About its Founder & Owner | World of Shipping Portugal

World of Shipping Portugal

About WofSPortugal	About its Founder & Owner		Sitemap	Privacy Policy
Maritime Publications	Maritime Research		Maritime Training	Moodle Platform

About WofSPortugal Founder & Owner

I come from a family of fishermen. My father was a chief engineer and already working for the industry by the time I was born; so, I have the privilege to say that I was born and grew within the shipping industry. My infancy was spent onboard tankers, particularly on board the old Fogo, Gerês and Dondo tanker vessels owned by Sociedade Portuguesa de Navios Tanques (SOPONATA); walking on ships’ decks has always been a natural issue. I also recall a small gas carrier named ‘Tokyo Maru’ moored in Cabo Ruivo, at a terminal that no longer exists, the codfish fishing boats in Aveiro, and the passenger-cargo vessels trading to Azores and Madeira Islands loading and unloading cows at Cais da Rocha in Alcantara. At 9, I made my first sea voyage onboard M/V Angra do Heroísmo, a cargo-passenger ship, to Madeira and Azores. Then, as a teenager, onboard M/T Gerês, I travelled to Odessa in Ukraine and Novorossiysk in Russia, in the Black Sea. However, my first big voyage was on board the M/T ‘Marão’ at 12 years old from Leixões to Kharg Island via the Suez Canal and returning by the Cape. This voyage that was supposed to last 45 days resulted in a 90 day-voyage where I could feel the ocean’s freedom. During all these years, I saw Mar da Palha, in the Port of Lisbon, full of cargo vessels at the time when containerisation was still in its infancy, and unaware of the changes that a box would cause in the movement of goods.

In 1985, I earned my elementary nautical studies degree at Escola Náutica Infante D. Henrique (ENIDH) in Paço D’Arcos, Portugal. When I left the nautical school, I was a cadet and deck officer in Portuguese shipping companies. When I got into the nautical school, I was fully aware of the hard work I would encounter. I knew that I would be working in a men’s environment and that I had to prove that I could do the same work that they did. However, I never felt ‘inferior’ for being a woman. Seen from this distance, ships need professionals independently of gender. While the conditions and technologies have changed, the work needs to be done, and seafarers’ work must be respected since they are the men and women taking care of the trade that we buy from our local stores every day. In 1995, when I was ashore teaching, I earned my B.Sc. in Management and Maritime Technologies at ENIDH and realised that I wanted to learn more about the industry. It was then that I came across with Tutorship programme from the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers. As to the rest, it all came one thing after another.

In October 1997, I obtained my M.Sc. Degree in International Logistics at the Institute of Marine Studies, University of Plymouth, United Kingdom. In July 1998, I had the good news of having passed all the Professional Qualifying Exams (‘Introduction to Shipping’, ‘Law of Carriage of Goods by Sea’, ‘Economics of Sea Transport’, ‘Shipping Practice’, ‘Dry Cargo Chartering’, ‘Liner Trades’ and ‘International Through Transport Management’) of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers. One year later, in September 1999, with a grant from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (Portugal), I embarked on my PhD. This voyage lasted almost 4 years in Cardiff, under Peter B. Marlow’s supervision, where I researched the “Competitiveness of Short Sea Shipping in Multimodal Logistics Supply Chains”. I successfully obtained my PhD in International Transport/Logistics from the University of Wales – Cardiff in July 2003.

Between 1998 and 2007, I published several articles of a professional nature in Portuguese industry magazines. However, from 2001, I devoted myself to research and development. My research work can be found in well-known international journals (International Journal of Logistics Research and Applications, International Journal of Ocean Systems Management, International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management, International Journal of Shipping and Transport Logistics, International Journal of Transport Management, Journal of International Logistics and Trade, Marine Policy, Maritime Business Review, Maritime Economics and Logistics, and Maritime Policy and Management).

Since 2002, I have served as a peer reviewer for academic papers submitted to leading international journals, been a member of the International Scientific Committees of several conferences, supervised Master's dissertations, and examined PhD theses. Since 2003, I have also served as an External Expert for the European Commission in the field of transport, evaluating research proposals and reviewing transport-related projects.

Between 2004 and 2022, I organised and chaired several industry and research conferences. In 2004–2005, I co-organised the 18th International Port Training Conference with Cargo Edições. Later, also in collaboration with Cargo Edições, I organised and chaired the 2010 Annual Conference of the International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME) and the 2012 International Research Conference on Short Sea Shipping. Under the umbrella of World of Shipping Portugal, I organised and chaired the World of Shipping Portugal Conferences in 2019, 2021, and 2022. In addition, in collaboration with Leo Tadeu Robles, I translated into Portuguese the third edition of Martin Stopford's Maritime Economics.

I have also held several editorial and academic appointments, including membership of the Research Centre on Modelling and Optimisation of Multifunctional Systems (CIMOSM, ISEL), Maritime Business Review Associate Editor, Journal of International Logistics and Trade Editorial Board Member | Universal Journal of Management Editorial Board Member | Frontiers in Future Transportation Community Reviewer and Journal of Shipping and Trade Guest Editor.

Currently, I manage World of Shipping Portugal, which I founded and own, and I am devoted to maritime technical writing. I also serve as an External Expert on Transport Matters for the European Commission, as a member of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (ICS) Education and Training Committee, and as a member of the Yuni Advisory Board. Furthermore, I am a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (ICS) and a Member of the International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME).

Overall, I do not know if the shipping industry has adopted me or if I have adopted the industry. I know that I am part of the industry and am passionate about it because I cannot see myself outside it. Furthermore, I guess that there are still some important issues to accomplish. The history of humanity shows how vital the industry has been to the development of the world. My only wish is that when I close the door, I can see the industry receiving the respect it deserves and that I have contributed to it, however small this contribution may be. In all this process, I also know one thing: invest in your education, take care of the environment, and never give up on the industry; all this will help the industry keep moving into the future!

Take care, Stay safe, Be well!

Greetings from Lisbon

Ana Casaca

28 July 2026

Top of the page

Ana Cristina Casaca can be reached at following email: info@worldofshipping.org