other locations rather than resolve them. The study highlights the importance of collaborative governance, emphasising regulated call management, stronger sustainability commitments, and the development of zero-emission cruise ships. The results contribute to the broader debate on cruise tourism governance, illustrating how stakeholder interactions can either obstruct or facilitate sustainability transitions. Addressing these challenges is important to ensuring that cruise tourism remains viable while minimising its adverse impacts.

This study examines the robustness of traditional goodness-of-fit tests-Chi-square, Kolmogorov-Smirnov, and Anderson-Darling-when applied to noisy and anomalous data in container terminal operations. The focus is on ship arrival and service time distributions, often affected by operational uncertainties, data inaccuracies, and disruptions like pandemics and strikes. While preprocessing is commonly used to remove anomalies, distinguishing outliers from normal patterns in real-world data is challenging. To address this, the study introduces a noise injection framework to simulate anomalies such as random outliers, systematic biases, and extreme events. A breakdown point analysis evaluates the threshold at which each test fails to reliably identify the theoretical distribution. By comparing the tests under realistic conditions, the study highlights their limitations and strengths in handling unprocessed or contaminated data. The findings aim to guide the selection of robust analytical methodologies for modeling time distributions in container terminals, enhancing queueing theory applications. This approach supports improved decision-making by addressing complexities and uncertainties in port operations, contributing to a deeper understanding of statistical robustness in maritime logistics.

This study examines the factors influencing the selection of port cities as sea-air freight transit hubs, focusing on two global logistics leaders, Kuehne+Nagel and DB Schenker. Data from flight schedules and container liner schedules for 44 cities with major seaports and international airports (collected for September 2-8, 2024) were used to construct three transportation networks: maritime container shipping, airline flight, and integrated sea-air networks. Using complex network analysis, four centrality measures-Degree, Closeness, Betweenness, and Eigenvector Centrality-were employed to assess city connectivity, with results synthesized through factor analysis. The findings reveal distinct hub selection strategies: Kuehne+Nagel prioritizes Dubai, Los Angeles, and Miami for intercontinental connectivity, while DB Schenker leverages Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Istanbul, and regional hubs like Tokyo, Osaka, and Incheon. Frankfurt (HAM/BRV) supports DB Schenker's Air-Ocean operations in Europe. This analysis validates the utility of network models in understanding global logistics and identifies emerging cities such as Guangzhou and Shenzhen as potential future hubs, offering insights into the evolving dynamics of multimodal freight systems.