Of the 1 340 important ports across the world, at least 87% are exposed to dangerously disruptive hydrometereological events, a study by the Environmental Change Institute (ECI) at Oxford University has found.
These climate hazards mainly include tornadoes, tropical storms such as hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons, as well as flooding, much of it directly located to sea-originating weather events.
Of all the ports exposed to extreme weather, the study has found that at least 40% are likely to have operations severely disrupted by unexpected natural calamities.
Ports like Houston, Shanghai, Rotterdam and Antwerp are particularly exposed to weather-related havoc according to the ECI findings, which highlighted the Gulf of Mexico, Asia and Western Europe as high-risk zones.
According to Jasper Verschuur, lead researcher at Oxford and sustainable development fellow at the World Bank, preparedness for worst-case scenarios and the ability to bounce back from sudden setbacks will be crucial for port resilience in the next few decades.
Ports that don’t introduce the necessary mitigating requirements for resilience agility into their design thinking could endure extended operational disruption during the recovery process from weather events, Verschuur indicated.
A similar sentiment has been raised in the past by Mike Walwyn, operations director at Nexlog and consultant at the South African Association of Freight Forwarders.
Speaking about the conditions that the Port of Cape Town often encounters, Walwyn on occasion has bemoaned the slow pace with which port managers restore operations after inclement conditions at sea.
He is on record as saying that it used to be much faster.
According to Verschuur, it is encouraging to see that many ports are trying to think ahead, making sure they can cushion as much impact as possible and return to full operational efficiency when bad weather hits.
It is estimated that as much as $67 billion in potential trade is at risk because of climate hazards.
