Privatisation in European ports : final report of the NEW EPOC project "structural change in port economies"

Seaports nowadays are acting under a common set of constraints. They are players in a globalised and competitive industry, the logistics industry. With intense territorial roots, they are exposed to strong competitive pressures from the global shipping companies and their alliances on the one hand and from competing seaports and increasingly from multinational harbour companies, on the other. Operating in a globalised economy and a European political common context NEW EPOC seaports in their strategies are shaped by specific local conditions. Ports differ one from the other by traditions, institutional and administrative structures, relations with the hinterland, competitive position etc.and so do their strategic choices. Privatisation is a common tendency in all NEW EPOC ports though patterns are varying. It has opened new strategic spaces but created new problems as well - like employment and environmental problems. A major challenge brought up by privatisation is the growing need for cooperation and coordination between different actors and diverging interests.