The International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) has launched a new World Ports Tracker to improve understanding of industry challenges globally.
The tracker aims to guide ports and stakeholders in their efforts to improve services by collecting a combination of fresh data and feedback from the world ports community.
Key information from ports regarding information on call volumes, status of warehousing capacity, and hinterland connectivity will be interlinked and combined with expectations on cargo and passenger throughput as well as vessel calls.
“Having fresh as opposed to just historic data from ports is key not only to a timely overview,” said Thanos Pallis, Professor in Ports and Maritime Economics and Policy at the department of Port Management and Shipping, University of Piraeus, Greece and co-author of the report.
“With careful interpretation, it can give us clues as to what will happen next, also regionally – this is what ports will obtain from our global ports tracker to react accordingly.”
Co-author Theo Notteboom, Chair Professor ‘North Sea Ports’ at the Maritime Institute of Ghent, Professor at the Antwerp Maritime Academy and the University of Antwerp, and visiting research Professor at Shanghai Maritime University, also commented: “What we are calling for is the same commitment shown by fellow ports around the world when the pandemic broke out, as we clearly see that COVID-19, geopolitical conflict and war, extreme weather, and other factors mean that ports do need a bellwether like this tracker as a tool to improve resilience.”
Last year, the IAPH called upon stakeholders to collaborate more closely and improve maritime infrastructure.
