The Strategist

PREPARE THE PUBLIC RELATIONS ENGINE
2021-09-01T18:30:00+01:00
COMMENT: The shelves are beginning to look a bit thin in my local supermarket – at times products are spaced out to make the shelves look busier, writes Mike Mundy.
LIVESTOCK REFORMS MOOTED
2021-07-03T21:45:00+01:00
COMMENT: Anyone who has had the dubious pleasure of standing downwind of a livestock carrier in port will surely empathise with the growing calls for greater scrutiny and regulation of this trade, writes Mike Mundy.
COLLABORATION NOT CONFRONTATION
2021-06-22T17:33:00+01:00
COMMENT: Do you get the impression that labour unions as currently formatted in the ports sector are more backward than forward thinking? writes Mike Mundy.
DON’T FORGET THE LITTLE GUYS
2021-05-14T23:51:00+01:00
With a lot of port sector engagement with the ‘fourth industrial revolution’ (digitalisation) and advanced strategies to achieve zero emissions being deployed, it is quite easy to forget that there are those ports who have not yet got their heads round the basics on either front, writes Mike Mundy.
BEHOLD AN ERA OF INNOVATION IS UNDERWAY
2021-04-16T15:20:00+01:00
COMMENT: The container was probably the last mega innovation in the world of ports and shipping, writes Mike Mundy.
AUSTRALIA – CHINA COAL SLIP INEVITABLE
2021-03-18T16:55:00+00:00
COMMENT: Tensions between China and Australia continue and appear to be progressively negatively impacting trading arrangements, writes Mike Mundy.

NO TO EASY GATES TO GO THROUGH
2021-03-01T10:07:00+00:00
COMMENT: It is interesting to note that the latest UNCTAD Review of Maritime Transport highlights what it sees as the plight of small island states (SIDS), buffeted under the impact of the pandemic and subject to regular shocks as a result of climate change. writes Mike Mundy.
“WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?”
2020-12-19T19:34:00+00:00
COMMENT: The spectre of Brexit has somewhat dropped off the radar with the massive focus on COVID-19. It does not mean, however, that Brexit has gone away, writes Mike Mundy.
MELBOURNE PORT RENTS: LESSONS TO LEARN
2020-11-12T14:16:00+00:00
COMMENT: The topic of port rents is an interesting one – a subject that does not always get a public airing due to the confidential nature of concession and other lease/rental agreements, writes Mike Mundy.
KEEPING IT SIMPLE IN A COMPLICATED WORLD
2020-10-14T12:08:00+01:00
COMMENT: The bedrock of any port’s efficient operations is a strong working relationship between a port authority and its private sector tenants, particularly terminal operators, writes Mike Mundy.
NOUAKCHOTT PRIVATE DEAL PAIN
2020-09-18T11:29:00+01:00
COMMENT: The saga at the port of Nouakchott, Mauritania, continues, underlining the point made in the last of issue of PS that negotiated port deals, as opposed to the letting of terminals via public tender, are inherently risky and do little for the public good, writes Mike Mundy.
BANANA: OUT OF BALANCE?
2020-07-26T18:44:00+01:00
COMMENT: Dubai Port World’s (DPW) Banana project, aimed at establishing a deep-water container terminal near the mouth of the Congo River, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), continues to prove to be a slippery road, writes Mike Mundy.
ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING IMPETUS
2020-06-19T22:48:00+01:00
COMMENT: Even before the coronavirus pandemic reared its head global supply chains were heading down an increasingly digital route but COVID-19 has provided added impetus, writes Mike Mundy.
THAT ‘C’ WORD AGAIN AND WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT IT?
2020-04-28T01:47:00+01:00
COMMENT: I hate to mention the C word – coronavirus – (again) but it does prompt thinking about what happens post the virus?, writes Mike Mundy.
Coronavirus: making it go away!
2020-03-20T16:56:00+00:00
COMMENT: If ever there is a strategy needed, it is a well thought out one to minimise the impact of the coronavirus, writes Mike Mundy.

