Insight and Opinion – Page 23
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A question of branding
COMMENT: Walking around a large cruise shipping expo in Florida - where I escaped yet another New York snowstorm - I found representatives of an industrial port in Brazil, São Sebastião, emphasising its blue water, lush surroundings and its proximity to São Paulo as its key notes to attracting cruise ...
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Tax and tribulations
COMMENT: There is a lot of speculation about President Trump''s Border Adjustment Tax (BAT), but little consensus on what it means, writes Ben Hackett.
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NewsThe value of connectivity
COMMENT: Ports create value for port users and thus also for society at large because they enable connections between consumers in the hinterland and producers overseas, and vice versa, writes Peter de Langen.
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Fill your dance card
COMMENT: The race is on to find a dance partner on the US East Coast to deal with the quick-stepping shipping lines, heavy-footed container ships and twirling alliances, writes Carly Fields.
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Shipping and the physical internet
COMMENT: The term ‘physical internet’ has emerged in recent years as a metaphor for the future of freight transport. While the metaphor possibly obscures more than it enlightens, it nevertheless makes sense to explore the implications for ocean shipping, writes Peter de Langen.
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Collaboration not confrontation?
COMMENT: Around the world port labour reforms are in train. There are not many locations where such reforms are undertaken on a proactive basis; it usually involves legislative change and grinding out a solution between employers and unions often with some sort of mediation in-between. As is now the case ...
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NewsUltimate threat to trade
COMMENT: We live in a new global reality where diplomacy is practiced via Twitter if we are to believe President Trump and the Lithuanian Prime Minister. This is, in my view, a very sad state of affairs with Twitter driving populism globally. Today, there is truth and alternative truth; in ...
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NewsTrade thinking of Millennials
COMMENT: Maritime business always presents a conflict between old and new; as New York basked in warm weather, I heard about generational change at a Connecticut Maritime Association (CMA) lunch; but later the same day, celebrated old tugboats at a big dinner hosted by the Working Harbor Committee, writes Barry ...
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NewsWriting on the wall
COMMENT: The Spanish Government has passed a draft law which aims to achieve compliance with European Union regulations governing the hiring of port labour.
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NewsNew year heralds change
COMMENT: The world order of things has changed, populism has thrown politics and economics into a new mixing bowl, not necessarily for the good, writes Ben Hackett.
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Second can be better than first
COMMENT: The poor state of health of the container shipping sector has prompted a lot of speculation about the implications for the container terminal operating sector, writes Mike Mundy.
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NewsDriverless possibilities
COMMENT: It is no surprise that the PSA Singapore has signalled its intention to introduce ‘truck platooning’ for container transfer between its container terminals.
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The benefits of togetherness
COMMENT: In fully private markets, the ‘invisible hand’ ensures the survival of the fittest, writes Peter de Langen.
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False bravado
COMMENT: There seems to be a groundswell of opinion that 2017 will be the year that ports start getting bolshie with shipping lines. The year that they start saying ‘no’ to the unrealistic demands being made of them. The year that they find their voice in discussions with alliances. Prophetic ...
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NewsWinds of change blow in
COMMENT: We''ve heard it before, but that didn''t stop the Governor of New York State, Andrew Cuomo - perhaps a future Democratic candidate for the White House (yes, I know, it''s four years away) - making a big push for offshore wind farms, writes Barry Parker.
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Another miserable year
COMMENT: The port and shipping industry really do not have much to look forward to these days. Despite all the recent scrapping of ships of all types, there is still a surplus of tonnage that slack demand cannot fill, writes Ben Hackett.
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Dealing in intermodal truths
COMMENT: The Inland Terminal conference in Basel in November brought together an interesting mix of stakeholders in intermodal logistics. I shared with delegates some of the findings of research on intermodal connections, based on a database developed by Intermodal Links, writes Peter de Langen.
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NewsPerils of Mother Nature
COMMENT: Never underestimate the power of Mother Nature. This is a reality that many seafarers fully appreciate, but not one that that is always grasped by those of us with our feet on terra firma. That is until an event occurs like the one in Brisbane on November 13 and ...
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NewsTaking sustainability seriously
COMMENT: In early November, a high level group of advisors to the United Nations Secretary General - with several maritime business people on the team - issued a report on ''Mobilising sustainable transport for development'', writes Barry Parker.
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NewsSouth Korea’s turn
COMMENT: Now its South Korea’s turn for some political turbulence, writes Mike Mundy.
