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Road freight transport presently dominates in Queensland due to the current restrictive coastal freight transport regulations. This study presents a discrete choice experiment administered to a sample of shippers and freight forwarders to elicit their preferences for road, rail, and sea transport. The results reveal that about 30% of the choices of 64 company representatives were for the coastal shipping option. Model estimates suggest a willingness to pay about 20 AUD/hour for saving one hour of transit time in the corridor, a higher direct elasticity for road transport with respect to cost, a higher direct elasticity for sea transport with respect to time, and an effect of road user charge on shifting from road transport. The results also show the tendency of half of the sample to ignore either transport time or cost (if not both) in their mode choice decisions, and in this case, the willingness to pay increased to about 30 to 44 AUD/hour for decision-makers not ignoring time and cost in their decisions. Findings also suggest that freight decision-makers evaluate cost and delay attributes of modes in correspondence with risk factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hub-and-Spoke (H&S) network modeling is a form of transport topology optimization in which network joins are connected through intermediate hub nodes. The Short Sea Shipping (SSS) problem aims to efficiently disperse passenger flows involving multiple vessel routes and intermediary hubs through which passengers are transferred to their final destination. The problem contains elements of the Hub-and-Spoke and Travelling Salesman, with different levels of passenger flows among islands, making it more demanding than the typical H&S one, as the hub selection within nodes and the shortest routes among islands are internal optimization goals. This work introduces a multi-objective tri-level optimization algorithm for the General Network of Short Sea Shipping (GNSSS) problem to reduce travel distances and transportation costs while improving travel quality and user satisfaction, mainly by minimizing passenger hours spent on board. The analysis is performed at three levels of decisions: (a) the hub node assignment, (b) the island-to-line assignment, and (c) the island service sequence within each line. Due to the magnitude and complexity of the problem, a genetic algorithm is employed for the implementation. The algorithm performance has been tested and evaluated through several real and simulated case studies of different sizes and operational scenarios. The results indicate that the algorithm provides rational solutions in accordance with the desired sub-objectives. The multi-objective consideration leads to solutions that are quite scattered in the solution space, indicating the necessity of employing formal optimization methods. Typical Pareto diagrams present non-dominated solutions varying at a range of 30 percent in terms of the total distance traveled and more than 50 percent in relation to the cumulative passenger hours. Evaluation results further indicate satisfactory algorithm performance in terms of result stability (repeatability) and computational time requirements. In conclusion, the work provides a tool for assisting network operation and transport planning decisions by shipping companies in the directions of cost reduction and traveler service upgrade. In addition, the model can be adapted to other applications in transportation and in the supply chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The location of East African ports, along with difficulties in building and maintaining effective road corridors, has led to the consideration of intermodal transport through Short Sea Shipping (SSS) as an alternative for load transport. However, this potential solution is dependent on the ports as consolidation load centres and on the configuration of transport networks. This paper provides a method to evaluate the performance of East African ports in their role as a hub for the intermodal chain. Specifically, through an assessment of port indicators ad hoc, the method jointly evaluates the performance of the hinterland's capillary haul and port operations. The proposed indicators aggregately consider attributes of time and cost and compare competitiveness for ports' current status with standard parameters. The application of the method to East African ports reveals that their tariff structure should be adapted to the operative reality of SSS. In addition, the loading time has not proven to be as determinant as the pre-berthing waiting time in the effectiveness of the intermodal chains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the early 2000s, short sea shipping (SSS) is often associated with significant social and environmental benefits. To encourage a modal shift, several nations around the world have developed public SSS policies. However, the policies' effectiveness are increasingly being questioned in the public arena. Therefore, the current article's primary objective is to assess one of these SSS public initiatives' legitimacy. In particular, we analyzed Quebec's PREGTI initiative, which is designed to both reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and promote local SSS development. Our findings are based on a triangulated analysis of official PREGTI documents and semi-structured interviews with local marine-sector specialists (N = 36). The data analyses inspired the development of an integrative framework that includes four components that could explain the lack of SSS program credibility and interest. Our framework identified critical issues for consideration in SSS program development, including: 1) the institutional framework's relevance; 2) its implementation challenges; 3) the program's predictability; and 4) the credibility of government authorities. Ultimately, the present article provides a better understanding of the significant discrepancies between public SSS programs development and the needs of local maritime sector stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study about the requirements and cargo transportation demand in the Black Sea as part of a multimodal transportation frame is performed, estimating the potential need of a ship fleet of multipurpose ships. The study performs conceptual multipurpose vessel design and fleet sizing using the long-time experience and statistics in defining main dimensions of the ship and her hull form, resistance and propulsion, weights, stability, free-board, seakeeping and manoeuvrability, capital, operational and decommissioning expenditure, where the optimal design solution is obtained based on the energy efficiency, shipbuilding, operation, and resale costs at the end of the service life. A discussion about possible applications of a different fleet of ship sizes in improving the cargo transportation efficiency considers the vessel's typical operational profile in such a way to maximise the economic impact conditional of the unsteady cargo flow and environmental impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a mathematical model for intermodal chains with seaborne transport, in which the optimization of a multi-objective model enables conflicting objectives to be handled simultaneously. Through the assessment of 'door-to-door' transport in terms of costs, time, and environmental impact, the most suitable maritime route and the optimized fleet are jointly proposed to maximize the opportunities for success of intermodal chains versus trucking. The NSGA-II algorithm is applied to resolve the model. The Pareto fronts obtained not only permit decision-making in the short-term but also enable long-term strategies to be defined according to the behaviour of these frontiers when sensitivity analysis is undertaken. A real-life case in Chile is studied to test the usefulness of the model. Aside from identifying the most suitable Motorway of the Sea with its optimized fleet for Chile, the application case has provided several significant findings to promote the intermodal option regardless of its location. