Faraway yet still nearby (English summary)
The Dutch shipping sector is highly internationally orientated, yet simultaneously important for other Dutch maritime sectors. The reason for this is not only due to the shipping sector’s purchases in other Dutch maritime sectors, but also concerns non-financial relationships. Within the maritime cluster, the Dutch shipping sector’s role is that of a pull-factor for innovation, as well as contributing towards providing other maritime sectors with personnel who possess nautical knowledge. In addition, the shipping sector likely contributes to cluster effects, such as economies of scale, image and agglomeration effects, although this effect is unquantifiable.
These are the main conclusions of the KiM Netherlands Institute for Transport Policy Analysis’ research publication: ‘Faraway yet still nearby: The position of the shipping sector within the Dutch maritime cluster’. This research analyses the relationship between the shipping sector and other segments of the Dutch maritime cluster. An appendix to this publication is a research study commissioned by KiM and conducted by Erasmus University Rotterdam and TNO into the trade relations of the Dutch shipping sector.