The effect of LNG bunkering on port competitiveness using multilevel data analysis
研究了港口提供液化天然气加注设施能否提升竞争力，利用波罗的海区域2019年数据发现短期无显著影响，但长期可能有益，需政策干预。
Environmental practices can enable most businesses, including ports, to gain a competitive advantage. Given the chicken-and-egg dilemma for the adoption of alternative fuels in the shipping industry, this article assesses whether and to what extent ports have incentives to provide liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering infrastructure. More specifically, we test whether such facilities positively affect the competitiveness of the ports, which would be an additional incentive to drive the transition to alternative fuels. Using multilevel regressions and propensity score matching on LNG-fueled vessel movements in the Baltic Sea Region in 2019, we found no significant effect of LNG bunkering infrastructure on port competitiveness, measured by port choice probabilities expressed by vessels. Although our findings indicate that ports do not gain a competitive advantage in the short-term, we do not rule out potential gains in the long-term. Policy intervention is desirable in the short-term to maintain incentives for port investments.