Economic and Environmental Regulation in the Port Sector

The characteristics of ports makes them liable to enjoy market power. This may lead to anti-competitive practices which, given the sheer scale of port activity and the maritime industry more generally, may have serious adverse effects on end-users and the economy as a whole. Where competition cannot be introduced through competition law, economic regulation will be required. Moreover, growing environmental concerns about port and maritime activity have led to the introduction of environmental regulatory measures. After describing the economic characteristics of ports and their different governance structures, we discuss these two types of port regulation: economic regulation, which aims at protecting competition, and environmental regulation, which has the objective of providing conditions for sustainability of the sector.