Short sea shipping, the shortest path to reach further
SSS DEFINITION
For short sea shipping (Short Sea Shipping, SSS) refers to the movement of goods and passengers by sea between ports situated in territory European Union or between those ports and those in countries outside Europe with a coastline in the coastal seas around Europe.
includes shipping both nationally and internationally, and feeder services. The concept also applies to maritime transport between member states of the European Union and other countries bordering the Baltic, Black and Mediterranean.
Since the early 1990's, the European Union institutions have been emphasizing the need to promote the development of the SSS as a complement and alternative to land transport, to reduce the increasing saturation of facilities thereof. Growth SSS is considered, therefore, essential for sustainable development in the EU towards 2010.
However, this concept should be developed with a clear modal. This is not to raise a confrontation between the road and maritime transport, but to promote cooperation between businessmen from both modes so that competition arises between multimodal transport chains.
The port of Barcelona is making a determined bid to boost short sea shipping as a competitive mode of transport for goods. The goal is to become a true center logit and a key link in the chain gear, making short shipping is a tool to increase the competitiveness of firms that export and import their goods through the installation of Catalonia.
The demand for this type of transport has enabled the port to have an increasing number of coastal lines of short sea shipping, which together with a competitive schedule with other Mediterranean ports. The competitiveness of short sea shipping and the investments made by port and shipping facilities to make this as a real alternative to the road is supported by figures of spectacular growth.
higher growth
According to recent data European Commission (EC), released in 2002, short sea shipping has grown by 39% in terms of tonne-kilometers during the last decade, growth comparable to that of the only road that was in 41 %. However, during the second half of the 90's, short sea shipping grew by over land transport by road, with annual increases of 3.5%. These increases have allowed that, currently, the market share of short sea shipping is 42% of the total market for freight transport. At European level, the short sea shipping has meant 68% of the total volume of goods transported. The Mediterranean and the North Sea were the main areas of development of this transport, 34 and 31%, respectively, of the goods. During 2000, the latest data deck EC from the Mediterranean moved 662 million tons through this mode. In Spain, 65% of the transport of short sea shipping is done through the Mediterranean ports, especially with Italy, Algeria and Libya.
The Mediterranean Basin, the greatest potential
In the short sea shipping traffic that is carried across the Mediterranean, Spain accounts for 14% of the total, ranking second, behind Italy, that captures this type of transport with 38% of all goods. In fact, the Mediterranean is the one with greater potential for acquisition of goods from road to short sea shipping. According to a study of the English Association for the Promotion of Short Sea Shipping, the products most likely to be captured by the SSS are hortofrutículas and steel products.
is estimated that next year, the traffic likely to be attracted by the SSS to reach two million tons of goods. Of this total, the Euro-Mediterranean arc will slightly more than half, to 318,000 tons captured on routes with Italy and more than 720,000 tons of routes with France.
Barcelona bids for SSS
In this context, the port of Barcelona, \u200b\u200bwith its geostrategic location and a growing and important hinterland, is developing a range of strategies aimed at increasing the number of lines that perform this type of transport and provide a more flexible shipping and competitive corporate clients. The port has, currently, space docking, loading and unloading dedicated to this means of transport and has become a benchmark for this type of short-haul traffic.
In recent months, have been put into service new short sea shipping lines in the Catalan port. After the success of the pioneer, undertaken by Grande Navi Veloci between Barcelona and Genoa, with exponential growth year after year, Barcelona has been increasing the number of links to other Mediterranean ports and North Africa.
The latest example is the line commissioned in March by Grimaldi Napoli to Civitavecchia (Rome). The line, covered by a mixed-passenger ferry and ro-ro cargo, covers the service between the Catalan port and Italy three times a week and has already established itself as a "sea highway" competitive with the land route. The speed to meet these modern ships engaged in short sea shipping gives them a competitive advantage and not just off the road, but even on the plane.
Cost Savings The benefits of short sea shipping for the environment because it is much less polluting than other major modes of transportation now, is a basic: the costs. According to a study by the English Association for the Promotion of Short Sea Shipping, 70% of the 210 logistics chains were analyzed, the cost savings using the alternative of short sea shipping are above 10%. Added to this is that in 35% of the connections, the total distance traveled is significantly reduced and in 26% of trips, the use of short sea coastal reduce transit time.
However, despite these advantages, the SSS is still perceived by shippers as a means of transport unreliable. They are urging thus increase the reliability of transport within, to respect the day of delivery and cost savings assume opposed to the traditional road.
What to consider in the SSS
When selecting a mode of transport to, companies have to take into account that, despite its advantages, the short shipping is not always the most appropriate. For this reason, the association pointed out six basic requirements to achieve a competitive transport: Select
shipping routes over the 450 miles.
adapt the speed of the vessel to maximize the rotations. Focusing
recruitment goals of traffic in the road when they cover a distance exceeding 1,500 km. Concentrate
shipping services to ensure a greater number of frequencies.
promote interaction with road transport companies from other countries.
Note that the ground operator wants to maintain control of clients.
A matter of community interest
The short sea transport is driven by long-EU executive order to curb the growing saturation of European roads. Although the short sea shipping has the full support of the Commission are still some points to iron out, as the realization of the concept of 'motorways of the sea' or a financial aid policy in line with reality, and that the 75 million euros budgeted by the Marco Polo for the years 2003-2006 are little more than symbolic.
In Marco Polo its White Paper on Transport in the horizon of 2010, the European Commission proposed a series of measures to balance the different modes of transport. One of the measures to achieve this goal is the Marco Polo, which was adopted on July 22, 2003. The objective of this plan is to reduce road congestion and mitigate the harmful effects of the current transport system on the environment through intermodality. To this end, the program financially supports initiatives in the freight and logistics so that the 12,000 million tons per kilometer increase annually provided they are transferred to short sea shipping, rail and inland waterways or a combination of these modes, minimizing road trips.
Between June and July this year, is scheduled to begin negotiations of contracts and, next September, will start the second round of proposals for mid-November, have all the initiatives on the table.
All Community transport companies are invited to participate in this program. Marco Polo replace the PACT, a similar program, but with a narrower scope. Marco Polo is active in all market segments of transportation, not only in combined transport.
The aid will go to the launch of new services that capture traffic so far were made by road. The minimum endowment of 500,000 euros will be provided that the capture of the road project 250 million tons per kilometer. Another aspect to be taken into account is that this grant, awarded up to three years, does not involve a distortion of competition in the market and that the service can be profitable when aid ceases.
addition to direct aid at the beginning of a new service, Marco Polo will also consider two types of action: catalyzing calls, as overcoming structural barriers in the markets, and training and cooperation projects and exchange of know-how.
Administrations may not participate in this program, which is directed solely to private enterprise to undertake cross-border services, excluding leaving national initiatives. Nor may qualify for support of new infrastructure projects, technology or feasibility studies. Editorial
SAC Port Authority of
interest BarcelonaDirecciones The Short Sea Shipping in European Union
English Association for the Promotion of Short Sea Transportation
European Network for the Promotion of Short Sea Shipping
Port Authority of Barcelona Line
Algeria - CNAN
Shipper Line Algeria - Transcoma
Line Rome - Naples Grimaldi Line
Genova - Grandi Navi Veloci
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