Industries worldwide are facing the urgent need to decarbonise in alignment with the goal of the Paris Agreement (PA), which aims to limit global warming. However, progress towards achieving this extremely important goal has been sluggish, and the wider maritime transport sector (ports included) is no exception. Despite practical barriers faced by ports, solutions have not yet been developed. Similarly, the definition or concept of decarbonisation, including opportunities arising for the port sector, remains underdeveloped and lacks support from academic research. Specifically, there are a lack of conceptual studies that yield clear and usable results and evidence. To address this gap and shed light on port decarbonisation as a contemporary issue (the study aim), this study has conducted a literature review consulting different academic and grey studies. The results of this study define the concept of port decarbonisation, highlight the barriers that hinder progress in this area, and establish solutions to guide ports in implementing decarbonisation measures and mitigating barriers. Building upon these findings, this study not only contributes to scholarly discussions surrounding port decarbonisation but also offers valuable implications for port managers, policy makers, practitioners, and other pertinent authorities. By properly understanding the concept of decarbonisation and its barriers and expanding knowledge in relation to it and its practical implementation, including the eye-opening opportunities, port stakeholders can actively contribute to the objective of the Paris Agreement and the broader pursuit of sustainability.

This paper aims to assess the direct economic impact on the maritime sector from its inclusion in the European Union-Emission Trading System (EU-ETS). The Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) data are analysed for the estimation of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions within the European Economic Area (EEA). The economic impact assessment model used is scenario-based, and includes different price incentives, geographical coverage and emission allowances allocation methods. According to our findings, in case the emission allowances are fully auctioned or partially free allocated on the basis of a uniform benchmark, the increased costs would be disproportional among the maritime segments. Such a scheme would penalise Roll-on/Roll-off (RoRo) and Roll-On/Roll-Off/Passenger (RoPax) segments due their high fuel consumption per transport work in relation to oil tankers and bulkers. The establishment of differentiated benchmarks per segment seems to be a prerequisite for the effective inclusion of shipping in the EU-ETS that will reward energy efficient vessels in each segment and avoid competition distortion within the maritime industry.

Safety is often described as freedom from unacceptable risk. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) since its establishment has consistently been working towards mitigation of risks at sea by implementing measures through specific legal Instruments. The IMO’s principle Instrument with this focus is the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974, as amended (SOLAS). By identifying and examining a wide range of risks that must be addressed in order to ensure the safe operations of ships at sea, the chapters of SOLAS provide the necessary mitigation measures. This paper goes on to discusses three specific risks among those being mitigated by SOLAS, which are a) structural integrity and stability related risks; b) fire risk and c) navigational risk. The reason for this choice is quite simple: analysis of past statistics from shipping incidents databases clearly indicates that these risks are recorded with the highest numbers; with statistics testifying that navigational risk is linked to the greatest number of accidents. A conclusion clearly standing out is that the various measures being put forward by SOLAS and the associated supporting Codes work in a complementary manner and together have provided a positive contribution towards the safety of personnel, environment and property.

Sustainability is a fundamental concept and thus always placed in the center of business management, which includes 3 different dimensions: environment, economy, and society. Port supply chain management is no exception to encompass these dimensions. Port sustainable supply chain management can be associated with implementing the United Nations’ (UN) sustainable development goals (SDGs). Little effort has been made to shed light on this association. Therefore, an attempt is made in this study to build a framework that comprises measures for the port sustainable supply chain management. The measures are examined by the utilization of the “dashboard of 5 Ps” (Peace, People, Planet, Partnership, Prosperity), thus to identify how the framework measures can contribute to the achievement of the SDGs. Results show that ports have the potential to influence all the SDGs, either directly or indirectly. Additionally, the framework can be viewed as a conceptual tool that is very appropriate for ports that aim to integrate economic and social aspects along with environmental concerns and push forward the implementation of the UN 2030 agenda internally and externally while collaborating with supply chains.

Taking advantage of the benefits associated with the fourth stage of the industrial revolution--quite often termed as the “era of digitalization” in the wider literature--has become a main priority for ports globally, as part of their further development. The implications of smart technologies on the sustainable development of the ports have not been adequately addressed by the existing literature and it is exactly this gap that this study aims to fulfil. This paper aims to provide an overview of the innovative technologies adopted by a small number of smart ports around the world and highlight their link to sustainable development by employing an exploratory review of various sources. The design features of the smart ports identified by the existing literature have formed the basis for the development of a conceptual framework used in this paper for the analysis of the case of the Port of Gothenburg--the largest Scandinavian port, both in terms of number of visits and volume of cargo handled. The specific port is currently expanding its digital transformation by launching a platform during the second half of 2021 that will link digitally and coordinate the operations of all relevant stakeholders--shipping companies, freight forwarders, rail operators--at the port area. From the analysis, it becomes clear that the implementation of a wide portfolio of digital initiatives by the port under discussion has already resulted in the optimization of its operations and is strongly interrelated to its sustainable development. Important issues to be addressed in the near future that were identified by this research effort include the necessary cultural adaptation and training activities to ensure the right exploitation of these tools by the whole pool of the workforce.