Definition

Short sea shipping’ means the movement of cargo and passengers by sea between ports situated in geographical Europe or between those ports and ports situated in nonEuropean countries having a coastline on the enclosed seas bordering Europe.

It is the movement of Intra-European goods by sea or inland waterways on a door-to-door basis, usually in containers or trailers. A large part of the transport traject is done by sea. Short sea shipping enables trade and contacts between all the European nations. It ensures the security of supply of energy, food and commodities.

The European Commission has an active policy to promote Short Sea Shipping for this form of transport mode is highly efficient in terms of environmental performance and energy efficiency. It has the potential to solve road congestion problems affecting many parts of the European continent. All the studies point out the necessity of encouraging short sea shipping to meet the goal of the European sustainable transport policy.