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an analysis of the development of Deep Sea Shipping (DSS) and Short Sea Shipping (SSS) container routes calling at Italian ports, is carried out. Data about DSS routes have been collected in the years: 2011, 2014, 2018 and 2019, while data about SSS services have been collected in 2010 and 2018. Italian ports have been classified as follows: Ligurian multi-port gateway cluster, formed by Leghorn, La Spezia, Genoa, Savona/Vado Ligure; Northern Adriatic multi-port gateway cluster, made up of Ancona, Ravenna, Venice and Trieste; Campanian multi-port gateway cluster, composed of Naples and Salerno; hub ports, i.e. Gioia Tauro, Cagliari (only until 2018) and Taranto (only until 2014). The most important gateway cluster, for both DSS and SSS services, is the Ligurian one, which includes Genoa, the major Italian container gateway port. Genoa has shown an almost constant increase in container traffic in the time period analyzed. Italian hub ports are also an important group, but they have registered a negative trend in the years under analysis. DSS routes, to Far East and the American Continent, usually call at the Ligurian ports and the hub port of Gioia Tauro. Northern Adriatic ports are crossed by only a few DSS routes, but they are crossed by a large number of SSS routes, especially feeder ones, with transshipment mainly in the hub ports of Gioia Tauro, Marsaxlokk, Piraeus and Port Said. The evolution of DSS services shows clearly the effects of naval gigantism phenomenon: the number of DSS services has decreased, but the total and, especially, the average DWT have increased. As regards SSS routes, also their frequencies have decreased, but their length and, in particular, the number of ports called, have increased: this choice is performed by container operators in order to increase the ships ’load factor’. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The maritime transport system in the Adriatic region has been developed thanks to the individual activities of ports, as well as specific strategies for the development of the countries that gravitate towards that region. Regarding its potential, this system is not sufficiently developed and there are no clear criteria for evaluating the potential for success of the future Motorways of the Sea systems and services. The solution to this problem is in the scientific point of view that should contribute to the development of the Motorways of the Sea with its systematic approach and clearly defined criteria of implementation of specific models and common activities. With this scientific article and conducted research, we tried to cover the greater part of the whole transport chain (from the departure point to the destination) which is present in the Adriatic region. It is crucial that we take into consideration the fact that it wasn't possible to gather and analyze the data for every land direction (highways and railways) because we analyzed the infrastructure of the whole region. Thus, the research in this article is directed to the ports and their entries, where the success factor of the port is determined by the success of the direction and the Motorways of the Sea service. In order to accurately determine each of the defined success factors, it was necessary to identify all the subelements which comprise them. The research results point out the complexity of developing new or improving the existing MoS services at higher levels (administrative, infrastructural, organizational, etc.). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Roll-on Roll-of (Ro-Ro) transport is one of the primary options EU policy is focusing on for developing intermodal transport and MOS initiatives, aimed at reducing road transport (especially trucks). In line with EU guidelines, this study proposes an integrated and optimized network scheme for the maritime Ro-Ro freight services currently operating in the Italian Tyrrhenian area to improve the overall supply of shipping services. The methodological approach used is based on the integration of the timetables and frequencies of existing freight shipping services using an original mathematical model that assigns demand flows to the network while trying to minimize a multi-objective function composed of a weighted sum of travel times and tariffs. Quantitative results show the positive impact generated by rescheduling and coordinating liner shipping and demonstrate how a 'Tyrrhenian network system' considered as a whole would be more attractive than the single services taken collectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present research, a methodology is developed to determine the relationship between the variables that define the use of liquefied natural gas in short sea shipping in Europe, through the use of data-mining techniques. The project takes place in the European space, which includes data from 30 countries, the 28 members of the European Union plus Norway and Iceland. A Bayesian network is constructed with the 35 indicators selected, which are classified into five different categories: international trade and transport, economy and finance, population and social condition, environment and energy, and institutional and political. It is found that capacity of liquefied natural gas regasification terminals under construction and modal distribution of cargo transport by inland waters are the two root nodes of the network. In addition, the variables of transport and international trade and economy and finance become the most important in the decision to implement liquefied natural gas as marine fuel, while those of environment and energy and population and condition are the most dependent on the network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We propose a set of policy measures that can mitigate and reverse negative impacts of the SECA limits. • The total costs of each policy action are shown to critically depend on the specific service and fuel prices. • We calculate the increased costs if external costs of transport are internalized. • The designed models are tested on real-world data provided by a leading Ro-Ro operator. • The insights of this work are transferable to other shipping sectors ahead of the global sulphur cap. The 0.1% limit in sulphur content within Sulphur Emission Control Areas as of 1st January 2015 requires that ship operators either use pricier ultra-low sulphur fuel oil, or alternatively install abatement technologies through substantial capital investments. A part of the resulting higher operating costs are passed on to shippers resulting in increased freight rates. These may lead to modal shifts towards rail or road options competing with Ro-Ro operators. Due to the unexpectedly low fuel prices in the period 2014–2016, Ro-Ro operators were relatively unharmed by the new limits, but nascent research has shown that if fuel prices increase some Ro-Ro services may not survive. This paper examines a set of policy options that can mitigate or reverse the negative effects of the low-sulphur regulation. The measures include internalizing external costs of transport, repaying fuel surcharges to shippers, subsidizing technological investments of ship operators, or increasing the landbased costs of transport via levies. To compare their efficacy, total costs are calculated for each measure. The results show that the proposed measures can successfully reduce the negative effects of the regulation but this would entail significant costs. A combination of subsidies towards shippers and ship operators is shown to be effective at reversing potential modal shifts and can be crucial in case of high fuel prices in the near future. The findings of this work can assist operators to develop new strategies and improve the resilience of their network, and