In view of the growing congestion of inland transport infrastructure, both road and rail, short sea shipping clearly warrants consideration as a valuable alternative. It is, in fact, a branch of transport activity that has attracted little attention, so its potential is still to be assessed....

The Seminar, held in Paris in December 1998, was a forum for discussion, in a broad sense, gathering together people from international scientific circles and people responsible for the preparation of political decisions. Bringing together delegates from more than 30 European countries, it was...