Maritime Cross-Docking: Old Ideas in New Domains

Abstract

For over a decade politicians and practitioners in Scandinavia have promoted policies and, provided certain incentives to move the transportation of goods from road over to rail and sea. Nevertheless, the amount of goods transported on vehicles increases annually whilst the maritime transportation market share decreases. This study examines the feasibility of Maritime Cross-Docking in the Øresund – Kattegat – Skagerrak region. The first section presents a case utilising spare capacity on ROPAX vessels currently operating in the region. The second section presents a model based on specially adapted feeder vessels, operated as floating warehouses, to facilitate goods distribution from Northern Jutland to southern Norway. The next section analyses the potential impact of these operations on the regional market share of maritime transport. The last section addresses the statutory and regulatory requirements applicable and presents a pathway for future research.