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This paper introduces the concept of R4 (road-rail-ro-ro), a concept increasingly used in transport and logistics research circles that defines the modern concept of the transport chain as it passes through the intermodal use of rail, road, and ship via ro-ro. The integration of the new rail-road freight services into the reference supply model allows us to define the supply model for the design scenario on which the evaluation is now focused in terms of service-mode demand shares and in terms of design network flows and performance indicators carried out by demand-supply interaction models applied to all available service-modes. The use of strength-weaknesses-opportunities-threats analysis (SWOT) allows for the identification of some strategies to enhance and improve the current rail and maritime corridors in order to attract more customers using the different services, ultimately triggering the involvement of more actors in generating bigger and better integrated logistic chains using intermodality. The SWOT analysis allows the identification of a series of measures in order to adapt, maintain, enhance or exploit the aspects arising from the expert analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a methodology aimed at improving the design of short sea shipping (SSS) services embedded in intermodal door-to-door transport chains. The cargo capacity of a Ro–Ro ship for such a service is estimated. The ship is assumed to operate in an integrated intermodal transport network comprising competing transport chains. The latter link multiple origin–destination (O–D) pairs, in a set of discrete geographical regions separated by sea, including non-European Union (EU) countries. The methodology comprises four steps, starting by estimating freight transport demand between O–D pairs using a method that combines international trade and maritime transport data. The estimated demand is then allocated to transport chains on the basis of a logistic regression model that considers both cost and time of transportation. The maximum aggregate freight transportation demand among all legs of the Ro–Ro service is used as the governing criterion to determine the right ship size. An application of the methodology is carried out for the case of a Ro–Pax service between mainland Portugal, Madeira, and Morocco, as a set of two round voyages with opposite rotations. The SSS service researched here is of particular interest as it could provide a crucial link, serving simultaneously an EU peripheral region and a fast-developing non-EU country. The required cargo capacity of the ship, expressed in lane meter length, is determined, with results showing that the proposed adjustments can significantly improve the economic results of the service. [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]

This paper introduces the concept of R4 (road-rail-ro-ro), a concept increasingly used in transport and logistics research circles that defines the modern concept of the transport chain as it passes through the intermodal use of rail, road, and ship via ro-ro. The integration of the new rail-road freight services into the reference supply model allows us to define the supply model for the design scenario on which the evaluation is now focused in terms of service-mode demand shares and in terms of design network flows and performance indicators carried out by demand-supply interaction models applied to all available service-modes. The use of strength-weaknesses-opportunities-threats analysis (SWOT) allows for the identification of some strategies to enhance and improve the current rail and maritime corridors in order to attract more customers using the different services, ultimately triggering the involvement of more actors in generating bigger and better integrated logistic chains using intermodality. The SWOT analysis allows the identification of a series of measures in order to adapt, maintain, enhance or exploit the aspects arising from the expert analysis.

The transport system causes extremely harmful consequences for society and the environment. It is manifested through the increased emission of harmful exhaust gases, traffic congestions, traffic accidents, increased level of noise, higher levels of stress and various diseases of all participants of the transport system and society in general. The implementation and modernization of intermodality through the Motorways of the Sea (MoS) as its ecological and socio-economic sustainable subsystem is the efficient way of reducing the above mentioned consequences. Further sustainable development of MoS can be observed according to the ecological and socio-economic criteria and sub-criteria set out in this paper in order to keep it in direct function of protecting the society and preserving the environment.

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]

