Italian Ports Research Articles

An exploration of organized crime in Italian ports from an institutional perspective. Presence and activities

The article will present the results of a qualitative research into organized crime in the Italian port system. It is a pioneering attempt to assess an extensive and diachronic perspective on the presence and activities of organized crime groups into the Italian seaports in order to provide a systematic analytical map through the analysis of institutional law enforcement reports. The article attempts to shed light on an overlooked topic, analytically relevant insofar as it examines OCGs’s activities in a specific and particular space representing an opportunity to obtain profits and social connections. Moreover, it analyses OCGs tendency to be involved in legal and illegal businesses, their ability to persist in space and time, and their skills in moving abroad.The results show that organized crime activities are permanent and largely widespread in the main harbours all over the country, particularly in Ancona, Cagliari, Genova and Gioia Tauro; organized crime groups operate mostly in illegal business and in particular in illicit trafficking of drugs, cigarettes and counterfeit goods; the Italian mafia ‘ndrangheta seems to be able to persist in space and time within several seaports. The study shows that simultaneous processes of specialization in illegal markets and diversification in seaports are ongoing.

Oil transportation: Eni’s fleet, Italian ports and pipelines, 1950-1980

To make their business profitable, oil multinationals have to include in their strategies the transport of crude oil from production sites to markets. This article focuses on Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi (Eni), the Italian state-owned oil company – a significant firm in the oil industry in the second half of the twentieth century – to show how oil businesses have overcome trading limitations by establishing transportation systems comprising ships, ports and pipelines. Initially, the article focuses on the relationship between oil market growth and the development of oil transport from 1945 until the early 1970s. Secondly, it analyses the growth of Eni’s fleet and the increase in ship size, emphasising limitations and constraints in an international perspective. Finally, the development of ports and pipelines – vital links in the oil supply chain – is assessed.

Evaluating the economic and environmental efficiency of ports: Evidence from Italy

This paper aims to evaluate the environmental management systems of ports by employing a multistep strategy based on official data for 24 Italian ports in 2016. In the first step, two original composite indicators are proposed to evaluate i) environmental quality related to greenhouse gas emissions due to port activity (i.e., the undesirable output), and ii) the efforts of port authorities to pursue a pro-environmental path. In the second step, port relative efficiency is evaluated by means of the DEA method with the main objective of investigating the persistence of economic efficiency when it is adjusted for environmental costs and pro-environmental commitments. The findings of this study suggest that to avoid partial judgements, the use of a comprehensive framework is pivotal in jointly assessing ports’ environmental and economic performance. The process is optimised when economic performance, the minimisation of the undesirable output and the adoption of green port policies have an appropriate balance. An interesting result for managers and policy makers is that efficiency converges towards the optimal target when ports feature a high pro-environmental attitude by implementing proactive green policies.

New Opportunities for Cruise Tourism: The Case of Italian Historic Towns

The cruise industry has grown worldwide in the last decades and, today, it is often associated with high levels of pollution and overtourism. This is especially true of areas where tourism cruises are a long-established sector, such as the Mediterranean and Italy in particular, where there is growing concern of the consequences of excessive pressure on popular tourist destinations. To reduce such side effects, it is necessary to develop new and sustainable tourism management policies. Our study explores the potential of the diversification of shore excursions offered by cruise lines to relieve pressure on popular destinations. As a case study, we focus on a subset of Italian villages that have received quality certifications (Bandiere arancioni and/or Borghi più belli d’Italia) because of their artistic, historical, cultural, and aesthetic values. Thanks to their proximity to major Italian ports, these villages offer opportunities for shore excursions alternative to some classic and very popular destinations such as Rome, Venice, Pisa, and Florence. The benefits of shore excursions to peripheral destinations are particularly relevant when visits include overnights.

