ABSTRACT
Nowadays there is a trend to establish new business linkages and alliances within the shipping industry together with customers, suppliers, competitors, consultants and other companies. Notably these include terminal operators in major ports worldwide. A number of studies have attempted to explain this phenomenon occurring in the liner shipping industry using a variety of conceptual and theoretical frameworks. We focus on liner shipping strategic alliances and their influence on container terminal operators. Regarding alliances we briefly discuss the motivations of short-run cooperation among several liner carriers, analyse the pros and cons of being members of liner shipping strategic alliances, and advise on ways to maintain long-term alliance stability by increasing benefits and decreasing risks and drawbacks. Moreover, how do these alliances influence container terminal operators, if there is an influence at all, and what are the possible scenarios for mutual advantages? Our goal is to survey possible issues regarding shipping alliances and their influences on terminal operators.
