Regional Formation and Development Studies

The Baltic Sea Region (BSR) appears as a specific space in which ports, maritime transport and the entire shipping cluster are crucially important. The BSR is one of the most heavily trafficked seas in the world, and maritime transport has contributed to its prosperity. After the collapse of the USSR, the Baltic Sea recovered its role as a contact and transit area. The opening up of the eastern shore to the market economy has brought about the reactivation of its maritime system, which over the years never stopped being a major element in the production of regional integration. Discourses on Baltic unity are often based on the importance of maritimity and maritime trade, but there is also a significant regional diversity in the shipping industry. Nowadays, the emergence of new directions in specialisation, and of new decision makers in ports, allows for new expectations and issues for Baltic ports. The author shows how, in this special Baltic context, ports and maritime stakeholders interact, participating in regional development and integration, but also by pursuing differentiated trajectories.