regulators designing environmental policies that may have negative implications on certain sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • The iso-emission map is an interesting tool from the environmental perspective. • It allows to compare transport alternatives according to their air emissions. • It offers a complementary point of view to the monetary one. • It allows to identify the geographical area where each alternative is preferable. • It facilitates the identification of the most suitable vehicle and load required. Abstract Policy makers around the world are promoting different initiatives to face the threat of global warming. This work focuses on the transport sector. In particular, it focuses on those initiatives that promote the shift of traffic from road to sea by supporting short sea shipping services in order to reduce air emissions. The aim is to contribute to the debate about the desirability of this modal rebalance from an environmental point of view. To this end, the so-called iso-emission map is proposed. This new tool allows to identify the geographical scope where each transport alternative is more environmentally friendly. It is focused on physical emissions, therefore it provides an additional and complementary point of view about the suitability of any modal shift. To illustrate the proposal made, the iso-emission map is introduced through a case study: The motorway of the sea Gijón-St. Nazaire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On 1 January 2015, the sulphur upper limit for marine fuels used within sulphur emission control areas was lowered from 1% to 0.1%, with which vessels can comply only through using pricier ultra-low-sulphur fuel, or investing in abatement technologies. A potential increase of fuel prices could lead to closures of services due to the combined effects of loss of market due to higher freight rates, and increased operational costs. This paper builds on previous work allowing the modelling of modal shifts between sea and land-based options, and assesses the potential of operational measures that ship-owners can deploy to cope with the threat of the low-sulphur requirements. The measures include speed reduction, change of service frequency, use of alternative fuels such as liquefied natural gas, investments in scrubber systems, and improved fleet assignment. The proposed measures are tested on a set of case studies for services that are part of a short sea shipping network of a leading Ro-Ro operator. The results of this work can be useful to practitioners seeking to design new strategies that improve the resilience of their network, as well as to regulatory bodies designing new regulation that could have negative implications on certain sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The maritime industry has been continuously transforming the nature of its business and striving to embrace technology in many aspects. In this context, autonomous technologies have been receiving momentum with a potential to revolutionise the landscape of shipping industry. After conducting a comprehensive literature review on the issues facing by the short sea shipping (SSS) industry, a model is developed to explore the potential savings of removing crew and use of autonomous technologies through a Continuously Unmanned Ship (CUS) that is operated by a Shore Control Centre (SCC). The analysis shows that autonomous technologies are viable to the challenges that the shipping industry is facing in terms of crew costs and skill shortage. To validate this statement, a case study is selected and various scenarios were tested based on relevant operational and financial considerations, including crew arrangement, cargo utilisation levels and shore wage coefficients. The results suggest that the savings occur in demand-uncertain markets and where a network of vessels are operated via a control centre. While autonomous technology use in shipping holds promise, there remain several limitations that this research addresses in terms of implementation, commercial attractiveness, risk profile, legislative, workforce planning and port operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In July 2021, the European Union (EU) published a package of measures for the decarbonization of maritime transport: Market Based Measures (MBM) and Goal Based Measures (GBM) that will gradually be phased in over 2023. The measures derive from an EU decision taken independently of the International Maritime Organization. This fragmentation of maritime transport governance leads to new working scenarios in the EU that have given rise to concern in the shipping industry. This paper analyzes the monetary consequences of EU decarbonization regulation on Short Sea Shipping (SSS) by introducing a mathematical model to meet this aim. From the application of this model to SSS container vessel operating between the Canary Islands and the Iberian Peninsula, it is found that, although MBM accurately reflect the pollutant impact of SSS vessels in the aftermath of the 2020 Global Sulphur Cap, only GBM along with non-compliance deterrents can redirect the vessels' investments towards more sustainable solutions in the medium-term. • Mathematical model to quantify the EU measures for shipping's decarbonization. • Market Based Measures accurately reflect the pollutant impact of Short Sea Shipping. • Market Based Measures are insufficient to boost more sustainable investment decisions. • Goal Based Measures are really able to modify mitigation strategies in vessels. • Deterrent fines by Goal Based Measures non-compliance are needed for decarbonization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current state of the North Port, part of the Port of Split predetermined for the cargo turnover, shows modest rate traffic. The paper examines if there is a potential for the further development and modernization of the port by integrating the Short Sea Shipping (SSS) services. Analysis regarding the main principles of the SSS concept has been provided for the North Port in order to penetrate and exploit new markets and demands as well as the directions of the future growth, mainly by using intermodal transport services. This implies particularly the revitalization of the Una track and investments in "green" technologies with the purpose of lowering the external costs of transport and positioning on the market as a green port offering lower harbour fees and taxes. With the implementation of new technologies based on sustainable development, eco-friendly mechanization, and port equipment, the North Port could establish new markets positioned in the hinterland and gravitational background of the city of Split and achieve a higher cargo turnover, primarily in the container transport, but also in the other segments of the port business. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current state of the North Port, part of the Port of Split predetermined for the cargo turnover, shows modest rate traffic. The paper examines if there is a potential for the further development and modernization of the port by integrating the Short Sea Shipping (SSS) services. Analysis regarding the main principles of the SSS concept has been provided for the North Port in order to penetrate and exploit new markets and demands as well as the directions of the future growth, mainly by using intermodal transport services. This implies particularly the revitalization of the Una track and investments in "green" technologies with the purpose of lowering the external costs of transport and positioning on the market as a green port offering lower harbour fees and taxes. With the implementation of new technologies based on sustainable development, eco-friendly mechanization, and port equipment, the North Port could establish new markets positioned in the hinterland and gravitational background of the city of Split and achieve a higher cargo turnover, primarily in the container transport, but also in the other segments of the port business. