Green port research integrates numerous theoretical and empirical studies of topics of important concern over the years, involving comprehensive scientific analyses. Learning about the global evolution of research on green ports can improve the understanding and evaluation of green ports by scholars and practitioners. In this paper, a total of 1051 papers from the Web of Science core collection for the period during 1992–2021 are collected as sample data. Based on the database, an analysis is conducted with CiteSpace software to map the knowledge regarding the field of green ports and explore the current research trends; the cooperation networks among countries (regions), institutions, and authors; and the evolution and mutation of keywords. The results indicate that the overall number of green port papers has increased over time. The countries with the highest numbers of papers published and the greatest influence are China and the United States, respectively. Additionally, the cooperative networks among authors, institutions, and countries are not mature enough and need to be strengthened further. Existing studies focus on the environmental impacts, evaluation, and construction of green ports. Recent trends indicate that researchers have become increasingly focused on reducing emissions, optimizing operations, evaluating policies, and identifying post-pandemic health issues associated with green ports. This study contributes to knowledge by assessing the state of the most significant studies published in the field of green port research, and the results contribute to a better understanding of green port research, which can further provide directions for the sustainable development of green ports.

Integrated ocean management (IOM) aligns with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and serves as a crucial strategy for promoting the enduring health of marine ecosystems and the sustainable utilization of marine resources. An analysis of the evolution of China’s integrated ocean management policy (IOMP) is crucial for providing valuable guidance in achieving sustainable growth in marine management and the marine economy for both China and other coastal nations worldwide. This paper studies the evolution characteristics, challenges, and prospects of IOMP in China since 1978 using content analysis. The findings indicate that the evolution of IOMP can be categorized into four stages: the germination period (1978–1998), the construction period (1999–2009), the systematization period (2010–2017), and the strategization period (2018–present), based on the state of international marine management. The IOMP has transitioned over time from its initial emphasis on resource development during the germination period to a strategization period that prioritizes the full development of all parts of the system. However, the ultimate goal has consistently been to achieve harmonious coexistence between people and the sea. China’s IOMP has experienced a progressive development; nevertheless, it continues to encounter obstacles such as the pressing requirement to revise sea-related policies and the absence of policy alignment. The objective of this paper is to explore the evolution, challenges, and prospects of China’s IOMP to better improve the land–sea coordination policy, strengthen international judicial cooperation. and provide effective policy reference for other maritime countries.

Under the framework of sustainable development of the marine economy, much consideration has been given to various coastal states for the large marine ecosystem (LME) concept. The Yellow Sea LME (YSLME) is one of the most heavily exploited LMEs in the world, and its sustainable development has been heavily threatened by human activities, with negative impacts on the economies of bordering countries, such as China. With the aim of mitigating environmental threats by developing a low-carbon economy based on low pollution, low energy consumption and low emission, an index system for evaluating marine environmental carrying capacity (MECC) was established in this study based on the entropy method, and gray relation analysis (GRA) was carried out to assess the MECC of three main coastal cities (Qingdao, Yantai and Weihai) along the YSLME in China. The results verified the importance of the environmental carrying capacities (ECCs) of marine resources, marine economy and marine environmental governance for the sustainable development of the YSLME, and revealed paths for improving the MECC of the studied cities. Based on the results, suggestions for ecosystem-based management of a low-carbon economy were provided to help government departments to reasonably develop and utilize marine resources, protect the marine environment and implement sustainable development strategies.

The unified right confirmation and registration of natural resources in sea areas (URCRNRSA) has been considered a key approach to the effective management and sustainable utilization of marine resources. In China, the system of URCRNRSA is insufficient due to the lack of central auditing supervision and public participation. In this study, the mechanism of stakeholder interaction is clarified based on the game relationship among the tripartite of the central government, local governments, and the public. The evolutionary process of tripartite decision-making is simulated with an evolutionary game model. On this basis, the strategic choices of the tripartite were analyzed in the four evolutionary scenarios of high-quality URCRNRSA. It was demonstrated that the tripartite could jointly affect the URCRNRSA through cooperation-constraint, principal-agent, and incentive-compatibility relationships. The most effective, realistic, and feasible URCRNRSA strategy was the trinity system with local government high-quality rights confirming, the central government auditing as a hard constraint and the public participating as a soft constraint. The main influencing factors for the tripartite to make different strategy selections were clarified through parameter sensitivity analysis, including cost, benefit, reward, and punishment. Accordingly, the policy recommendations were put forward to ensure the stable and efficient implementation of the URCRNRSA in China.

The development of the ocean economy plays a vital role in national strategic planning, yet it faces persistent financing challenges due to high risks, long investment cycles, and significant information asymmetries. This study constructs a tripartite evolutionary game model involving government, banks, and marine enterprises to explore effective financial support strategies for the ocean economy. Through replicator dynamic equations, simulation analysis, and sensitivity testing, the study examines how different policy incentives, industry characteristics, and stakeholder behaviors shape stable cooperation outcomes. The findings reveal that the optimal strategy is characterized by government intervention, enterprise investment, and bank exclusive marine financial products establishment, which depends on the alignment of risk compensation, financial incentives, and expected returns. A comparative analysis across three marine sectors—shipping, desalination, and marine equipment—demonstrates that financial support pathways must be tailored to industry-specific risk-return profiles. Policy recommendations include phased subsidies, differentiated incentive mechanisms, and adaptive financial product designs are given. This study provides theoretical support and implementation pathways for marine finance to deliver targeted support for the development of the marine economy.

Responsible innovation is attracting theoretical and practical research attention worldwide due to global climatic changes, severe resource shortages and intensifying environmental deterioration. However, there are still no studies concerning the performance evaluation of responsible innovation in the marine industry. Based on the practices of blue economic zones in China, a responsible innovation performance evaluation system for the marine industry was developed. Based on the data from 2013 to 2018, the responsible innovation performance of the blue economic zone of the marine industry in Shandong Province was evaluated by principal component analysis. The results demonstrated that (1) There was a rank of regions in terms of the comprehensive responsible innovation performance from high to low: Qingdao > Yantai > Weifang > Weihai > Dongying > Binzhou > Rizhao. (2) Considering annual variations, the comprehensive performance of responsible innovation of different regions exhibited slight fluctuations; however, Weihai had demonstrated significant improvement since 2016. (3) The performance trends across various regions indicated that regions exhibiting high performance consistently expanded their advantage over the six-year period. There was a “Matthew effect” in regional development, particularly evident in the disparities between Qingdao and other regions. (4) In regions that rank at the lower end, such as Rizhao, Binzhou, and Dongying, the development of responsible innovation progressed slowly. Finally, some management suggestions to improve innovation performance in the blue economic zone of the marine industry were proposed.