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.

The work focus on the cruise sector of the Baltic area, which in recent years seems to emerges as a strategic and attractive area of rising cruise flows. The research methodology used has qualitative and quantitative nature. It also provides a short deepening on a case study related to MSC Cruises activity in the analyzed area. Regarding the Baltic area, will be analyzed the total cruise flows and the main ports. In addition, with the aim to analyze the degree of competitiveness of ports, the paper contains an index to measure the performance of the various ports within the area. In reference to the case study, it has been taken into account the number of passengers transported in different years, the quantity and nature of the excursions sold by the cruise operator. The ultimate goal of the work is to understand how the cruise sector can be an engine for tourism development of port cities, ports and neighboring territories. Indeed, it is necessary to understand which be the real impact on the territory of rising cruise flows and how the cruise harbors may be able to attract them.

This research paper ranks second among all the articles submitted for the “2017 Rassegna Economica Prize” in the Maritime Section. The author is Giovanna Galeota Lanza.

This paper is available only in the Italian version.

In recent years, the gaps between North and South regions of Italy generated in terms of per capita GDP, have further aggravated, an increase of the unemployment rate as a major consequence. Southern Italy suffers from an underdeveloped state of affairs, although the most extensive development and growth opportunities in this area are concentrated. The circular economy is the best strategy to be implemented for the revival of the economy, based on the reusability of products and materials and the regeneration (and resilience) of natural resources. In particular, this approach allows to create and maintain value in each passage of the economic system by eliminating the unwanted effects of the current linear system. The ports represent an intermodal crossroads of goods and resources, and are an ideal starting point for organizational models based on the concept of industrial symbiosis. Consequently, ports have access to: organic waste, bioenergy resources of the area, biomass from transit supply chains, energy from energy-intensive activities, the place suitable to trigger the vicious cycle of growth that the circular economy can give birth. In order to ensure that the port of Naples and so on the entire Meridional Italy is also being developed, it is important that there be integration with the world of innovation and research and the establishment of high added value activities in francs’ points.

This research paper ranks fourth among all the articles submitted for the “2017 Rassegna Economica Prize” in the Maritime Section. The authors are Ilaria De Benedictis e Mario Fordellone.

This paper is available only in the Italian version.

The EU Regulation No. 1257/2013 on ship recycling was issued on the 20th November 2013. The purpose of this Regulation is to prevent, reduce, minimize and, to the extent practicable, eliminate accidents, injuries and other adverse effects on human health and the environment caused by ship recycling. The purpose of this Regulation is to enhance safety, the protection of human health and of the Union marine environment throughout a ship′s life-cycle, in particular to ensure that hazardous waste from such ship recycling is subject to environmentally sound management. Ship Recycling is a controversial issue, with a significant impact for the maritime cluster that could play as a driving force for the blue economy bringing in our country a sector which is currently carried out entirely abroad.

This research paper ranks fifth among all the articles submitted for the “2017 Rassegna Economica Prize” in the Maritime Section. The author is Francesco Romano.

This paper is available only in the Italian version.

This paper (Italian version) gives the first empirical results of an ongoing research on the dynamics of the European port labour in comparative perspective. Starting from the analysis of the documentation obtained through the use of qualitative methods in the port of Genoa, the article focuses on the relationship between the role of the actors who control large segments of the supply chains and their ability to shape the structure of the port labour. The proven strategies of the major market players, in the pursuit of economies of scale in the context of global supply chains, produce pressure on the port of Genoa, which would alter not only the technical configuration of the terminal, but the functioning of the labor pool itself, constrained in the use of external resources. The flexibility processes generated by the merger of trade sanction a shift that calls into question the role of institutional constraints with respect to the port performance and the European port labor systems. In the light of a comparison with the port of Antwerp, this paper provides a recognition of the theoretical framework necessary to interpret the behaviour of port actors and to assess the existence of beneficial constraints both for port actors and for the contractual system of port labour.

In literature review, it’s shared that a greater attention should be devoted to environment by people, institutions and companies, and particularly to green logistics and green shipping. For this purpose, intermodal transport is recognized as one of the possible alternatives to the congestion, which returns a key task to ports. The port thus stands out as a central element in affirming the sustainability in logistics. An empirical analysis on two major international companies operating in the field of logistics and transport, through the determination of the Added Value of Sustainability (SVA) highlights the need to still make serious efforts to achieve full implementation of green shipping and green logistics.

The paper is available in the Italian version.