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of a seaport depends on how well it is connected in a transportation network. A port’s connectivity is therefore one of the key issues in determining its competitiveness and developments in regions and countries. We construct a port connectivity index for major Norwegian ports based on a unique dataset derived from the automated identification system (AIS) for multiple vessel types over a 7-year period. Port connectivity is evaluated empirically by the number of unique vessel visits, vessel sizes, and cargo sizes. The research has implications for port authorities and policy makers in the areas of port planning, infrastructure investment, short sea shipping promotion, and environmental policies. The contributions of this research are twofold. First, the methodology linking the AIS vessel-tracking system with port connectivity is a pioneering empirical application of maritime big data. Second, the port connectivity index is constructed for multiple vessel types and regional port groups, which is an improvement from the current literature where conceptual measures are constructed based on hypothetical and usually too simple optimization rules. The methodology can be easily expanded to other regions in the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research on job demands in seafaring has focused on the effects of workload and circadian disturbance on seafarers’ health and fatigue. Taking a more comprehensive approach, this study identifies job demands of short sea cargo shipping lines and explores their effects on work and life on board. Data came from 54 interviews with officers and crew on five cargo ships. Findings revealed job demands related to characteristics of the schedule, ports, and sea voyages; these were not only associated with workload and circadian disturbance, but also with the difficulty of the work, the ability to plan ahead, and intrusions from third parties. Job demands affected outcomes through two interconnected processes. First, job demands had direct and indirect effects on fatigue and the working climate on board. Second, potential positive effects of job demands (i.e. interesting work and pay) were related to motivation and, together with a good working climate, could reduce turnover. Connecting the two processes, a good working climate was pivotal in counteracting negative emotions and supporting motivation and collaboration. In this way, it functioned as a key resource. External constraints could either buffer or reinforce these effects. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A novel methodology is developed for determining the characteristics of a cargo roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) ship and the fleet size required for a given short sea shipping route. The ship and required fleet size to satisfy the transportation demand (for each pair of speed and freight rate) are determined using a database of existing cargo ro-ro ships to obtain the main technical characteristics of the most suitable ship. The time charter, voyage costs and revenue are then calculated considering the technical characteristics of each ship. Fuel costs are corrected for the actual ship speed and loading condition. A number of restrictions in the transportation problem are considered leading to the exclusion of unfeasible solutions. The maximum profit over the period of a year is identified among the feasible pairs of speed and freight rate. This general methodology is applied in a case study that considers the route between Leixões (Portugal) and Rotterdam (Netherlands). The study allows the identification of the most suitable ship and fleet sizes for different market penetration levels and quantifies the impact on shipping company profit of changes in parameters such as fuel costs, time charter costs, emission control area, installed propulsion power and stacking factor. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In recent times the implications of environmental regulation in the transport sector have been increasing. The European Community has set itself the goal of carrying out an authentic strategy to rationalize transport policy, this has also happened in maritime transport, with special impact due to the possibility of expanding the navigation zones ECAs (Emission Control Area) around the world and the new regulations for reduction of sulfur content of the European Union. This framework in which the port sector operates is favoring the consolidation of LNG (liquefied natural gas) as an alternative fuel for short sea shipping. The present study aims to analyze the implication of incidental economic variables in the choice of liquefied natural gas as fuel in short sea shipping through the use of Bayesian networks. Used methodology has made it necessary to construct a Bayesian network using 35 indicators. They have been classified in 5 different categories. Result of network analysis show that variables called "Capacity of liquefied natural gas regasification terminals under construction" and "Modal distribution of inland water goods transportation" are the two root nodes. So, both of them are significant variables to make decision of liquefied natural gas implementation as fuel. However, environmental and energy category and population and social condition category are the most dependent ones because they are far away from root nodes in the network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although fatigue is considered an important problem in shipping, little is known about potential mitigating factors or resources for coping. Adopting a Job Demands–Resources framework, this article examines the effects of both job demands (stressors) and resources on fatigue, focusing on social interactions on board as a potential source of social support. Using an incomplete repeated-measures design, the study combined information from documents with surveys on seven cargo ships. Findings indicated that fatigue levels were highest for those working on deck and for individuals at higher hierarchical levels. Higher numbers of port calls (and to some extent lower numbers of days at sea) also increased fatigue levels. By contrast, night watches and the number of days in port had no effect on fatigue. Supportive social interactions reduced fatigue (main effect), but their effect was weaker when the number of port calls increased (interaction effect). All main effects were mediated by individuals’ perceptions of work pressure. Taken together, findings highlight the importance of considering social interactions on board to advance our understanding of stressors and strain in seafaring. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Coastal shipping has been widely recognised as a sustainable and efficient alternative to road transport. However, the barriers encountered in the industry have not been systematically studied in any region. From an Indian perspective, this study aims to prioritise barriers to coastal shipping development for effective policy interventions. It identifies important barriers through a Delphi study and then quantifies their cause-and-effect relationships by the decision making-trial and evaluation laboratory analysis ( DEMATEL ) technique. It is interesting that the main barriers, those have most impact on coastal shipping development, are not necessarily the ones most widely recognised. The study also uncovers the hidden cause-and-effect relationships between several barriers. Four main barriers are identified: (1) Indian maritime legislation (especially cabotage rules); (2) issues in the infrastructure and procedures at port and port-centric areas; (3) underdevelopment of small ports; (4) lack of a collaborative culture among the various service providers involved in the logistics supply chain. This study finally recommends relaxing cabotage rules to stimulate the inflow of foreign capital to grow coastal