ABSTRACT
During the 1990s the transhipment revolution and the growth of Asian economies offered Mediterranean ports the opportunity of capturing a growing amount of cargo on the Europe-Far East trade.
European Mediterranean countries developed new transhipment hubs, close to the trunk routes and located outside the congested old port-cities. Their maritime tradition and expertise combined with strategic position increased the competitiveness of Mediterranean ports compared with Northern Europe port range. Nonetheless, their growth is now facing major structural bottlenecks: scarcity of space in the gateway or spoke ports, inadequate road and rail networks, no barge transport, geographical barriers. Growth is also hindered by the relative eccentricity from major EU final markets.
