Publications

Piracy is a problem of all ages: from the moment the seas and oceans were used for trade, there has been piracy. There’s a reason piracy is one of the oldest international crimes: a pirate is seen as an 'enemy of mankind' against whom any state can act on the high seas, constituting an important exception to the general principles of the law of the sea. Even in this century, the criminal phenomenon is being felt in different hotspots, with East and West Africa as two of the most prominent examples. This book analyses the applicable legal framework, assesses the anti-piracy measures and examines the prosecution and punishment of piracy crimes in both regions: various difficulties are identified and appropriate solutions are put forward.

(2018) Kennisgids Gebruik Kust en Zee 2018 - Compendium voor Kust en Zee. p.47-67

Tegenwoordig wordt meer dan 80% van de globale handel (in volume) over de zee vervoerd, goed voor 10,3 miljard ton aan goederen in 2016. De wereldhandelsvloot bestond op 1 januari 2017 uit 93.161 schepen met een totaal draagvermogen van 1,86 miljard DWT (dead-weight tonnage). Tijdens de voorbije jaren kende het draagvermogen een snellere toename (2016: +2,5%) in vergelijking met de vraag (+2,1%), wat resulteert in een continue situatie van globale overcapaciteit. De  voornaamste vlaggenstaten zijn Panama, Liberia en de Marshalleilanden, samen goed voor 42% van de globale DWT. België telde in 2017 263 zeeschepen, goed voor 1,27% van de globale DWT (Barki en Deleze-Black 2017 - UNCTAD, zie ook lijst Belgische Zeeschepen). De evolutie van de Belgische handelsvloot komt tevens aan bod in de driejaarlijkse studie van de Royal Belgian Shipowners’ Association (RBSA 2017). De Belgische zeehavens zijn gesitueerd aan één van de drukste scheepvaart routes ter wereld. De totale overslag aan goederen in de Le Havre-Hamburg range (inclusief Oostende) bedroeg in 2017 1,195 miljard ton. Het aandeel van de Vlaamse zeehavens1 bedroeg 294,7 miljoen ton (24,7%) waarvan Antwerpen 223,6 miljoen ton voor zijn rekening nam (Coppens et al. 2018, Merckx 2018). Hieronder wordt in detail ingegaan op het maritiem transport en de scheepvaart in het Belgisch deel van de Noordzee (BNZ). Voor de havens worden in het huidig thema enkel de zeehavens (overwegend bestemd voor de behandeling van zeeschepen) in rekening gebracht en worden de vissershavens (ligplaats voor vissersschepen, zie thema Visserij) en jachthavens (ligplaats voor pleziervaartuigen, zie thema Toerisme en recreatie) niet in beschouwing genomen (Jargon Vlaamse Havencommissie).

(2018) FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE. 5.

Shipping emissions are likely to increase significantly in the coming decades, alongside increasing emphasis on the sustainability and environmental impacts of the maritime transport sector. Exhaust gas cleaning systems (“scrubbers”), using seawater or fresh water as cleaning media for sulfur dioxide, are progressively used by shipping companies to comply with emissions regulations. Little is known about the chemical composition of the scrubber effluent and its ecological consequences for marine life and biogeochemical processes. If scrubbers become a central tool for atmospheric pollution reduction from shipping, modeling, and experimental studies will be necessary to determine the ecological and biogeochemical effects of scrubber wash water discharge on the marine environment. Furthermore, attention must be paid to the regulation and enforcement of environmental protection standards concerning scrubber use. Close collaboration between natural scientists and social scientists is crucial for progress toward sustainable shipping and protection of the marine environment.

(2018) INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SHIPPING AND TRANSPORT LOGISTICS, 10(4). p.429-454

This paper contributes to existing dock labour literature by presenting a market-driven perspective on the organisation of dock work in light of changing market requirements. We conceptualise how changing market requirements affect the characteristics and the design of dock labour employment systems in seaports. The demand for a high dock labour performance is decomposed into three underlying dimensions: labour productivity, cost efficiency and more qualitative factors such as labour flexibility and service delivery. The internal organisation of dock labour takes place within a wider setting of legal and social conditions and the state of technology. Using the conceptual framework, we analyse how terminal operators try to meet changing market requirements through the deployment of new technology and advances in dock labour organisation. We provide empirical evidence by zooming in on the evolution of dock labour arrangements and employment systems in a number of northwest European ports.

10th European Colloquium on European Maritime Law Research, Toruń (Poland), 20-21 September 2018.

(to be published in the conference proceedings)

(2018) Marine Conservation, 5th International Marine Conservation congress (IMCC-5), 24-29-06-2018. 

