The Strategist – Page 4

  • News

    No to organised crime

    2017-08-02T15:09:00Z

    COMMENT: Make no mistake, organised crime has a strong interest in gaining influence in port gateways and ports have to be vigilant in order to ensure that this does not happen, writes Mike Mundy.

  • Waiting game: Spain's port are suffering from the reform delays. Credit: APM Terminals
    News

    Spain’s second stab at reforms

    2017-06-03T21:22:00Z

    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. It has not, however, arrived at this juncture without controversy, writes Mike Mundy.

  • News

    Corruption health check essential

    2017-05-05T09:09:00Z

    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 from companies or individuals for performing routine processes, writes Mike Mundy.

  • News

    Collaboration not confrontation?

    2017-03-06T09:45:00Z

    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 ...

  • News

    Second can be better than first

    2017-02-03T09:17:00Z

    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.

  • Protests: South Korea is not as predictable as it used to be. Credit: Afnos
    News

    South Korea’s turn

    2016-12-05T10:57:00Z

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

  • Bangladesh must overcome geopolitical factors, among more, to progress with major port development. Credit: Fredrik Rubensson.
    News

    The case of Bangladesh

    2016-10-30T20:25:00Z

    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.

  • News

    Will common sense prevail?

    2016-10-03T09:42:00Z

    COMMENT: The port of Melbourne sale to the private sector has realised a whacking A$9.7bn (US$7.2bn), much more than anticipated, writes Mike Mundy.

  • News

    Politics or practicalities?

    2016-09-05T09:43:00Z

    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 the Metropolitan Fire and Emergency Service Board (MF&ESB) where, his CV states, “he was responsible for leading an ...

  • News

    Winners and losers scenario looms

    2016-08-03T09:55:00Z

    Make no mistake the desperate state of the container shipping industry in terms of its ability to consistently make a profit is forcing fundamental changes, writes Mike Mundy.

  • News

    At the mercy of carriers

    2016-05-27T10:43:00Z

    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 without fully considering the consequences on themselves or the industry that services them, writes Ben Hackett.

  • News

    Consolidation the order of the day

    2016-05-27T10:43:00Z

    COMMENT: They used to say when ‘America sneezes the world catches a cold’ but maybe nowadays this is a maxim that applies to China not the US, writes Mike Mundy.

  • Stay put: not every port needs to aspire to hub status. Credit: Equipe Integrada
    News

    Big is not always beautiful

    2016-04-15T10:34:00Z

    COMMENT: It is the understandable desire of many ports to transition from feeder port to main port status, writes Mike Mundy.

  • What next: Piraeus's concessioning process raises questions. Credit: John Cook
    News

    Piraeus saga: to be continued?

    2016-02-28T20:58:00Z

    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 – one that perhaps only a sovereign state-owned company would make, writes Mike Mundy.

  • Higher: did COSCO pay over the odds for Piraeus?
    News

    Cosco's Piraeus bid defies market realities

    2016-01-27T11:17:00Z

    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 sole bidder, COSCO, was awarded the whole port concession. However, the price that COSCO was prepared to pay ...

  • Assistance: outside help can go a long way for non-port specialists
    News

    Don’t go it alone

    2015-11-03T10:09:00Z

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

  • News

    What price Piraeus port sale?

    2015-10-10T20:46:00Z

    COMMENT: Husnu Ozyegin, president of Fiba Holding, has done it again. Fiba is the owner of a 65% stake in Turkish container terminal Kumport and Ozyegin and has confirmed the sale of the Fiba group’s shareholding for a reported $940m, writes Mike Mundy.

  • New age: the transit system for the expanded Canal will differ greatly from the system currently in place. Credit: Gonzalo Alonso
    News

    Cracking down on Canal concerns

    2015-09-07T13:25:00Z

    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 the system’s full exploitation, writes Mike Mundy.

  • News

    Don’t go it alone

    2015-07-27T19:03:00Z

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

  • Positive: ABP Southampton port director Nick Ridehalgh is looking for strategic long term value. Credit: ABP
    News

    Under the microscope

    2015-05-29T16:40:00Z

    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) port of Southampton, writes Mike Mundy.