The Strategist

THE STRATEGIST

THE STRATEGIST

COMMENT: Spain’s Council of Ministers has approved the content of what is intended to become the new national stowage law and is readying to pass it into law via a Royal Decree.…

3rd June 2017

Spain’s second stab at reforms

3rd June 2017

THE STRATEGIST

THE STRATEGIST

COMMENT: Corruption in ports and at borders generally manifests itself in terms of collusive forms of corruption to evade tariffs and taxes and coercive bribery where port or customs officials extract bribes…

5th May 2017

Corruption health check essential

5th May 2017

THE STRATEGIST

THE STRATEGIST

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.

3rd February 2017

Second can be better than first

3rd February 2017

THE STRATEGIST

THE STRATEGIST

COMMENT: Now its South Korea’s turn for some political turbulence, writes Mike Mundy.

5th December 2016

South Korea’s turn

5th December 2016

THE STRATEGIST

THE STRATEGIST

COMMENT: Bangladesh is an interesting case study; it is a country where international trade is on the march but it is still a country without a deep-sea port, writes Mike Mundy.

30th October 2016

The case of Bangladesh

30th October 2016

THE STRATEGIST

THE STRATEGIST

COMMENT: The current chief executive of the port of Melbourne, Nick Easy, was appointed to his post in February 2014 moving into this role from his former position as chief executive of…

5th September 2016

Politics or practicalities?

5th September 2016

THE STRATEGIST

THE STRATEGIST

COMMENT: Ports and terminals are being forced into major infrastructure investments at the behest of carriers. The reason being that carriers are obsessed in achieving the maximum economies of scale possible, often…

27th May 2016

At the mercy of carriers

27th May 2016

THE STRATEGIST

THE STRATEGIST

COMMENT: The point was made in Port Strategy last month that the price paid by COSCO for the port of Piraeus, taking into account investment commitments as well, was a rich one…

28th February 2016

Piraeus saga: to be continued?

28th February 2016

THE STRATEGIST

THE STRATEGIST

It is no surprise to Port Strategy that there was only one bidder for the Port of Piraeus concession and that in the end, after a request to up its bid, the…

27th January 2016

Coscos Piraeus bid defies market realities

27th January 2016

THE STRATEGIST

THE STRATEGIST

It is easy to forget that for non-port people understanding a port business can seem to be somewhat of a jigsaw puzzle.

3rd November 2015

Don’t go it alone

3rd November 2015

THE STRATEGIST

THE STRATEGIST

COMMENT: The appearance of cracks in one of the sills in the Cocoli Locks at the Pacific end of the new Panama Canal may not be the only factor to slow down…

7th September 2015

Cracking down on Canal concerns

7th September 2015

THE STRATEGIST

THE STRATEGIST

Consider this scenario: we have a nation that has somewhat belatedly offered its main container handling facilities for concession.

27th July 2015

Don’t go it alone

27th July 2015

THE STRATEGIST

THE STRATEGIST

COMMENT: Just how much ports are under the microscope nowadays when they are located close to a city or populated areas is highlighted by the recent experience of Associated British Ports’ (ABP)…

29th May 2015

Under the microscope

29th May 2015

THE STRATEGIST

THE STRATEGIST

COMMENT: From last October, the UK Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency no longer requires UK vehicle owners to exhibit on their respective vehicles a ‘tax disc’ – a unique piece of paper which…

27th April 2015

Allaying ‘Big Brother’ fears

27th April 2015

THE STRATEGIST

THE STRATEGIST

COMMENT: Irony of ironies, in among the host of bidders whose names appear in conjunction with the privatisation of the Mombasa container terminal is Transnet, the government body responsible for the management…

3rd April 2015

A public-public partnership?

3rd April 2015

THE STRATEGIST

THE STRATEGIST

COMMENT: do you think it is a wise strategy to curtail talks with a group of influential investors by announcing it to the media, asks Mike Mundy.

16th March 2015

The future is the past

16th March 2015

THE STRATEGIST

THE STRATEGIST

It was only a couple of years back that Maersk Line phased in the last of its 22 4,500 teu WAFMAX vessels, purposely designed to work in West African ports and provide…

10th December 2014

Game-changing West Africa

10th December 2014

THE STRATEGIST

THE STRATEGIST

Concerns are being expressed by unions about the potential loss of dockworker jobs in Rotterdam resulting from the introduction of two new highly automated container terminals and over-capacity.

29th October 2014

Labour saving revolution

29th October 2014

THE STRATEGIST

THE STRATEGIST

COMMENT: In the wake of numerous complaints by port users to government, Nigeria has taken the interesting step of appointing the Nigeria Shippers’ Council as an arm’s length Economic Port Regulator, writes…

10th September 2014

Nigerias new regulator

10th September 2014

THE STRATEGIST

THE STRATEGIST

COMMENT: Spin – what can be called bending facts to suit your own purposes – is no longer confined to governments and large commercial organisations, writes MIke Mundy.

23rd July 2014

Get to the truth of it

23rd July 2014