Motorways of the sea (MoS) came into being in order to offer a competitive alternative to the transport of goods by road, with the aim of relieving the congestion of land routes and promoting sustainable mobility. However, the numbers of passengers who use them for leisure purposes to move from one destination to another highlights their potential use for tourism. Thus, the objective of this study is to investigate the economic importance of this transport mode in terms of tourism development. To that end, discrete choice models are estimated with censored data, allowing identification of the factors that positively or negatively affect the total expenditure of tourists using the MoS. Finally, through an input-output model, the economic impact generated in a region is estimated. The results show a total economic impact in the region of Asturias equal to 50 % of the government subsidies received in Spain for the MoS project in 2013. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of a GIS for the analysis of the Motorways of the Sea requires special consideration in mapping, taking into account the scale of the work and the projection used, as it consists of networks spanning several hundreds or even thousands of miles. Also taking into account the fundamentals of the ecological and logistic efficiency justifying its genesis, parameterization can become complex. For this reason, we propose a model where all parameters are assigned to the arcs of a single multimodal network layer, obviating the point geometry of the nodes. In this paper, we disclose the techniques for the development of this network, its parameterization, and application to the European network of the Motorways of the Sea with the aim of obtaining route optimization results according to various criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liner shipping with all its specific features plays an importantrole in the economic development of a country whose portsare involved. In the strategic goals of maritime policy for the period2005-2009 the European Commission stresses the needfor a sustainable environmental development and economicgrowth. Besides, it points out the necessity for the fulfilment ofall maritime potentials. Yet, individual EU member states frequentlycreate the environment, which discourages the developmentof their own national maritime economy. Unfortunately,this applies also to the Republic of Slovenia. The current paperoffers a detailed analysis of the weaknesses and benefits of theclassical liner shipping in present day.

In this study the author presents the focus points regarding the evolution of maritime laws and the most important aspects in respect of free shipping and trading between states. Therefore, there are examined legal aspects concerning the status of all the motorways of the sea, the natural straits, the ship registration and the ownership of the vessel. The Geneva Convention on the High Seas of 1958, the United Nation Convention on the Law of the Sea of 1982 and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development are essential and represent the basis for today's maritime laws and regulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the main outcomes of the NAS-ITIP project (FRAMEWORK'5) on the situation of intermodal transport in new European Union states. The main measures for the development of intermodal transport in these countries are highlighted: modernisation and development of intermodal infrastructure; innovative technologies; establishment of modern logistics centres. Recommendations to EC and national governmental institutions for the development of intermodality are proposed.

Freight volumes are increasing worldwide, following almost the same growth rate as the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This has resulted in congested sections of the road system and increase of traffic accidents. Consequently, several governments in Europe are promoting alternative modes of transport. Besides the use of railways, the European Union is promoting the use of maritime transport for short distances. This initiative, ‘Motorways of the Sea (MoS)’, aims at the establishment of more efficient and competitive maritime services between different countries. The present paper analyzes the development of an MoS network in the East Adriatic area, linking the Greek Ports of Igoumenitsa and Patras in the Ionian Sea. This is done by identifying financially viable MoS corridors, servicing the freight and passenger demand of the area. Initially, the freight and passenger flows of MoS in the East Adriatic/Ionian Seas region, based on the application of the four-step methodology for transport planning, are estimated. Then, the financial viability of each MoS is elaborated, based on the estimated flows. Hence, the network of MoS services is determined for the area. Thus, the paper provides a useful tool to maritime operators, port authorities and policy makers to investigate the financial viability of an MoS network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite European Union (EU) political support to identify the most feasible Motorways of the Sea, the final decision can only be made by Private Shipping Companies, which are operators of a unique stretch of the intermodal chain. This paper provides a multi-criteria decision method to identify the most suitable Motorways of the Sea taking into account the competitiveness of whole intermodal routes versus the alternative of road transport from the loader’s perspective. The analysis is carried out assuming a ‘many-to-many’ transport model. Firstly indexes of time and cost were defined and evaluated for every available route in the model in accordance with a multi-criteria decision matrix. Secondly, through a Monte Carlo simulation a sensitivity analysis was carried out in order to evaluate the influence on the results of the forecast assumed to construct the matrix. The results obtained are not only quantitative, but also qualitative. The development of intermodal routes via Motorways of the Sea is especially relevant for the peripheral EU countries. Due to the relevance of the freight flow between France and Spain and the congestion of their connections through the Pyrenees, the method proposed was applied to the analysis of this particular case [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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]

