Contents
Maritime and port economics ................................................................................................. 4
The economic framework of ports ....................................................................................... 4
Diversity: main distinguishing factors ............................................................................... 4
Diversity ......................................................................................................................... 5
Port Actors ....................................................................................................................... 10
Port competition ........................................................................................................... 11
Demand for ports ............................................................................................................. 14
Port choice ................................................................................................................... 14
Port forecasting............................................................................................................. 15
Port influencing factors ................................................................................................. 17
The Rhine-Scheldt Delta ports in the European port system ............................................... 18
Traffic Evolution ............................................................................................................ 18
Port hinterland dynamics .............................................................................................. 19
Port organisation, technology and costs ............................................................................ 21
Production and cost functions .......................................................................................... 26
Port congestion ................................................................................................................ 30
Port Productivity ............................................................................................................... 35
Port Policy ........................................................................................................................ 39
Port of Antwerp-Bruges ..................................................................................................... 44
Guest lecture De Martino Summary .................................................................................. 45
Maritime Economics ............................................................................................................ 46
Global economy and the shipping sector ........................................................................... 46
Incoterms ..................................................................................................................... 47
International Trade and Demand for Maritime Shipping ...................................................... 50
International Trade ........................................................................................................ 50
International Maritime Transport Sector ............................................................................ 56
Terminology .................................................................................................................. 56
Ship types ..................................................................................................................... 56
Overview of the maritime industry ..................................................................................... 60
Main segments of the maritime industry ........................................................................ 60
Kay markets players and institutional framework ............................................................ 60
Shipowners managing the business ............................................................................... 61
Maritime professions .................................................................................................... 63
Maritime documents ..................................................................................................... 65
1
, Four Shipping markets .................................................................................................. 68
New build market .......................................................................................................... 71
S&P market ................................................................................................................... 73
Demolition market ........................................................................................................ 74
Transport efficiency....................................................................................................... 75
An overview of ship types .................................................................................................. 76
Article “Introduction to Maritime Shipping” .................................................................... 81
Maritime and Port Economics: CLSI — an academic perspective........................................ 82
Operational .................................................................................................................. 83
Cooperation ................................................................................................................. 85
MSC ................................................................................................................................. 87
Shipping policy ................................................................................................................. 88
1. Why is shipping policy needed? ................................................................................. 88
2. National flag fleet vs. controlled fleet ......................................................................... 88
3. Why maintain a national flag fleet? ............................................................................. 88
4. Open registries & flagging out..................................................................................... 89
5. Achieving a level playing field ..................................................................................... 90
6. EU shipping policy before 1996 .................................................................................. 90
7. Dutch shipping policy reform (since 1996) .................................................................. 91
8. EU shipping policy after 1996 ..................................................................................... 92
9. EU Industrial Maritime Strategy (March 2026) ............................................................. 93
10. Belgian shipping policy ............................................................................................ 94
Shipping market cycles ..................................................................................................... 95
1. What are shipping cycles? ......................................................................................... 95
2. Types of shipping market cycles ................................................................................. 96
3. Historical overview of shipping cycles ........................................................................ 98
4. Seaborne commodity demand and the cycle .............................................................. 99
5. The shipping cycle in practice .................................................................................... 99
6. Real-world example — VLCC tanker earnings 1990–2015 .......................................... 100
7. Market cycle positions — tanker 'spikes' ................................................................... 100
8. Bulkcarrier market cycles ........................................................................................ 101
9. Secondhand ship sales and prices ........................................................................... 101
10. Orderbook and newbuilding prices ......................................................................... 102
11. Demolition ............................................................................................................ 102
Shipping Demand & Supply ............................................................................................. 103
A. DEMAND SIDE ........................................................................................................ 103
2
, B. SUPPLY SIDE ........................................................................................................... 105
C. THE FREIGHT RATE MECHANISM ............................................................................. 107
KEY TAKEAWAYS TO REMEMBER .................................................................................. 108
Shipping Cashflow.......................................................................................................... 109
THE COST MODEL — OVERVIEW ................................................................................. 109
A. REVENUE................................................................................................................ 110
B. OPERATING COSTS (15% of total) ............................................................................ 111
C. VOYAGE COSTS (56% of total) ................................................................................. 112
D. CARGO HANDLING COSTS...................................................................................... 114
E. CAPITAL COSTS (29% of total) .................................................................................. 114
F. CAPITAL COST — CASHFLOW RELATIONSHIP .......................................................... 115
G. FOUR METHODS OF CASHFLOW ANALYSIS ............................................................. 115
H. CURRENCY RISK — OFTEN OVERLOOKED BUT EXAM-RELEVANT ............................. 116
Forecasting .................................................................................................................... 117
1. Why Forecasting Is Difficult...................................................................................... 117
2. Three Principles of Forecasting ................................................................................ 117
3. Preparing a Forecast ................................................................................................ 117
4. Forecasting Methods ............................................................................................... 118
5. Types of Forecasting Approaches ............................................................................. 118
6. Market Forecast vs. Market Research ....................................................................... 119
7. Case Studies ........................................................................................................... 119
8. Maritime Trade Outlook 2020–2050 .......................................................................... 120
9. Energy Transition and Shipping................................................................................. 120
10. Freight Rate Forecasting ........................................................................................ 120
11. Machine Learning in Maritime Forecasting .............................................................. 121
12. Key Takeaways ...................................................................................................... 121
3
, Maritime and port economics
The economic framework of ports
What is a port?
