Source: adapted from P. Verhoeven (2011) European Port Governance, European Seaports Organization (ESPO). American Association of Port Authorities.
The great majority of European and American port authorities are publicly owned, like in much of the rest of the world. In Europe, central (state/federal) governments and municipalities are the two main types of ownership. Private ownership is limited and can include industrial companies, transport companies (e.g., terminal operators), or financial holdings.
In the United States, the federal government has no involvement in port ownership. It is at the state level (provincial in Europe) that ownership is the most common, either as a branch of the state government or through the setting of a port district. The port district is a specifically designed area by the state government, over which a port authority has jurisdiction. The level of municipal ownership is similar in bother regions.