Ports at risk from black swans

Liz Booth takes a look at a new report on the risk of a black swan event severely disrupting port activity, leading to significant business interruption for the whole marine transport chain


Maritime Risk International, September 2016, carried news from risk management firm RMS, which had analysed the catastrophe risk of the world’s ports and found the riskiest two ports are in Japan (Nagoya — US$2.3 billion) and China (Guangzhou — $2 billion). Six of the top 10 riskiest ports are in the US, with the remaining two in Europe. Smaller ports in the US such as Plaquemines, LA and Pascagoula, MS, as well as Bremerhaven in Germany also feature in the ranking due to their cargo type and the natural hazards they face.