“An area within which sea-going ships are loaded with and/or discharged of cargo, and which
include the usual places where sea-going ships wait for their turn or are ordered or obliged to
wait for their turn, no matter the distance from that area; usually, sea ports have an interface
with other forms of transport and in so doing provide connecting services” (Branch, 1986)
In Antwerp a lot of road and rail is connected to the port.
Diversity: main distinguishing factors
Factor Possible states
Activity Scope Complete (does all kind of activities) – limited
(for example only for containers or bulk, or oil
ports, they focus on one specific type of
goods
Lay-out Tidal (the water level is changing with the
tide, you can feel that for example all the way
in the port of Antwerp, high tide and low tide
12 hours, the tidal difference between high
tide and low tide in the port of Antwerp is
6meters, has an huge impact on your
operations for loading and unloading and
also that your ship is able to reach the port. A
full containership needs high tide to get to
the docks. Locks are connecting tidal zones
and non-tidal zones behind the locks. - non-
tidal (beneficial for the operations because it
will not be affected by the tide but at the
same time it costs money on the one hand for
the lock itself and on the other hand the ship
needs to wait to get in the lock, so a cost for
the user, because of time loss and its risky to
enter a lock;
basins (big waiting areas where the ships can
wait)- no basins
Location Coastal – river; (inland like Hamburg and
Antwerp) Rotterdam and le Havre have their
new facilities in the sea (so you see the
difference between the ports)
large - small population hinterland (for
Antwerp is directly linked to Belgium but also
Nordrhein Westfalen west Germany, even
Paris, Antwerp has a really good connectivity
to the hinterland (for le Havre is this a big
issue because there is no big market activity
close by.
4
Maritime and port economics ................................................................................................. 4
The economic framework of ports ....................................................................................... 4
Diversity: main distinguishing factors ............................................................................... 4
Diversity ......................................................................................................................... 5
Port Actors ....................................................................................................................... 10
Port competition ........................................................................................................... 11
Demand for ports ............................................................................................................. 14
Port choice ................................................................................................................... 14
Port forecasting............................................................................................................. 15
Port influencing factors ................................................................................................. 17
The Rhine-Scheldt Delta ports in the European port system ............................................... 18
Traffic Evolution ............................................................................................................ 18
Port hinterland dynamics .............................................................................................. 19
Port organisation, technology and costs ............................................................................ 21
Production and cost functions .......................................................................................... 26
Port congestion ................................................................................................................ 30
Port Productivity ............................................................................................................... 35
Port Policy ........................................................................................................................ 39
Port of Antwerp-Bruges ..................................................................................................... 44
Guest lecture De Martino Summary .................................................................................. 45
Maritime Economics ............................................................................................................ 46
Global economy and the shipping sector ........................................................................... 46
Incoterms ..................................................................................................................... 47
International Trade and Demand for Maritime Shipping ...................................................... 50
International Trade ........................................................................................................ 50
International Maritime Transport Sector ............................................................................ 56
Terminology .................................................................................................................. 56
Ship types ..................................................................................................................... 56
Overview of the maritime industry ..................................................................................... 60
Main segments of the maritime industry ........................................................................ 60
Kay markets players and institutional framework ............................................................ 60
Shipowners managing the business ............................................................................... 61
Maritime professions .................................................................................................... 63
Maritime documents ..................................................................................................... 65
1
, Four Shipping markets .................................................................................................. 68
New build market .......................................................................................................... 71
S&P market ................................................................................................................... 73
Demolition market ........................................................................................................ 74
Transport efficiency....................................................................................................... 75
An overview of ship types .................................................................................................. 76
Article “Introduction to Maritime Shipping” .................................................................... 81
Maritime and Port Economics: CLSI — an academic perspective........................................ 82
Operational .................................................................................................................. 83
Cooperation ................................................................................................................. 85
MSC ................................................................................................................................. 87
Shipping policy ................................................................................................................. 88
1. Why is shipping policy needed? ................................................................................. 88