Today, there is widespread consensus about the notable, yet simultaneously growing, negative environmental impacts generated by the transportation sector. Experts working in a number of different fields consider the current situation to be unsustainable and possible measures to reduce emissions and foster sustainability are being encouraged. The European Commission has highlighted the need to shift away from unimodal road transport toward a greater use of intermodal transport through, for example, motorways of the sea, in light of the evidence that the former makes a significant contribution to increased CO2 emissions. However, although there is a general perception that sea transport is environmentally preferable to road transport, recent studies are beginning to question this assumption. Moreover, little research has been conducted to quantify environmental aspects and incorporate them into the decision-making processes involved in the modal shift. This study first reviews the existing literature to examine the extent to which environmental aspects are relevant in the modal choice in the case of short sea shipping and motorways of the sea. Related to this, the study also evaluates the role that different agents may play in making decisions about choice of mode, taking into consideration environmental aspects. Secondly, we use the values the European Commission provides to calculate external costs for the Marco Polo freight transport project proposals (call 2013) to estimate the environmental costs for several routes (a total of 72), comparing the use of road haulage with the intermodal option that incorporates the Spanish motorways of the sea. The results of this comparative analysis show that the intermodal option is not always the best choice in environmental terms. Consequently, the traditional environmental argument to justify this alternative must be used carefully. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motorways of the Sea is a name for a concept that aims introduction of new intermodal maritime logistics chains which should lead to structural changes in the organization of transport in the next few years. These chains should be sustainable and commercially more efficient and improve access to the same markets across Europe and relieve Europe's maritime system. In order to develop this concept in its entirety, as a prerequisite it is necessary to conduct a detailed cost-benefit analysis and analysis of the impact of maritime highways on the environment. One of the most important and indispensable parts of the analysis are external costs. External costs are part of the external effects affecting the decline in total output, and they consist of predominantly maintenance of the natural environment. External costs of transport reflect the cost of those expenses which ocurr as a result of the exploitation of the transport system. These are therefore the costs of traffic accidents, noise, climate changes, air pollution, traffic congestion, environmental degradation, additional costs in urban areas (separation of certain types of traffic and lack/scarcity of space). In this scientific paper external costs and their potential impact on project implementation of maritime highways is analysed. Considering the fact that the paper will not conduct testing on specific maritime routes, given analysis of external costs will be performed only on a theoretical level, i.e. the external costs will be defined as well as their role in road investments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the main outcomes of the NAS‐ITIP project (FRAMEWORK'5) on the situation of intermodal transport in new European Union states. The main measures for the development of intermodal transport in these countries are highlighted: modernisation and development of intermodal infrastructure; innovative technologies; establishment of modern logistics centres. Recommendations to EC and national governmental institutions for the development of intermodality are proposed. First Published Online: 27 Oct 2010

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]

This paper presents a decision support methodology for long-range planning of transport systems that exhibits strategic flexibility and stochastic system parameters. Unlike one-off strategic decisions, flexible decisions should be dynamically reformulated with time. The proposed methodology is based on the construction of a tree structure of multiple interlinked tactical planning problems, each associated with a scenario in the tree, where problems under scenarios at intermediate dates incorporate in their formulation the solution of the corresponding problems associated with past (future) connected scenarios. The resulting tree structure of interconnected planning decisions becomes a strategic-tactical decision support system that allows managers to formulate suitable flexible strategic decisions that mitigate the consequences associated with downside scenarios while taking advantage of the upside opportunities. The methodology is applied to the planning of a fleet deployment through charter contracts where contract prices depend on both market behavior and the duration of the contract itself. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Green corridors are a European concept denoting long-distance freight transport corridors where advanced technology and co-modality are used to achieve energy efficiency and reduce environmental impact. Green corridors consider all types of agents acting in the door-to-door co-modality chains, including ports. Carbon footprints (CF) provide companies, customers and other agents with information related to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the supply chain of products, identifying key points, potential risks and opportunities for improvement. Its application in both the logistic networks and all modes of transport would allow for the creation of green corridors and sustainable motorways of the sea. This paper describes the method which is composed of financial accounts (MC3) used to estimate the CF of a port. It shows the effects of the method on the Port of Gijón (PAG), which steers the existing Gijón/Nantes/Saint-Nazaire motorway of the sea. The extension of the system to all nodes of the shipping line and other transport modes will lead in the long run to a carbon-neutral green corridor. Our findings show the importance of looking at indirect emissions in order to become a carbon neutral port. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of the Motorways of the Sea (MoS) projects is to develop high quality maritime-based intermodal links to bypass congested land transport corridors so that they can provide an alternate competitive means of transport to unimodal road freight transport. The MoS projects are a political initiative of the European Commission (EC) but require the participation of private and public stakeholders. EC has proposed a number of policy measures to promote MoS projects. The need of the hour is to estimate the impact of the proposed policy actions on the performance of the MoS projects in order to develop effective set of policies to promote MoS services on the selected transport corridors.Conventional modeling techniques in transport policy analysis have used macro-economic modeling techniques. Since freight transport service choice decisions are taken at company level we argue that micro simulation using an agent-based modeling framework will provide a better framework for transport policy analysis. We demonstrate that agent-based modeling and simulation is an effective tool to explicitly simulate the dynamics of transport service choice decision making at the operational level and transport policy decision making at strategic level in the same model. The validation and flexibility of the developed agent-based model is illustrated by presenting a case study in the Atlantic maritime region.Simulation results from case study indicate that policy measures that improve efficiency of MoS services are not sufficient to improve market share of MoS services in the Atlantic corridor. These measures must be supported by uniform rules and stricter enforcement of International road freight transport regulations for favorable modal shift to MoS services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

