Definition: Maritime transport is the shipment of goods (cargo) and people by sea and other waterways. Port operations are a necessary tool to enable maritime trade between trading partners. To ensure smooth port operations and to avoid congestion in the harbor it is inevitable to permanently upgrade the port’s physical infrastructure, invest in human capital, fostering connectivity of the port and upgrade the port operations to prevailing standards. Hence, port operations can be defined as all policies, reforms and regulations that influence the infrastructure and operations of port facilities including shipping services.

Overview: In 2007, more than 80% of world trade was carried by sea, constituting by far the most important means of transport of goods. Maritime transport has been growing annually by around 3.1% for the past three decades. Although there are many shipping companies in the maritime industry, most of them are small with insignificant market shares. For example, 52% of the world TEU capacity in 2008 was provided by the top 10 largest service operators. The top 3 (Maersk Line, Denmark; MSC, Switzerland; and the CMA-CGM Group, France) supply a total of 3,541,242 TEU, approximately 28% of of the world’s total TEU capacity. Even though the largest shipping companies are located in developed economies their fleets are by large registered in developing countries. Panama and Liberia, the two leading registries account for one third (33.11%) of the world’s TEU capacity measured in deadweight tones.

International maritime transport costs tend to be on average between two to three times as high as custom duties of importing countries. Still it is the cheapest way of transporting large amounts of goods compared to other transport methods. For example, the rental rate for a 20 foot container was as low as USD 0.70 per day in the beginning of 2008. The price of shipping a container depends largely on the route and the current economic situation. However, besides costs, available services to traders and ships as well as service quality concerning speed, reliability, frequencies, safety and security are of increasing significance in the context of globalized production processes and just in time deliveries. Big differences exist between countries regarding the quality and costs of the port and shipping services available to their importers and exporters e.g. towage, mooring,…. But also the existing infrastructure and connectivity are of major importance for traders to bring their goods to its destination.

The increasing globalization of trade and high complexity of port operations requires the application of a sophisticated ICT system. In recent years the size of ships has doubled and has added to the difficulty in managing port operations and demanded an even larger logistical effort. The trend towards just-in-time manufacture requires a permanent improvement of the information flow and integration of the transport business in the production process.

Maritime transport and port security has become, especially after the 9/11 terror attacks, a major concern. Measures taken to increase security, such as the International Ship and Port Facility (ISPS) code, had a significant impact on trade and port operations. As part of the SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) initiative, it is a comprehensive set of measures to enhance the security for the port and the ships in the harbor. The SOLAS program requires countries to permanently assess their prevailing security situation that corresponds to a certain set of security measures to be taken by ships, ports and port authorities. A major challenge poses piracy in some regions in the world. Although there is a general agreement about the threats pirates and terrorists pose to international trade, multiple stakeholders pursue different interests.

The World Customs Organization (WCO) adopted the “Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Global Trade” (SAFE Framework) to increase safety of cargo. This framework provides guidelines and standards to harmonize national customs operations, enhance cooperation among them and establish partnerships between customs and business. One of the major challenges, especially among developing countries, remains the mutual recognition of other country’s Authorized Economic Operators (AEO).

UNCTAD has long experience in providing technical assistance in the commercial aspects of shipping and port management. This includes port pricing and maritime transport policies and practices. The goal is to improve competitiveness, in particular of developing economies, and ultimately promoting and facilitating world trade.