Current practices in European ports on the awarding of seaport terminals to private operators: towards an industry good practice guide

The awarding of port services to private operators has become one of the most important tools for port authorities to retain some control on the organization and structure of the supply side of the terminal market. This paper discusses the awarding of terminals in European ports. The first part provides information on current practices of port authorities around Europe on tendering and contractual arrangements linked to the awarding of terminals. This includes the terminal awarding processes, the duration of the terminal award contract and the contract stipulations. The discussion is based on the results of an extensive survey among European ports conducted in spring 2008 and the European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) Fact Finding Report published in 2011. In a second part, the awarding of port terminals is placed in the European Union (EU) legal and policy context. The paper concludes with an extensive discussion on the desirability, feasibility and possible content of a good practice guide for European ports on the awarding of terminals. Such a guide is currently being developed by ESPO and intends to serve as a substantial contribution of port authorities to the soft law approach in EU port policy development.