2. National flag fleet vs. controlled fleet ......................................................................... 88
3. Why maintain a national flag fleet? ............................................................................. 88
4. Open registries & flagging out..................................................................................... 89
5. Achieving a level playing field ..................................................................................... 90
6. EU shipping policy before 1996 .................................................................................. 90
7. Dutch shipping policy reform (since 1996) .................................................................. 91
8. EU shipping policy after 1996 ..................................................................................... 92
9. EU Industrial Maritime Strategy (March 2026) ............................................................. 93
10. Belgian shipping policy ............................................................................................ 94
Shipping market cycles ..................................................................................................... 95
1. What are shipping cycles? ......................................................................................... 95
2. Types of shipping market cycles ................................................................................. 96
3. Historical overview of shipping cycles ........................................................................ 98
4. Seaborne commodity demand and the cycle .............................................................. 99
5. The shipping cycle in practice .................................................................................... 99
6. Real-world example — VLCC tanker earnings 1990–2015 .......................................... 100
7. Market cycle positions — tanker 'spikes' ................................................................... 100
8. Bulkcarrier market cycles ........................................................................................ 101
9. Secondhand ship sales and prices ........................................................................... 101
10. Orderbook and newbuilding prices ......................................................................... 102
11. Demolition ............................................................................................................ 102
Shipping Demand & Supply ............................................................................................. 103
A. DEMAND SIDE ........................................................................................................ 103
2
, B. SUPPLY SIDE ........................................................................................................... 105
C. THE FREIGHT RATE MECHANISM ............................................................................. 107
KEY TAKEAWAYS TO REMEMBER .................................................................................. 108
Shipping Cashflow.......................................................................................................... 109
THE COST MODEL — OVERVIEW ................................................................................. 109
A. REVENUE................................................................................................................ 110
B. OPERATING COSTS (15% of total) ............................................................................ 111
C. VOYAGE COSTS (56% of total) ................................................................................. 112
D. CARGO HANDLING COSTS...................................................................................... 114
E. CAPITAL COSTS (29% of total) .................................................................................. 114
F. CAPITAL COST — CASHFLOW RELATIONSHIP .......................................................... 115
G. FOUR METHODS OF CASHFLOW ANALYSIS ............................................................. 115
H. CURRENCY RISK — OFTEN OVERLOOKED BUT EXAM-RELEVANT ............................. 116
Forecasting .................................................................................................................... 117
1. Why Forecasting Is Difficult...................................................................................... 117
2. Three Principles of Forecasting ................................................................................ 117
3. Preparing a Forecast ................................................................................................ 117
4. Forecasting Methods ............................................................................................... 118
5. Types of Forecasting Approaches ............................................................................. 118
6. Market Forecast vs. Market Research ....................................................................... 119
7. Case Studies ........................................................................................................... 119
8. Maritime Trade Outlook 2020–2050 .......................................................................... 120
9. Energy Transition and Shipping................................................................................. 120
10. Freight Rate Forecasting ........................................................................................ 120
11. Machine Learning in Maritime Forecasting .............................................................. 121
12. Key Takeaways ...................................................................................................... 121
3
, Maritime and port economics
The economic framework of ports
What is a port?
“An area within which sea-going ships are loaded with and/or discharged of cargo, and which
include the usual places where sea-going ships wait for their turn or are ordered or obliged to
wait for their turn, no matter the distance from that area; usually, sea ports have an interface
with other forms of transport and in so doing provide connecting services” (Branch, 1986)
In Antwerp a lot of road and rail is connected to the port.
Diversity: main distinguishing factors
Factor Possible states
Activity Scope Complete (does all kind of activities) – limited
(for example only for containers or bulk, or oil
ports, they focus on one specific type of
goods
Lay-out Tidal (the water level is changing with the
tide, you can feel that for example all the way
in the port of Antwerp, high tide and low tide
12 hours, the tidal difference between high
tide and low tide in the port of Antwerp is
6meters, has an huge impact on your
operations for loading and unloading and
also that your ship is able to reach the port. A
full containership needs high tide to get to
the docks. Locks are connecting tidal zones
and non-tidal zones behind the locks. - non-
tidal (beneficial for the operations because it
will not be affected by the tide but at the
same time it costs money on the one hand for
the lock itself and on the other hand the ship
needs to wait to get in the lock, so a cost for
the user, because of time loss and its risky to
enter a lock;
basins (big waiting areas where the ships can
wait)- no basins
Location Coastal – river; (inland like Hamburg and
Antwerp) Rotterdam and le Havre have their
new facilities in the sea (so you see the
difference between the ports)
large - small population hinterland (for
Antwerp is directly linked to Belgium but also
Nordrhein Westfalen west Germany, even
Paris, Antwerp has a really good connectivity
to the hinterland (for le Havre is this a big
issue because there is no big market activity
close by.
4
