motorways of the sea

background

This European initiative was first discussed following the 1999 Mont Blanc accident which highlighted the issue of road congestion in Europe, particularly in bottleneck areas such as the French/Italian and French/Spanish border crossings.

The 2001 European Commission White Paper European Transport Policy for 2010: time to decide recommended developing motorways of the sea. From this paper, a finalised scheme was created as part of the Trans-European Network (TEN-T).

Motorways of the Sea aims to introduce new intermodal maritime-based logistics chains in Europe. These chains should be more efficient and sustainable than road-only transport. They should also improve access to markets and relieve over-stretched European roads. The key objective is to have a fully fledged network of motorways of the sea established by 2010.

what is a motorway of the sea?

According to the Commission, a motorway of the sea should:

• Involve at least two member states
• Include ports with good hinterland infrastructure
• Have simplified arrival and departure procedures
• Assist to reduce road congestion

Four corridors have been designated for implementing Motorways of the Sea projects:

• Baltic Sea – linking Baltic Sea member states with member states in Central and Western Europe
• Western Europe – leading from the Iberian peninsula via the Atlantic Arc to the North Sea and the Irish Sea
• South East Europe – connecting the Adriatic Sea to the Ionian Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean to include Cyprus
• South West Europe – connecting Spain, France, Italy and including Malta and linking with the Motorway of the Sea of south-east Europe.

Click here for a map of the motorways of the sea.

the UK’s position

In general terms, the UK encourages this scheme and would like to see a shift from road to water – particularly in light of our own road congestion problems. Yet, at the same time, most UK ports compete with one another and it would be unreasonable to upset the current commercial balance by selecting a small number of ports as partners for a particular motorway of the sea. Similarly, as an island nation, we already have strong maritime links and any given European Commission initiative should not upset or distort established commercial operations.