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....

Much research has focussed on the negative aspects of transport (emissions, noise, congestion and safety problems), particularly with respect to road traffic. The ECMT decided to organise a Round Table which would consider the transport sector differently, by looking at the benefits of different...