World Maritime Day: How ports can catalyse blue economy innovation

An astounding 80% of global trade in goods is carried out by sea. Ports are integral nodes within the world’s trade network, supporting traditional maritime industries such as cargo and ship building, along with marine industries such as fisheries, defence, tourism and natural resource management. These industries are part of the traditional ocean economy which, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, is predicted to double in size to $3 trillion by 2030 just by doing “business as usual”.

Ports play a critical part in supporting the sustainable expansion of this ocean economy through many roles including landlord, operator, regulator and environmental steward. By playing these roles within a public-private partnership model, ports can help to drive sustainable development of the ocean economy.

In recent years, the role of the ocean economy has been redefined by placing sustainable development at its core – epitomized by the term “the blue economy”. According to the World Bank, the blue economy is the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods and jobs, while preserving the health of ocean ecosystems.

Typically located close to both urban centres and dynamic coastal settings, ports are often at the forefront of environmental challenges, dealing firsthand with threats from climate change and ageing infrastructure. This gives them a clearer insight into these challenges, as well as the resources at hand to help solve these issues. While ocean solutions exist, further advancement in blue technology and innovation are crucial.

Ports can serve as environmental champions by using innovative technologies and collaborations with business partners and communities to protect and enhance coastal ecosystems in a way that is mutually beneficial to the economy, environment and communities. This will help to support new and emerging activities such as developing resilient coastal infrastructure, aquaculture and marine technology.

In 2016, the Port of San Diego established its Blue Economy Incubator to assist in the creation, early development and scaling of new blue economy business ventures along San Diego Bay. The Blue Economy Incubator acts as a launchpad by removing barriers to entrepreneurs and providing funding, key assets and support services focused on pilot project facilitation. It has so far launched 10 pilot projects, ranging from environmental remediation, sustainable aquaculture and building with nature.

The programme represents a new business model and associated procurement pathway that supports innovation, entrepreneurship and start-ups. The Port can partner with an early-stage company and provide it with key assets and support services like subject matter expertise, permitting assistance, market access, media relations, marketing and funding.

Such collaborations support the design and deployment of mutually beneficial pilot projects, but also inform future opportunities for the blue economy.

Blue economy incubators must select projects that help meet the real-world challenges of ports. ECOncrete, for example, has developed an innovative concrete technology for nature-inclusive marine infrastructure. When used to construct marine structures, it provides a habitat for a diversity of marine life, enabling the protection of coastlines while also supporting biological diversity.

The company came from Israel to San Diego in 2020 to test its eco-engineered coastal armour unit, which is designed to interlock and create tide pool habitats. The units were installed in place of existing rip-rap, or rocks without any habitat value. This was the first installation of this tidepool technology in the world.

Marine species began to colonize these tidepools in just two months. The final report for this project details the dozens of species that have since made this prime real estate their home, providing both ecosystem and coastal infrastructure benefits – a win-win for the environment and for the port.

The Port of San Diego’s 62-year history in San Diego Bay, and its mutually beneficial relationship along the waterfront, means it is strategically positioned to act as a catalyst for the blue economy by supporting entrepreneurship, fostering sustainable aquaculture and helping drive port-related blue tech innovation. This helps companies build a strong case study for commercialization, taking promising blue economy start-ups one step closer to being able to succeed and scale.

While this particular approach is a one of a kind in the world, it is encouraging to see similar initiatives and public-private partnerships taking root elsewhere. For instance, also in San Diego, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and UC San Diego’s Rady School of Management have combined to create StartBlue, an accelerator for advanced science and engineering start-ups tackling ocean-focused challenges.

Further up the coast, the Port of Los Angeles hosts AltaSea, a public-private non-profit institute for accelerating scientific collaboration and the emerging blue economy by incubating ocean-related businesses and education programmes. And in the Pacific Northwest, Washington Maritime Blue at the Port of Seattle is forging strategic alliances dedicated to accelerating innovation in the blue economy.

Imagine a future where all ports are not only logistics centres but also incubators for innovation and entrepreneurship. Using their existing assets, more ports can become catalysts for the blue economy and help test, foster and ultimately scale new technologies and solutions that address some of our most pressing global challenges — from climate change to marine conservation.

This World Maritime Day, we should not only celebrate ports, but also discuss how other actors in the blue economy can participate in public-private partnership models to accelerate progress towards a greener maritime sector.