Shipping and ports are like Siamese twins: neither can live without the other. The trouble is that due to rapid technical progress in shipbuilding it has become difficult to provide the shipping industry with both in the right proportion and at the same time.

Ports and shipping have been in the spotlight in 2021 with surging demand, skyrocketing freight rates and week-long queues. This development stands against the background of the current global COVID-19 pandemic. Amid these disruptive waves, the North Range ports (Le Havre to Hamburg) face...