Learning How to Tell, Learning How to Ask: Reciprocity and Storytelling as a Community Process

AbstractIn this article, we discuss the discursive processes that surround storytelling of traumatic experiences in the case of minor asylum seekers involved in the recent migration flow to Italian ports. We argue that in order to understand not only how traumatic experiences are told but also how they are overcome, it is necessary to focus on the reciprocal relationships and impact of the members of the communities in which migrants are received. Such approach shifts the focus from the content of stories toward the protagonists of their tellings and from asylum seekers as ‘subjects’ to asylum seekers as members of communities to which they and others contribute. The article is based on narrative data collected through an ongoing project with teachers, researchers, and minor asylum seekers involved in a school of Italian Language for Foreigners in Palermo.

Port governance and value creation in the supply chain: The case of Italian ports

Port governance and value creation in the supply chain: The case of Italian ports

Managing sustainable practices in cruise tourism: the assessment of carbon footprint and waste of water and beverage packaging

This paper's aim is to present an analysis of the carbon - dioxide emissions and waste associated with water and beverage packaging. The assessment of the packaging's carbon footprint (CF) and waste is also considered for all passengers who visit Italian ports on cruise ships. These factors are considered at two points in time (2010 and 2018) to allow for the evaluation of changes due to technological innovations in the packaging sector. Finally, a best-case framework scenario for the management of water and beverage packaging materials is identified to evaluate whether the use of appropriate strategies can reduce CF and waste in this sector. The results indicate that adequate changes in packaging can minimize waste and reduce the consumption of materials and energy resources in the packaging production cycle, thus creating environmental benefits.

THE EVOLUTION OF DEEP SEA CONTAINER ROUTES: THE ITALIAN CASE

SummaryIn this study, an analysis of deep sea shipping (DSS) container services, calling at Italian ports, is carried out. A...

Humanitarians at sea: Selective emulation across migrant rescue NGOs in the Mediterranean sea

ABSTRACTBetween 2014 and 2017, no less than 10 different non-governmental organizations (NGOs) conducted maritime Search and Rescue (SAR) operations off the coast of Libya. By rescuing over 100,000 migrants in three years, these NGOs became the largest provider of SAR in the Mediterranean. The theory of institutionalism suggests that organizations conducting similar activities are likely to converge in a process of mimetic isomorphism, deliberately imitating one another to increase their effectiveness and cope with uncertainty. These 10 SAR NGOs, however, developed two different rescue models: While some rescued migrants and disembarked them in Italian ports, others only simply assisted those in distress until the arrival of another ship transporting them to land. They also cooperated with Italian and European authorities to different degrees. Why did SAR NGOs imitated many elements of existing non-governmental rescue models, but discarded some others? This article argues that differences in material capabilities and organizational role conceptions are crucial to explain why newer SAR NGOs have imitated most but not all of their predecessors’ policies, engaging in a process of “selective emulation.”

Import effect on technical efficiency of cargo ports: evidence from Italy, Slovenia, and Croatia

The objective of this research is to investigate to what extent the 26 ports included in this study are technically efficient and how different factors can influence efficiency. Through the model presented, we examine the hypothesis which states that imports affect ports' competitiveness and efficiency, so they should be included in the deterministic part of the model because ports are aware of trade impact when making infrastructure changes. The research used the True-fixed Effect Stochastic Frontier model for panel data with time variance (Greene 2005) and implemented the Cobb- Douglas production function with truncated normal distribution and the maximum-likelihood dummy variable estimation method. The model outcome is presented through values of technical efficiency for ten years, and it monitors the Croatian, Italian and Slovenian ports’ response at these significant periods of the European economy. Keywords: ports, technical efficiency, Stochastic frontier model, true fixed-effects DOI : 10.7176/JESD/10-22-16 Publication date: November 30 th 2019

Potential economic benefits of using a weather ship routing system at Short Sea Shipping

This contribution investigates the economic benefits of using weather ship routing on Short Sea Shipping (SSS) activities. The investigation is supported with the development of a ship routing system based on pathfinding algorithm, the parametrization of the wave effect on navigation, and the use of high-resolution meteo-oceanographic predictions. The optimal ship routing analysis is investigated in a European SSS system: the link between Spanish and Italian ports. The results show the economic benefits using ship routing in SSS during energetic wave episodes. The rate of cost savings may reach 18% of the total costs under particular bad weather conditions in the navigation area. The work establishes the basis of further developments in optimal route applied in relatively short distances and its systematic use in the SSS maritime industry.

