Source: Adapted from Menon Consulting (2022), Maritime Capitals of the World.
Note: The lower the score, the higher the ranking. Each selected city was ranked according to a series of criteria within five major categories (Shipping centers, maritime finance and law, ports and logistics, maritime technology, and competitiveness). The index is the unweighted summation of the average score for each category.
According to various ranking systems, the global urban system can be classified where some cities can assume a level of preeminence in the hierarchy depending on selected criteria. These criteria are commonly related to demographic and economic attributes. Since maritime transportation is a unique industry, it is also characterized by its own hierarchy of activities supporting its financing, management, innovation, and operations. The clustering of a number of high-ranking activities leads to the formation of a maritime capital, a city that commands importance in the industry through its capabilities to make decisions and allocate capital.
The classification of maritime capitals by a series of criteria leads to a hierarchy of importance. Among the first tier of this hierarchy are cities like Singapore, Rotterdam, Shanghai, Tokyo, Hamburg, and London, which have developed an impressive accumulation of maritime activities. This is the outcome of a long-term and enduring level of commercial activity in the maritime sector. However, this maritime hierarchy is not uniform as some cities are more prominent due to their financial activities, while for others, it is for their logistics capabilities.