ABSTRACT
Because they are points of interchange in shipping networks, ports have been a major focus of academic research in marine transportation. A rich literature has evolved drawing on the expertise of economists, engineers, geographers, political scientists, sociologists, historians and architects. Much port research treats the port as a unity, as for example studies of administrative reforms, port impacts, interport competition, and port functions. The port-centric character of research may be explained by the fact that ports occupy specific sites, they possess a precise legaljurisdictional status, and they perform particular functions dealing with the transfers between vessels and the shore.