shipping, improving the current port system through joint efforts of the ports, Indian customs and government, and fostering supply chain collaboration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Comprehensive methodology for evaluating intermodal transport chains. • Case study for evaluating various transport chains to Northern Europe. • Identification of the impact of external costs in the transport chain preferences. • Geographical information system utilization for displaying chain preferences. This paper presents research on the impact of transportation external costs internalization in the competitiveness of short sea shipping. Numerical methods for calculating emissions and external costs, that consider the full range of technical and operational vehicle characteristics are presented. The impacts of existing and future emission control areas, emissions abatement technologies, types of fuel, ship speed, cargo capacity and utilization factors in the required freight rate are evaluated. Internal and external costs are used to evaluate alternative intermodal chains for a set of pairs origin/destination extending to a range of regions in Northern Europe. Short sea shipping is competitive for a large set of destinations and its scope of competitiveness does not change significantly between different scenarios. Competitiveness regarding external costs shows more variation but, due to the small relative magnitude of these costs, internalization shows a moderate potential for promoting modal shift towards short sea shipping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aims to determine the amount and mixture composition of vessels in short sea shipping (SSS) operation in Java. SSS in Java is proposed to mitigate the surface transportation problem and move freight off the overcrowded North-Coast highways and rail systems onto the waterways. A mathematical model based on non-linear integer programming was developed to calculate the amount and the composition mix of vessels required for the proposed system. The model was solved by Lingo software and the computational results reveal that the proposed system would require daily shipment using 1 unit of type B vessel and 1 unit of type C vessel. The calculation results also show that the SSS in Java would require 6 vessels to operate. Overall, the model and the obtained solutions in this paper provide an alternative to raise awareness of short sea shipping's potential with the government, logistic companies, and executive policymakers. Finally, this paper also contribute to research of Maritime Fleet Size and Mix problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite significant changes in work tasks performed on board, towards more sedentary monitoring and administrative work, the incidence of occupational injuries and disorders remains high among seafarers. In order to improve safety standards, industry stakeholders increasingly require written documentation of numerous routines, procedures and tasks performed on board. These increased demands have however added to the administrative burden. Some say, to the extent that administrative work has become a safety risk in itself. This paper presents the result of a survey investigating how Swedish seafarers perceive their own level of fatigue, stress and over-exertion related to work. The material consists of 1309 respondents originating from a random selection procedure, of which 651 reported to be employed in short sea shipping. Multiple regression analysis (OLS regression), allowing adjusted effects, were applied in several steps of the analysis. The highest levels of exertion were reported by employees in the catering department, positions not generally associated with high administrative burden. Perceived high levels of administrative work do increase the level of exertion, but cannot explain the observed pattern. Future ship and trade-specific studies on physical and mental well-being and complementary studies on the catering department’s working conditions and work environment are necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maritime transport has conceptually evolved, as well as the offered service. It has gone from the Short Sea Shipping inception in 1992, the Motorways of the Sea since 2001 to the recent approach of Multimodal Corridors. They all have the same objective, which is the free movement of people and freight throughout the EU. Therefore, it is necessary to have an efficient and sustainable European transport that can only be achieved by the smart integration of all transport modes in our power. Consequently, the Multimodal Corridor concept will play an important role in transport and infrastructure investments in Europe in the next years, with a differentiation in three levels depending on the importance of the TEN-T Network: Core Network or main network, the Comprehensive Network or secondary network and the radial network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the political objective of decreasing wad transport and transfer cargo to rail and sea, short sea shipping is struggling. Historically, building larger vessels has been the main pathway for reducing fuel consumption and cost, however while ships in deep-sea trades competes against similar ships and partly other ship types, their major competitor in short sea trades are the trucks. The benefit of trucks is that they transports small batch sizes, i.e. 20 - 25 tons from door to door, and that the frequency can be anything from minutes to days. In contrast typical frequencies for scheduled shipping lines are once a day, or two or three times a week, and while trucks are standardized and built in huge numbers, short sea vessels are less standardized and typically built in short series. The results of this study indicates that significant fuel and cost savings can be achieved by designing and building slender, simplified and standardized short sea ships and that these savings might be of a similar magnitude as the traditional Economies of Scale benefits which are achievable by doubling the vessel size. Significant cost reductions without increasing vessel sizes will enable shipping lines to keep the sailing frequencies and hence increase their market share versus road transport [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The promotion of environmentally friendly modes of transport, in particular Short Sea Shipping, and their effective integration in multimodal transport chains and networks is one from the group of central objectives of the European Union's transport policy. According to results of different relevant researches available to the author, to the group of problems which still hamper Short Sea Shipping development belongs lack of flexibility in ports. Port machinery flexibility, in general, is one of the factors with decisive influence on port flexibility. After some general considerations of the Short Sea Shipping concept, parameters which enable measuring Short Sea Shipping capability (potential) of a port, from the aspect of port machinery, are identified. Interdependences between port machinery flexibility and Short Sea Shipping capability (potential) of a port (using the Port of Bar as an object of analysis) are taken into detailed consideration in this paper, too. By the results of analyses presented in the paper is confirmed existence of correlation between the Short Sea Shipping capability (potential) of a port and port machinery flexibility: to a higher level of the Short Sea Shipping capability (potential) of a port corresponds a higher level of port machinery flexibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global and domestic literature knows many terms that are related to the carriage of goods by more than one mode of transportation (marine, rail, inland waterways, road, air), and the most common ones are multi-modal, multi-mode, combined,...,intermodal, integrated and co-modal. Many authors have given historically different explanations