Shipping and ports are evolving in order to meet the new needs of customers, shippers, and logistic chains in addition to the sustainability requirements of populations and local communities, which imply the involvement of new governance policies that integrate different views and different forces. Nowadays, more competitive and better-performing ports imply new governance models are appropriate to each situation and involve different variables from cities to the environment – from logistics chains to new technologies. The governance of ports can no longer be carried out only from the inside, but must be open to the surroundings, the hinterland, shipowners, customers, other modes of transport as well as to active collaboration with other ports, cities, port and local communities, and regions covering economic, environmental, political, technological, and blue economy aspects, among others. Port governance should consider best practices worldwide, and the choice of which level of decision and control is most appropriate for each problem, treating port issues such as commercial, negotiation, investment, strategy, or autonomy as important governance variables. Fundamental issues for port governance research include greater liberalization or intervention by the central state or administrative regions, greater coordination of national or regional ports, the merging of ports or their autonomy and liberalization, the focus on competition or cooperation on different issues between ports and logistics chains, integration with logistical platforms and modes of transport, the commitment to reduce costs or improve quality, central cost control, and the role of port associations. After all, what are the differences in port governance models between countries and continents? What are the best models in each case and what is their natural evolution? What variables influence port governance? The challenges are complex, and there are very important themes that should be developed by port researchers, such as port and city relations, port waste reception, sustainable port policy, climate change and ports, the relationship between port and terminal governance, the role of the port in the logistic chain governance, and the port governance models different countries. Other important issues to be analyzed include the role of ports in the expansion of the port community system and its governance, and the improvement of terminal performance or port innovation governance.
Keywords: port-city relations; port waste reception; sustainable port policy; port governance; terminal governance; port logistic chain governance; port community system; port and terminal performance; climate change and ports; proximity port governance; Covid-19 port governance; port investment governance; port and blue economy; port governance models; port autonomy; port co-opetition; port performance management models.