CONCESSIONS: WATCH OUT FOR THE TWO BIG LANDMINES
2020-02-17T15:21:00+00:00
COMMENT: If there are two things that can go wrong with a concession process – a new concession or a renewal – they are the lack of proper structure and what can be described as the ‘human factor,'' effectively a major disagreement between parties. Both can be avoided, writes ...
MED’ TRANSHIPMENT MERRY GO ROUND…
2019-12-10T16:51:00+00:00
Another round of musical chairs appears to be underway in the Mediterranean transhipment business, writes Mike Mundy.
NO NEED FOR THE INTRODUCTION OF “WeWork” CULTURE
2019-11-15T16:10:00+00:00
COMMENT: It is interesting to see the European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) voicing a pitch for a larger slice of Trans-European (Ten-T) funding and particularly on the basis of assisting ports that have projects with an ROI which is “low and slow", writes Mike Mundy.
Time for a change
2019-10-23T13:56:00+01:00
COMMENT: Isn’t it about time that political appointments at the top of port management bodies were stopped? asks Mike Mundy
Check and double check, the best project evaluation criteria
2019-09-20T14:35:00+01:00
What drives a port authority or other government agency to develop the infrastructure for a new terminal and offer a new concession when there is little or no prospect of the facility offering a satisfactory rate of return to potential operators, asks Mike Mundy.
Take the highway to profitability
2019-08-28T14:55:00+01:00
COMMENT: There is a new container sector study about to hit the streets, Container Terminals: Paths to Profitability, writes Mike Mundy.
Zagreb built on misconceptions?
2019-03-03T19:38:00+00:00
COMMENT: The new Zagreb Container Terminal, under development in Rijeka in Croatia, is currently experiencing a dispute over the award of construction works relating to allied rail facilities, including the new intermodal yard, writes Mike Mundy.
Eritrea must look at its options
2019-01-31T09:43:00+00:00
COMMENT: With relations between Eritrea and Ethiopia now back in positive mode - after a 20-year dispute - the Eritrean ports of Assab, in the south of the country, and Massawa in the north are the focus of strong interest from international port operators, writes Mike Mundy.
South Africa must beat corruption and confusion
2018-12-10T10:20:00+00:00
COMMENT: Transnet, the operator of South Africa’s port terminals and provider of rail freight services, has been beset by corruption and malpractice scandals over the last three years, writes Mike Mundy

Waking up to mega ship realities
2018-11-01T11:58:00+00:00
COMMENT: A new Discussion Paper from the International Transport Forum (ITF), the intergovernmental think-tank for transport policy, on the Argentinian port of Buenos Aires has raised a number of key issues faced by various ports around the world - particularly maritime and landside access issues - when it comes to ...
Rationale of Newcastle’s suitors
2018-10-01T15:01:00+01:00
COMMENT: The Port of Newcastle, New South Wales, has reported explicit interest on the part of international terminal operators to develop a container terminal at the port, writes Mike Mundy.
Thumbs up for Valencia index
2018-08-30T10:13:00+01:00
COMMENT: The Valencia Containerised Freight Index (VCFI) – a new initiative developed by the Valencia Port Authority and the research/study body Valenciaport Foundation – is, according to Aurelio Martinez, president of the Port Authority of Valencia, intended to fill an information gap regarding maritime freight rates for key maritime routes ...
Port pirates must be eliminated
2018-08-06T21:08:00+01:00
COMMENT: Piracy at sea targeting cargo carrying vessels is an unfortunate reality most of us are familiar with, but piracy at berth or anchor in port is a new development, writes Mike Mundy.
Think you have an environmental problem?
2018-06-21T09:31:00+01:00
COMMENT: Think you have got an environmental problem, asks Mike Mundy? Think again: your problem is probably miniscule when compared with the one recently identified in Calabar Port, located in the southeast corner of Nigeria in Cross River State.
Politicians and ‘favours’ unhappy bedfellows
2018-04-30T09:23:00+01:00
COMMENT: The end of March saw ‘operation Skala’ launched in Brazil, a federal investigation into alleged bribes paid by port sector companies to government personnel in return for ‘favours’ such as concession contract extension, writes Mike Mundy.
Fair and proper process the only way
2018-03-29T12:12:00+01:00
COMMENT: Uhuru Kenyatta, President of Kenya, and James Macharia, transport cabinet secretary, have been piling the pressure on Catherine Mturi-Wairi, managing director of the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), to achieve greater freight movement on the new Chinese-built standard gauge railway (SGR) connecting Mombasa with Nairobi, writes Mike Mundy.
Ultra-large boom
2018-03-05T14:12:00+00:00
COMMENT: The proliferation of ultra-large container ships has been the bane of many a port operator’s working life of late, writes Mike Mundy.
Moving with the times
2017-12-16T10:05:00+00:00
COMMENT: Slowly but surely, port agencies in Africa are becoming more sophisticated about how they offer port properties – container terminals, multipurpose terminals and so on – for a public-private partnership (PPP), writes Mike Mundy.
A case of fake reforms?
2017-10-12T16:51:00+01:00
COMMENT: To the outside world it looks like Spain has complied with its obligation to reform its port system. But has it, or more to the point will it when the formal deliberations of employers and unions are complete, asks Mike Mundy.
Transhipment dice roll again
2017-10-09T15:05:00+01:00
COMMENT: One of the consequences of the formation of the mega-alliances that has yet to work its way fully through is the relocation of transhipment volumes, writes Mike Mundy.
Trying times for transhipment
2017-08-22T10:37:00+01:00
COMMENT: Who would set up a new container transhipment terminal nowadays, asks Mike Mundy.

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