Intermodal Characteristics
Short sea shipping can be described as one of the many maritime features, but its specific characteristics can be defined as well. They are:
- Intermodal
- Intra-european cargo
- Door-to-door basis
- Floating stock
- Alternative mode of transport
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| When cargo is shipped from door-to-door by short sea shipping, various modes of transport are involved. At the very least, a short sea vessel and a truck, but rail and inland barge can be part of the intermodal transport chain as well. Short sea shipping can well be called multimodal. |
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| Intra European Cargo |
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| Shortsea transport focuses on moving cargo between European countries. The destinations from the Netherlands include Russia, the Baltic States, Scandinavia, UK, Ireland, France, the Iberian Peninsula, North Africa and countries around the Mediterranean and the countries around the Black Sea. Knowing this, it is evident that the notion shortsea cannot be translated into an operation which covers ‘short sea’ distances. |
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| Door-to-door basis |
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| Shortsea shipping is based on the concept of carrying freight door-to-door, or factory to factory, such as road haulage. This is accomplished by using fast, modern ships, and involving intermodal transport for collection and delivery. The whole transport operation can be arranged by the shipping line itself and/or the ships' agent. It is possible that the transit time is somewhat longer than is the case in road haulage. However, this is not always the case. Fact is that shortsea shipping is most cost effective at almost every destination. |
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| Floating stock |
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Shortsea shipping is especially suitable for larger volumes that have to be shipped regularly over longer distances within Europe. On shorter distances within Continental Europe, road, rail and inland shipping are more suitable. There are, however, examples of a well performing shortsea shipping at short distances. The shipper of larger volumes gets, in fact , two services: a transport service and a ‘floating warehouse’. The ‘floating stock’ can be delivered just in time in the real sense of the word. The shippers’ advantage is that the stock on land can be limited and, as a result, warehouse space be reduced. In doing so, costs can be saved. |
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| Alternative to road haulage |
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Shortsea is the alternative to road haulage. This alternative is the answer to congestion on European motorways. This is self-evident, but it is a truth with which users can gain: the major part of the shortsea shipping door-to-door route is via (sea)waters, which is ‘traffic jam free’.
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