Abstract
The paper aims to investigate short sea shipping services as a competitive, sustainable freight transport system which is able to respond to economic, social and environmental needs. An assessment methodology is proposed which considers an aggregate discrete choice model, simulating the split between the competitive transport alternatives in the Mediterranean basin. The proposed methodology was used to assess the potential of short sea shipping (SSS) and the net benefits deriving from lower external costs in the north-western Mediterranean basin. Two future scenarios are considered: introduction of new SSS services as envisaged by current EU projects and plans, and the introduction of new SSS routes and an increase in frequencies of existing services. Significant results were obtained in terms of shifting freight traffic from the road network as well as external benefits.
Highlights
In recent years, the European Union (EU) has sought to tackle the negative externalities due to road haulage and has set some goals for a competitive and resource-efficient transport system [1]
Focusing on the Mediterranean basin, the proportion of freight transported by short sea shipping (SSS) in the same year was close to 33% [2], even allowing for the fact that some connections are only possible by sea the need to implement strategies and action to make SSS more competitive over road transport germinates
An assessment methodology is introduced. It can support the analysis of competition of SSS services and is schematized as follows (Figure 1): 1. Transportation system identification. The objective of this first phase is to identify the elements of the system under analysis and their relationships; This section aims to highlight the opportunities offered by short sea shipping for reducing negative externalities of road haulage at the European level
Summary
The European Union (EU) has sought to tackle the negative externalities due to road haulage (congestion, environmental impact, etc.) and has set some goals for a competitive and resource-efficient transport system [1]. After a literature review focused on short sea shipping (Section 2), the first macro-objective of the paper emerges, i.e., to propose a methodology to estimate impacts and system performance, and compare future scenarios according to a set of given target values (Section 3). The methodology aims to compare different scenarios, where changes in modal choice and services are foreseen with subsequent variations in external costs
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