Short Sea Shipping Alternatives in Front of the Road Alternative in the Western Mediterranean

This paper analyzes on selected multimodal transport chains with a sea leg, the pollutant emissions of different powered ships as compared with those of their road alternatives. These pollutant emissions will be translated to environmental costs, based on existing quantification databases. In some cases the maritime transport provides savings in those costs against the truck as to what would justify an ecological bonus to be used by the administration to promote the sea option. The paper concludes with a brief discussion on how the demand would react in response to a price bonus in the maritime sector.