Potential transfer of aquatic organisms via ballast water with a particular focus on harmful and non-indigenous species: A survey from Adriatic ports

Ballast water discharges may cause negative impacts to aquatic ecosystems, human health and economic activities by the introduction of potentially harmful species. Fifty untreated ballast water tanks, ten in each port, were sampled in four Adriatic Italian ports and one Slovenian port. Salinity, temperature and fluorescence were measured on board. Faecal indicator bacteria (FIB), phyto- and zooplankton were qualitatively and quantitatively determined to identify the species assemblage arriving in ballast water. FIB exceeded the convention standard limits in 12% of the sampled tanks. Vibrio cholerae was not detected. The number of viable organisms in the size groups (minimum dimension) <50 and ≥10 μm and ≥50 μm resulted above the abundances required from the Ballast Water Management Convention in 55 and 86% of the samples, respectively. This is not surprising as unmanaged ballast waters were sampled. Some potentially toxic and non-indigenous species were observed in both phyto- and zooplankton assemblages.

AN ANALYSIS OF THE ITALIAN RO-RO AND RO-PAX NETWORK IN THE YEARS 2008-2015

In this paper, the development of Motorways of the Sea (MoS) services offered at Italian ports from 2008 to 2015...

National Trade can Drive Range Expansion of Bark- and Wood-Boring Beetles.

Several native species of bark- and wood-boring beetles (Coleoptera) have expanded their range within their native biogeographic regions in the last years, but the role of human activity in driving this phenomenon has been underinvestigated. Here we analyze 3 yr of trapping records of native bark- and wood-boring beetles (Cerambycidae and Scolytinae) collected at 12 Italian ports and their surrounding forests to help elucidate the human role in the movement of native species within their native biogeographic region. We trapped several species that occurred either inside or outside their native distributional range within Italy. Species richness and abundance of those species found in the ports located within their native range were most strongly associated with the amount of forest cover in the surrounding landscape, suggesting that they could have arrived in the ports from the nearby forests. The abundance of the species found outside their native range was instead most strongly linked to the amount of national imports arriving at the port where trapping occurred, suggesting that they were likely introduced to the ports from other parts of Italy. This study demonstrates that national sea transportation can favor species range expansion within a country, and confirms that the forests that surround ports can serve as a source of species that can be potentially moved with exports.

이탈리아 항만의 사회경제학적 효과에 대한 연구

Seaports are not longer considered to be single entities for which the main activity is to load and discharge cargo, but rather as fundamental hubs within a complex supply chain serving global production networks. From a public perspective, they hold a key role in terms of their economic impact at the local, regional and national level by generating value added activity and employment. This issue is becoming increasingly pivotal for ports and their stakeholders. The objective of the study is to estimate a regression model of the value added activity and employment figures of 17 Italian ports for which there are no publications available. Concerning port system reform in Italy, the research intends to provide policy makers with a tool to measure the effects produced by ports and their importance to local communities and regions. The paper finds that in all Italian ports, the direct effects are larger than the indirect effects, and the bigger socio-economic effects are found in the biggest ports.

Puertos Turísticos y Navegación de Recreo: El Caso de Cerdeña.

The aim of this work is to describe the situation of nautical tourism in one of the largest islands in the Mediterranean through the analysis of the marinas and the sailing habits of the boaters. After outlining the typology, characteristics and functions of the marinas in the introduction, we briefly present the quantitative-qualitative analysis methodology that was carried out through interviews to the stakeholders and subsequent processing of the original information obtained. The presentation of the results concerns the context of Italian ports and then focuses on Sardinia in terms of ports and berths. The discussion, on the other hand, is based on the original analysis of the use of Sardinian ports, the navigation mode of the boaters, including the characteristics of the boats used. In the conclusions, it is emphasized that Sardinia is at the centre of a boating area that extends to the Upper Tyrrhenian Sea, within which it represents a hub and the favourite area for the most important and rich segment of yachts. This, however, does not preclude existing structures from pursuing an improvement in the supply from the point of view of environmental compatibility, of the quality of the services offered and, above all, of a stronger connection to the tourist offer of the hinterlands. A possible development of the present study may cover other similar cases in the Mediterranean, regarding in particular the specific aspect of the degree of openness towards the boaters coming from continental territories.

