External costs in short sea shipping based intermodal transport chains

Abstract

The European Union (EU) transport policy has included for many years now the promotion of intermodality and the use of transport modes which have less negative consequences for the environment, health and well-being of European citizens. The external costs of transport reflect, monetarily, those consequences and shall be considered for more efficient transport decisions. This paper is focused on the study and implementation of the methodologies presented in the existent literature for calculation of the external costs implied by intermodal transport chains, with particular focus on the specific features of its application to short sea shipping (SSS) using roll-on/roll-off and container ships. This work builds upon an existent methodology for the economic assessment of SSS routes. A transport network model is improved and used to assess the full costs of transport and therefore the true competitiveness of different SSS Ro-Ro routes in comparison with road and rail alternatives. The methodologies have been tested in different case studies which include different routes using all modes of freight transportation: road, rail, inland waterways and maritime, in different countries, regions, road types and travelling conditions. While SSS shows to be in some cases a suitable alternative, the detrimental effects of speed and of the use of current marine fuels (significant emissions and external costs) are clear and enhance the need for a quick transition into green shipping.