Abstract: This paper introduces an Agent based modelling approach to model inter-urban freight transport between two or more trading regions. The use of the model is to ascertain the modal share of competing transport modes (road and intermodal) while taking complex transport service supply–demand dynamics into account. It is structured by modules describing company generation, supplier choice, modal competition and International road freight transport market dynamics. The behaviour of individual actors is simulated using normative agent behaviour and market knowledge. Using the micro-simulation approach, shippers and carriers (primarily road hauliers and a maritime based intermodal operator) interact through simulated contracts resulting in the generation of tours. The service performance of the tours is fed back into the model for decision making during contract deliberations. Preliminary application of model to Mediterranean case study show that market share gains of around 25–30% are obtained with policy interventions of financial subsidies to intermodal services and more frequent shipping services in the intermodal transport respectively. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The short sea shipping reports presented by the European Commission have shown that this industry segment is still lagging behind road transport and suffering from numerous constraints. To foster the elimination of the latter, the 2003 action programme on the promotion of short sea shipping presented 14 measures, one of which concerned motorways of the sea. In this respect, the 2003 High Level Group chaired by Karel van Miert defined four motorways of the sea within Project 21 of the revised trans-European transport network and presented a definition of the concept. Motorways of the sea are international short sea shipping services between ports located in two or more countries that aim at replacing land motorways to avoid congestioned roads/lanes, and linking European continental and island countries (European Commission 2003a). The challenge for short sea shipping rests on the revolution that the motorways of the sea are believed to make as many changes are expected to occur, particularly at port and ships' technology levels. The concept presupposes the integration of a trans-European shipping network within the trans-European road and rail networks; the High Level Group sees motorways of the sea as a floating infrastructure capable of consolidating freight along certain trade routes where ports are special interfaces characterised by particular features. To identify these features an investigation was carried out by means of an email survey questionnaire. The findings show the viewpoint of port authorities regarding this matter and suggest a list of 21 pre-requisites that ports can use to assess their potential as a motorway of the sea interface; in addition, they can be used by governmental bodies when deciding whether to support financially motorways of the sea interfaces projects or not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liner shipping, with all its specific features, plays an important role in the economic development of a country whose ports liner ships are calling at. Under classical liner shipping we understand the carriage of cargoes or passengers over long distances and by large vessels. However, it should be considered that a cargo, which has been discharged at the port of destination and has not yet reached the customer, has to be further transhipped onto a road vehicle. Likewise, a road vehicle carries cargo intended for sea transport to a port of shipment. The article aims at presenting a detailed analysis of the weaknesses of the present-day cargo traffic from the shipper to the consignee involving sea and inland transport. It deals with the relation between sea and land transport, favouring the former to the latter. Organizational changes required to abandon the classical transport of cargo are based on the White Paper regarding the European transport policy up to the year 2010. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the main outcomes of the NAS-ITIP project (FRAMEWORK'5) on the situation of intermodal transport in new European Union states. The main measures for the development of intermodal transport in these countries are highlighted: modernisation and development of intermodal infrastructure; innovative technologies; establishment of modern logistics centres. Recommendations to EC and national governmental institutions for the development of intermodality are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]