ABSTRACT
Some port cities grow and develop into International Shipping Centers (ISCs). An ISC is defined (by the authors) as a city with an international center of commerce that offers physical port facilities and reliable and globally recognized maritime legal support services to the shipping industry. The emphasis is on reliable maritime legal services that are globally recognized for business dispute resolutions available in free market economies. Globally, until 2020, there were five recognized ISC cities: London, Rotterdam, New York, Hong Kong, and Singapore. The paper untangles and explains the difference between a city that is a center of commerce and an ISC city and develops a model that defines and explains an ISC and the characteristics that give it this status. The paper explains the contemporary services in an ISC and the business of shipping, addressing: location, development, number of ISC cities, culture and language, while also touching on market operations of shipping firms, national and city policy rules, and the impact of regulations. The paper finds that cities seek an ISC status for the economic benefits and resources it provides. The paper identifies and seeks future research on ISC city requirements and governing issues that determine firms’ choices of an ISC.
Keywords
international shipping center; maritime business dispute resolution; trust; international business center; maritime; legal services; location