of these terms, but still there is some confusion in respect of their meaning and definition. The lack of original and unambiguous definitions is understandable given the fact that this method of transport is constantly evolving and changing in technical, legal and administrative (logistical) terms, and authors of the past tried to give explanations which represented the reality at the time. The main concern of this study is to contribute to defining the meaning of the following terms: multimodal, intermodal, and combined transport, short sea shipping, and maritime traffic. The authors believe that a clear understanding of these terms requires the definition of the European Commission, the International Forum for Transport, Economic Commission for Europe of the United Nations and the definitions of prominent Croatian experts in traffic to be analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intermodal transport represents a vital element for the world trade, which tries to integrate in the most efficient way various modes of transport. In order to develop this type of transport, the European Union promotes short sea shipping as a highly efficient form of transport when referring to energy conservation and environmental performance. Within our study we have tried to highlight its importance for the European transport system by presenting a statistical overview of short sea shipping in Europe, as a sustainable part of the intermodal transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nearly the entire European trade of Finland is being executed through short sea shipping connections to Estonia, Sweden and Germany. Earlier the most important connections were to Sweden and Germany, but during Estonia's new independence era, volumes to this alternative direction have increased considerably, and are continuously growing (time alone is good proxy for growth). This cannot be said for transport flows to Sweden, and Germany also holds high uncertainty. Based on the findings of this research, it is argued that Estonian connection growth was caused by different factors. One important factor was European Union membership in the year 2004. It should be emphasized that this was stepwise and was realized a decade ago. The main influence is that of the development of bulky trade. As measured in weight, both export and import of Finland with Estonia was found to be significant. However, in monetary terms only Finnish imports from Estonia was statistically significant. Finnish exports in turn to Estonia in value terms have contributed a negative effect (or even being insignificant). As the regression model was expanded, taking into account all three Baltic States and Poland, reliable additional findings couldn't be drawn. Completed regression analysis shows that the explanation power of GDP based models became much lower after the years 2005-2006. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The comparative superiority of shipping services with respect to atmospheric emissions per ton-km is beyond debate in the case of deep sea and bulk operations. The case for short sea shipping in a setting with small consignments and frequent port-calls needs to be demonstrated relative to road transport alternatives, in particular when cargo markets are fluctuating. The empirical part of this article is based on detailed shipment-level data from a current European short sea operation and data from engine reports on actual fuel consumption. The dataset enables the construction of a high-quality origin–destination matrix of pallet-based shipments. A contrafactual case of an alternative trucking operation serving this comprehensive set of shipments is constructed, and CO2 equivalent emissions to air are calculated and analysed under different scenarios. This comparative analysis illustrates just how efficient a modern short sea shipping operation needs to be in order to compete with road transport with respect to air emissions. The analysis suggests that such a pallet-based short sea shipping operation may be superior to trucking alternatives when it comes to carbon emissions under given circumstances, but not always. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: Increased energy efficiency will be paramount in mitigating CO2 emissions from shipping. Paradoxically, previous research has shown that a substantial amount of measures that typically increase energy efficiency, should be cost-efficient to implement. This is often explained in literature in terms of barriers in markets, institutions and organizations. This article is the first of a series of articles from a joint industry project aiming at understanding good energy management practices in shipping companies. It explores barriers to energy efficiency in shipping through a case study of a short sea shipping company in their process to implement an energy management system. An action research design was chosen to contribute to better practice as well as knowledge in the research community. The study shows that work with energy efficiency was not straightforward, and several challenge areas could be discerned: project management capabilities, ship-shore communication, division of responsibilities, access to performance measurements, and competence in energy efficiency. It is proposed that interpretative research methodologies such as action research could contribute to new perspectives on the traditional barrier discourse. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Market access to coastal shipping services is often severely restricted. Most countries impose national flag requirements as a minimum. However, Australia's coastal shipping market has been more open than many other markets, allowing foreign flag access to domestic shipping through a unique permit and licensing scheme. This article assesses Australia's regulation of cabotage by examining the nature of the permits issued to foreign flag companies for domestic shipments and evaluates the changes currently being proposed against a database of permits issued in 2009 and 2010. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The feasibility of implementing short sea shipping (SSS) between two specific ports has been typically approached on the operative level, in terms of time and cost for a specific origin–destination pair. This paper focuses on the strategic level. Particularly, its goal is to study the potential of SSS in different industrial sectors by analysing their freight-distribution strategies. To achieve the objective, some standard freight-distribution strategies are defined based on the requirements of the industry, the demand and the product being transported. The information is complemented with a survey of more than 100 Spanish companies distributing internationally. As a result it is concluded that there are economies of scale related to the size of the carrier (the ship) and its capacity to absorb the variability in demand. This potential increases with the cargo value. Additionally, a framework of supply/distribution chains is provided which can help to identify potential customers/sectors and the feasibility of new potential shipping lines. The value of this paper resides in its approach (strategic, instead of operational/tactical), and the solid groundwork point provided for future researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The short sea shipping of goods parallel with Constanta's competitiveness can be an option of road and rail transport if supposing that the European Union's transport policy (e.g. Marco Polo program) is able to coordinate especially the short sea shipping with the inland waterway and overland transport. It is necessary that the short sea shipping of goods should be integrated into the TEN-network more effectively, or the „hub“ role of major ports should become more powerful. The development of the following decades in relation to Constanta should focus on this purpose so that the port can be an