Ports, Ships, and Fuels: Maritime Efficiency, Safety, and Sustainability in East Asia and Pacific

Maritime transport is the economic lifeblood of East Asia and Pacific. As one of the world’s most trade‐dependent regions, East Asia and Pacific (EAP) relies on ports, ships, and fuel supply chains to move food, energy, and manufactured goods, connect producers to markets, and support economic activity across domestic, regional, and global value chains. The sector is also a major engine of jobs and inclusive growth. Across EAP, an estimated 16–18 million livelihoods depend on the performance of maritime transport and related logistics. With economic multipliers of two to four times, improvements in port and shipping performance generate economy‐wide gains in productivity, employment, and incomes well beyond the maritime sector itself. Today, maritime transport in East Asia and Pacific stands at a critical juncture. The sector’s future performance will shape economic competitiveness, regional and global integration, food and energy security, access to markets, and the resilience of trade and supply chains more broadly. At the same time, EAP’s ports, ships, and fuels face mounting pressures. Continued economic growth coincides with aging shipping fleets, rising congestion at major ports, uneven performance across smaller ports, persistent safety risks, and emerging challenges linked to alternative marine fuels. Ports, Ships, and Fuels is the World Bank Group’s East Asia and Pacific regional report on the maritime sector. It takes a system‐wide view, examining ports, ships, and fuels together, illustrating how decisions in one part of the system increasingly shape outcomes across the entire maritime value chain. The report focuses on three priorities—efficiency, safety, and sustainability—at a time when port traffic is growing, fleet renewals are under consideration, and new fuels enter the market. By bringing these elements together and discussing the linkages between them, the report helps policymakers and industry leaders identify priorities, understand trade-offs, and make informed decisions as major investments reshape maritime transport and its role in jobs and growth across East Asia and Pacific.