Postal Culture: Writing and Reading Letters in Post-unification Italy. Gabriella Romani. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2014. Pp. x+272.

<i>Postal Culture: Writing and Reading Letters in Post-unification Italy</i>. Gabriella Romani. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2014. Pp. x+272.

The genetic structure of the exotic ascidianStyela plicata(Tunicata) from Italian ports, with a re-appraisal of its worldwide genetic pattern

The pleated ascidian Styela plicata (Lesueur, 1823) is a solitary species commonly found in ports and marinas around the world. It has been recorded in the Mediterranean region since the mid-19th century. In the present work, the species’ genetic diversity was analysed, employing a 613-bp portion of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene from 149 individuals collected in 14 ports along Italian coasts at spatial scales ranging from 1 to approximately 2200 km. Haplotype and nucleotide diversity values were h = 0–0.933 (total h = 0.789) and π = 0–0.145 (total π = 0.0094), respectively. A general southward trend of increasing within-population genetic diversity was observed. Analysis of molecular variance revealed significant genetic structuring but no significant differences were detected among basins, and no isolation by distance was found. Our data were integrated with the COI sequences available from previous studies and re-analysed in order to investigate the possible routes of introduction of this ascidian into the Mediterranean Sea. The presence of the two COI haplogroups detected in previous molecular investigations on S. plicata at intercontinental spatial scale was confirmed in the Mediterranean Sea. The results revealed multiple introductions of S. plicata, although some locations appear to have experienced rapid expansion from few founding individuals with reduced genetic diversity. However, continuous introductions would confound the pattern deriving from single founder events and make it difficult to estimate the time needed for gene diffusion into established populations. This mixing of effects creates difficulties in understanding the past and current dynamics of this introduction, and managing this alien invasive ascidian whose genetic structure is continuously shuffled by vessel-mediated transport.

Application of classification rules to Italian ports

In this paper, the existing rules commonly used for port traffic comparison are described. These rules provide weighting factors for each freight category in order to make them comparable and exploitable for port ranking. These rules are based on the value added concept related to port activities. Two new rules are proposed. The first is again based on the value added concept. The second rule is based on the assumption that ports not only create labour directly, through activities related to port operations, but they also play the role of “gates” for the existing economic activities of a region or a country, as a consistent quota of the overall international trade takes place by sea. This rule is based on the relationship among the trend of traffic volume of each freight category and the trend of the national GDP. The rules existing in the literature and the proposed new rules have been applied in ranking Italian ports; the results are discussed. The sensitivity of the ranking of Italian ports, to the different weighting rules, has been analysed.

Word of mouth and satisfaction in cruise port destinations

As acknowledged, in addition to a short-term economic (monetary) value, cruise activities can also provide a destination with an additional (non-monetary) value, ‘showcasing’ the tourist attractions to several visitors, who, after the cruise experience, may potentially recommend the same destination to relatives, friends and colleagues. This paper contributes to the theme of the cruise tourism impact on the local community, assuming a long-term perspective, and investigates the effect of overall destination satisfaction on cruiser's word-of-mouth (WoM) attitude in three Italian ports. The study analyses the relation between port-related satisfaction attributes and overall destination satisfaction. The empirical findings confirm the positive association between overall destination satisfaction and WoM attitude. In particular, the outcomes on port-related satisfaction attributes demonstrate the key role of the availability of well-designed and comfortable shopping areas and the endowment of properly organized and reliable ground transportation services as antecedents of the overall destination satisfaction. The results are consistent with and add to the academic literature. It is recommended that public policy makers (e.g. Port Authorities, Municipalities, etc.) should play a more significant role as stakeholders’ coordinators, to facilitate the dialogue between the various private actors affecting overall destination satisfaction and long-term value creation.