optional target for the Western European and Mediterranean ports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The trade-off between flexibility and specialisation implies delicate tasks for transport system designers and marketing managers. The outcome of their efforts ranges from highly specialised solutions for a restricted number of users and types of cargoes to very open systems for common use adapted to accommodate a wide variety of transport demands. The purpose of this article is to adapt theories on openness and trade-offs, characterise a selection of flexible and specialised European short sea shipping concepts and analyse how substantial changes in the future character of the competition with road and rail can affect the development of ro-ro shipping in the South Baltic Sea. A matrix with commercial openness and technological openness on the axes is used for categorising sub-segments in the empirical context of the South Baltic Sea. Foreseeable changes in key cost and competition parameters until 2020 are taken into account in discussing potential scenarios. A plausible outcome for the ferry/ro-ro shipping segment is that a branch with slow services for unaccompanied freight will be diverted from the current homogenous market offerings. During the study, the Swedish Orient Line launched a service with these characteristics, which is analysed in a case study. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: This paper analyzes how the strategy taken by the cargo carrier when using motorways of the sea (understood as regular roll on/roll off short sea shipping lines) affects the competitiveness of the shipping line. Five different strategies were analyzed and grouped into three main types: road door-to-door transportation, road and sea transportation combined with a driver always accompanying the cargo and road and sea transportation where the cargo travels unaccompanied. The analysis provides formulae to calculate the economical and temporal cost differences from using a sea link in distribution and assesses the risk and investments necessary to maximize the profit for each strategy. The paper ends identifying the critical points affecting the competitiveness of short sea shipping roll on/roll off lines and proposes policies that could help in its development and success. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Motorways of the sea represent the concept of the new European maritime multimodal connections and still have huge untapped potential of maritime transport in the European Union countries and in the Republic of Croatia. Diverting freight flows to the sea, increasing the cohesion of traffic, reducing road congestion by redistributing the cargo flows on the maritime and rail transport, and perhaps most importantly, implementation of the environmentally friendly transport are just some of the reasons for promoting the idea of a motorways of the sea. Achieving a clean, safe and efficient transportation system as an alternative to land transport is reflected in numerous policy documents of the European Union and generally aims to introduce new multimodal logistics chains that will contribute to the creation of structural changes in transport. Also, this concept contributes to the political initiatives of the European Union for the European maritime space without boundaries, and promotes environmentally sustainable transportation. In additional, Ecobonus initiative was launched by the Italian government and it seeks to promote the use of motorways of the sea networks and divert freight traffic from inland to maritime transportation. The aim of this paper is to systematically explore and elaborate the possibilities of the application and implementation "Ecobonus" initiative in the Republic of Croatia. It was necessary to define the major determinant of motorways of the sea and "Ecobonus" initiative. Using the methodological approach of the cost-benefit analysis of Ecobonus's in Italy proven the importance of implementation of this initiative and possible application and implementation of "Ecobonus" initiative in the Republic of Croatia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air pollution is the most relevant externality of maritime transport and its effects are more acute in urban areas. As Short Sea Shipping (SSS) services call ports frequently and expend significant time in port, both the overall turnaround time and the port city closeness, become critical in their sustainable performance. This paper analyses the impact of maritime transport on Spanish SSS ports and identifies the ideal ones, reflecting the differences in their sustainable performance and finally identifying the characteristics that a harbour needs to gather in order to minimize air pollution impact in the maritime transport sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The purpose of this article is to investigate why rail is used to move semi-trailers to and from seaports to lesser extent than it is used to move maritime containers, and which actions can foster an increase of semi-trailer transport by rail. The two types of load units are obviously used in quite different logistics settings. The two transport segments are compared in terms of the transport markets they serve, the competition they face and the operational and technological principles upon which they operate. The empirical setting is the transport of general cargo in load units between Scandinavia, Continental Europe and the UK, although the container segment is analysed as an element of deep-sea liner shipping. Empirical findings are drawn from the case of the Port of Gothenburg and its Scandinavian hinterland. Sustained double-digit annual growth has led to a situation where most of the potential market for the hinterland transport of maritime containers has already been realised. The challenge for further growth is now to capture the semi-trailer segment. Not surprisingly, this analysis shows that rail is more competitive for the hinterland transport of containers than of semi-trailers, but there are still significant opportunities for reaping the benefits of rail transport of semi-trailer transport in the hinterlands of European ports. An increased integration of rail transport and Roll-on/Roll-off shipping will not only require, but also encourage, changes in the overall system design as well as its competitiveness compared to all-road and all-rail services. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Short Sea Shipping (SSS) has attracted a lot of attention in the European Union in the last 15years. It is considered as a mode favoured to alleviate road congestion. Alas, promises have not been met and cargo transfers have not reached their objectives yet, despite strong financial will and a programme for modal shift implemented by the European Union (EU). The hypothesis raised by this paper is that Short Sea Shipping has not been well defined in the EU and market potential for modal shift from land to sea has been overestimated. Therefore, this has a great impact for policy-making. Studies have covered many topics such as its implementation using case studies, cost-benefit analysis compared to land-transport modes, general European shipping policy and its environmental contribution. Therefore, little has been written on the role of public institutions in its implementation and no critical assessment of the success of supporting public programme in the EU has been done. This paper explains how the lack of a final definition has led to misadapted public policies favouring modal transfer in the EU and how misknowledge of SSS markets has led to the overestimation of the modal shift potential. