The Mediterranean basin, the Gulf of Suez and the homonymous canal represent an increasingly integrated area that connect the East and the West, a main line of development and a strategic economic opportunity worldwide for Italy and its southern areas (Mezzogiorno). After the Suez Canal doubling (completed in 2015), the global maritime economy changed; the centre of gravity of the naval freight flows has greatly increased and transforms the Mediterranean into an “open basin” towards the Persian Gulf. Moreover, shipping companies take into consideration strategic elements that give more importance to the ‘Silk Road’: the valorization of the economies of scale, the ability to cross intercontinental hubs and the competitive costs of the channels crossing. In collaboration the SRM Maritime Economy Observatory, a project started with the aim of providing geographic and value-added information to support the maritime economy trend analysis, focusing on the Mediterranean Sea area. In particular, an operational methodology, capable of analyzing naval routes across the Mediterranean basin, was investigated and defined. According to these analysis, it was possible to monitor the Mediterranean maritime economy trend in comparison with the global trend, the Chinese influence on import/export, the adaptation of naval traffic in the major Italian ports, the frequency of some naval corridors, etc.; the obtained results are represented in thematic maps.

This research paper ranks first among all the articles submitted for the “2017 Rassegna Economica Prize”. The author is Cristina Monaco.

This paper is available only in the English version.