Innovative trends in European seaports in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic

The implementation of innovations is one of the primary areas of activity within modern enterprises and their response to environmental changes. It is also an important and current research issue concerning seaports. Innovations may have a different nature, and practice shows that their implementation is in line with certain trends that set the directions for the development of innovative solutions throughout the world. This study aims to identify the most important technological innovations implemented in European seaports and determine whether they are in line with global innovation trends. It was also a priority to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the direction of innovation processes implemented within the ports. The author carried out two steps of research. The first one was based on secondary sources (publications and data from the Internet) and the second on primary sources (surveys conducted in March and October 2020). The analysis of data from secondary sources made it possible to identify the most significant global innovation trends in seaports. The study of data from surveys carried out with the managers of port companies allowed the author to conclude that the COVID-19 pandemic in the analyzed period of the year 2020 had little impact on the European seaports' innovative activities, which go in line with global innovation trends. It did not stop the innovation processes in those ports, causing only slight delays in implementing some scheduled innovative projects. It also did not influence the types of such projects carried out at that time or their significance. We can see that it also had no adverse effect on the emergence of new innovative trends in the examined enterprises. During the pandemic, European seaports made efforts to ensure the continued implementation of innovations in line with the established plans.