LAUSR

Abstract Continuous upgrading is critical to the sustainable development of port-originated maritime clusters. This study explores the developmental trends of traditional port-originated maritime clusters from two perspectives: that of a cluster's developmental objective and that of its developmental pathway. First, the case of the Shanghai maritime cluster is selected. Its development history, competitive advantages, existing problems, and critical challenges are discussed, and policies for its upgrading and sustainable development are reviewed. Subsequently, several benchmarks pertaining to the upgrading of port-originated maritime clusters are developed. The results indicate that these clusters must be upgraded to feature ecologically friendly ports, global supply-chain hubs, and maritime resource allocation centers. Such upgrading can be achieved through both incremental and radical innovation as well as the cultivation of a first-class business environment. In the upgrade process, government plays the driving role, developing explicit cluster strategies and effective policy tools, managing internal coordination based on an effective organizational structure, and cultivating the environment by providing infrastructure and soft promotion schemes.