The International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law, Volume 33, Issue 1

A fair and effective regime regulating benefit-sharing of marine genetic resources (MGR) in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) must consider the inclusion of developing states, support scientific research and safeguard investments of the private sector. The present innovative proposal ensures a delicate balance through an approach based on open access, albeit with limitations. Access to MGR in ABNJ is facilitated, but conditional on the public release of collected samples and raw data. Adoption of the open access principle guarantees a powerful form of non-monetary benefit-sharing. The balance is maintained by the option for an extended embargo period, allowing samples and data to be kept confidential for a certain period, against payment to a biodiversity contribution fund. Monetary benefit-sharing, as a sector-negotiated percentage on revenue, could be imposed at the point of product commercialisation, and would offer a tangible payment system with a low transaction cost.

(2018) RESEARCH IN TRANSPORTATION BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT, 26. p.76-86

This paper analyzes the effects of the objective orientation of port authorities and the level of service differentiation on the capacity, service price, profits and welfare among competing or cooperating ports. We also examine feasible combinations of these two factors (private objective level and service differentiation) to promote port co-operation. We apply the model starting from a mixed duopoly where a landlord port (a port authority with mixed public and private objectives) competes with a profit-seeking port (a port authority with a fully private objective) with differentiated services. The results show that both the private objective level of the port authority and the service differentiation level have a significant influence on various port competition and co-operation settings. Certain combinations of these factors prove to be useful in view of co-operation among port authorities which previously competed. The paper not only contributes to existing literature on port competition/co-operation and the use of game theory in a port setting. It also provides valuable inputs to port devolution and co-operation discussions at the policy level.

(2018) MARITIME ECONOMICS & LOGISTICS. 20(1). p.1-28

This study examines private entry strategies and internationalization patterns in the cruise terminal industry. The focus is on the second biggest cruise region in the world, the Mediterranean and its adjoining seas. A database detailing the ownership structures observed in cruise terminals in 18 different countries forms the backbone of the empirical analysis. This dataset details the entry strategies and implementation options of cruise terminal operators, their corporate features and strategies, and the emerging partnership dynamics. Methodologically, our analysis is based on earlier constructs used to conceptualize entry forms and strategic management in container terminals and port governance systems. The findings suggest that cruise terminals are subject to an initial phase of privatization and internationalization. The outcomes point to the emergence of international cruise terminal operators and the active presence of cruise lines and other types of entities (including port and shipping companies, shipping agents, and Chambers of Commerce). While the cruise terminal development path shows some similarities with what happened in container ports a few decades ago, an array of differences also emerge.

(2018) Advances in shipping data analysis and modeling : tracking and mapping maritime flows in the age of big data. In Routledge Studies in Transport Analysis 9. p.107-128

This paper addresses shipping dynamics in the secondary port region of the Black Sea with a specific focus on the ports of Ukraine. The paper uses notions of centrality and intermediacy to critically assess the changing position of the Ukrainian container port system. We analyse the current state and historical evolution of container services in the Black Sea. We conclude with a future outlook of shipping lines serving the Black Sea/Ukrainian using the notions of connectivity and intermediacy/centrality of the ports.

(2018) RESEARCH IN TRANSPORTATION BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT, 26. p.1-4

The global port industry is at a crossroads. It is facing consolidation among its customer base and struggling to find mechanisms of coping with and protecting markets. Co-operation is one of those mechanisms. The area of port co-operation necessitates academic input analysing the sectorial transformations and challenges. Co-operation, integration and co-ordination are much researched themes in mainstream economic and management literature and the port industry has witnessed a multiplication of port co-operation and integration schemes in recent years partly driven by governance reforms, public policy, political forces and market pressures. When focusing on managing bodies of seaports, the co-operation among ports comes in various forms. Port authority merger or full integration is the most far-reaching form of co-operation.

(2018) SUSTAINABILITY, volume 10, issue 9.

Port authorities around the world are pursuing a greening of port management in view of safeguarding their license to operate, and increasing their economic and environmental competitiveness. This paper analyzes how port authorities, via the design and implementation of concession agreements, can contribute to a further greening of port management. The paper presents a typology of green instruments applicable to a terminal concession setting. The instruments are evaluated on overall feasibility and suitability in a concession context, but also on more specific criteria related to implementation issues, contribution to green strategies, and targets of port authorities and regulatory/ enforcement aspects. The evaluation matrix is based on the output of a structured workshop with port managers and concession experts in a sample of European ports. We demonstrate that a variety of regulatory, investment, and pricing measures are available to port authorities to include green targets in terminal concession agreements. Not all instruments have the same likeliness of being embraced or implemented by port authorities, in part because of a low perceived contribution, high associated regulation costs, or simply because the port authority is unlikely to have jurisdiction in that specific area. Measures related to information reporting and some types of harm-based standards, design standards, and technology specifications are relatively easy to implement in a concession setting. The results also show that many of the measures with a higher expected contribution to innovation and environmental objectives are typically also the ones with higher regulation costs, which might post a higher complexity in terms of their implementation in a concession setting. We further argue that initiatives toward the greening of concession procedures can only reap full benefits if these actions are embedded in a chain approach toward the environment (ship, port, terminal, warehouse, and inland transport).