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The increase in traffic, freight and passengers has led to an overload of road routes that were no longer able to absorb the growing amount of traffic, and this resulted in unexpected problems related to traffic jams, increased costs and environmental pollution. It was very important to find a suitable alternative that would fully meet all users' criteria and would be able to follow current and future economic expansions, increase in trade and population growth. As a possible solution, the European Union proposed a program of short sea shipping connections, which represents a certain type of innovation. Its aim is to unburden the overloaded road routes and offer sea routes as an alternative. On its path of development the implementation of the program meets many obstacles. Firstly, it is necessary to identify these obstacles, and then to remove them, in order to enable faster and better progress. Therefore, this paper gives a special attention to identifying obstacles that impede the implementation of short sea shipping connection in developed countries of the European Union, and also in the Republic of Croatia. The paper also presents a part of the 'Motorways of the Sea' program, which refers to the introduction of a new intermodal logistics chain, based on ship transport, which should bring structural changes into the organization of European transport. Thus allow for successful functioning of the short sea shipping connections and overcoming the obstacles which impede its implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper investigates the role of preference and scale heterogeneity in the mode choice process of shippers in the Atlantic Canada–US eastern seaboard market. The generalised mixed logit model is estimated to account for heterogeneity in preferences for frequency of departure of freight transport services, along with heterogeneity in scale across respondents. The contributions of the paper to the literature are: the revelation of significant preference and scale heterogeneity in the sample; the estimated distribution of shippers’ willingness-to-pay for gains in service frequency; and the confirmation that there is merit in accounting for scale heterogeneity in future and revisited choice studies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper examines the physical and organizational characteristics of maritime consignments sent from France by comparing those sent by deep sea shipping (DSS) with those sent by short sea shipping (SSS). It employs a very detailed survey that identifies individual shipments, and contains information on routing, mode and organization. The results confirm that the majority of deep sea consignments pass through the major ports, but the SSS market is shown to be more diverse. A link between the size of the hinterland and the type of trade is identified. Finally, the paper shows the importance of logistic service providers in SSS chains. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The aim of this paper is concerned with the design and development of a functional framework for maritime mode integration in European automotive supply chain management when considering outbound distribution. Furthermore, it provides a readjustment of traditional concepts and terminology with findings that the role of ro-ro port terminals should be considered as decoupling points, poles and postponement platforms. Case studies examine relevant Western European ro-ro port terminals for cars and respective links to assembly/factories of vehicles localized in the hinterland and concludes that ro-ro port terminals reduce logistical friction and impedance, as well as promote space/time compression. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper proposes a LNG-fueled coastal RO/RO for the East Coast of the US trade to meet upcoming Emission Control Area (ECA) requirements. The exhaust system for this vessel is proposed to be a wet system so there is no airborne emission. The CO2 remaining in the exhaust system is removed in the exhaust stream, and remaining exhaust components are combined with cooling water to provide a cooling effluent that meets Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requirements. The concept design is carried to the point of determining operating economics, and the environmental effect of operating such ships is assessed as compared to conventional truck traffic. It was found that each ship will reduce East Coast highway truck traffic by over 1900 trucks per week. Since there are no emissions from the ship, each ship will also bring environmental advantages. It appears the ship would be economically competitive with conventional truck transport: the cost for transporting a single 53' trailer via ship is roughly $996, compared to $1245 via truck. Furthermore, the proposed three vessel shipping service could potentially remove nearly 300,000 vehicles from the road annually. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maritime transport facilitates trade with bioenergy feedstocks in the Baltic region. The study aims to provide guidance on efficient organisation of logistics at the port of loading for maritime transport of wood chips. The economic effects of using an intermediate terminal as opposed to direct delivery to port were studied, as well as the relationships between production capacity and storage capacity. Discrete-Event Simulation was used to analyse scenarios where a variable part of the volume is handled through the terminal. The total supply cost, including chipping, transportation, storage and handling at inland terminal and port, as well as loading of the ship, varied between €6.73 and 7.85 per MWh in the different scenarios. The volume passing through the terminal had a significant influence on total cost, showing a supply chain cost increase of €0.78 per m3 (approximately €4.67 per dry tonne) for material delivered through the terminal. The difference in storage cost between port and inland terminal determines whether the terminal volumes affect costs, which was shown by a sensitivity analysis. Even so, the terminal offers a possibility to manage uncertainty, both in production rates and in shipping date, and influences the supply network. The main advantage of using a simulation technique for planning production and logistic flows is the visualisation of risks and margins. • The study represents the conditions in a small rural port for shipping of biofuels. • Total supply cost was, on average, €4.7/odt higher for terminal volumes. • Storage cost at port compared to inland terminal was shown to be a critical factor. • Simulation technique proved valuable for evaluating the margins in production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Environmental charge calculation method by not using cold ironing (CI) in port. • Method is a pollutant differentiation system considers vessels' and port' features. • Environmental charge impact and CI retrofitting feasibility are tested through IRR. • Environmental charge is useful tool when onshore electricity supply is sustainable. • Low GT vessel with long berthing time is the most benefitted SSS ship by CI using. Through Directive 2014/94/EU, European Union (EU) has required European ports to provide facilities to enable Cold Ironing (CI) use by 2025. This new reality advances a stricter normative in terms of port emissions. This paper introduces a calculation method to estimate a specific environmental charge in ports to incentivize CI use in Short Sea Shipping. The impact of this charge on the economic performance of the vessel's operators is assessed through Internal Rate of Return of the CI retrofitting investment in vessels. The calculation method assumes a pollutant differentiation system by considering kinds of vessel, technical features, port localization and hinterlands populations. Results show that, only when the generation of on-shore electricity is dominated by sustainable sources, the environmental charge is effective to stimulate the CI retrofitting of vessels in adverse scenarios. Sensitivity analyses determine that low gross tonnages' vessels with longer berthing times take greater advantage from CI use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]