The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has introduced PortWatch, a platform developed in collaboration with the University of Oxford, aimed at offering data-driven insights into the impact of shocks, such as extreme weather events and disasters, on global trade and supply chains.
The platform, available in beta version at www.imf.org/portwatch, utilizes satellite-based vessel data and big data analytics to assess the effects of disruptions to maritime trade.
PortWatch provides timely indicators on actual and expected trade disruptions in affected countries and simulates international spillover effects from both actual and hypothetical disasters.
It also includes climate scenario analysis to identify vulnerabilities within the maritime trade network.
The platform aims to assist policymakers, analysts, and other stakeholders in understanding and addressing the impact of disruptions to global trade.
Bert Kroese, IMF Chief Statistician and Data Officer, emphasized that PortWatch aims to provide actionable insights about how shocks impact trade and supply chains.
The platform’s innovative data sources and visualization tools are designed to facilitate international dialogue and inform policy decisions.
Jim Hall, Professor of Climate and Environmental Risks at the University of Oxford, highlighted the rapid propagation of shocks to trade and supply chains globally and how PortWatch can track shipping disruptions at ports and critical shipping lanes, providing up-to-date information for decision-makers.
PortWatch was selected as one of the winners of the 2022 IMF Climate Innovation Challenge, demonstrating its potential to address economic and financial issues related to climate change.
The platform was developed in collaboration with the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford, with contributions from Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), the United Nations Global Platform (UNGP), the World Bank (WB), and the World Trade Organization (WTO). Seed funding for the platform was provided by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).