Urban freight transport is becoming increasingly important to transport planners and policy makers as increasing congestion occurs on roads. Short sea shipping (SSS) occurs globally in locations where transport by barge or feeder ship is possible around a bay, coastline or river system, typically with transit times of a few hours to a day or two. There is extensive analysis of the literature of this shipping alternative in North America and Europe. The analysis covers the factors behind why SSS is chosen together with a discussion on cost factors and externalities associated with freight transport. The need to fund transport infrastructure in a sustainable way to provide benefits for future generations calls for radically different investment strategies now. Water transport such as feeder containerships and container barges may provide an alternative to rail and road transport solutions which are likely to be extremely costly. An analysis of the potential to capture value in the supply chain is also presented. This analysis supports the paperæs advocacy of SSS between the sea ports of Melbourne, Geelong and Westernport (Hastings) in Victoria. (a) For the covering record of the conference, please refer to ITRD abstract no. E218380.
Abstract