Il trasporto marittimo a corto raggio delle isole maggiori:Sicilia e Sardegna

Geographical space is not always corresponding to the economical one. The macro area of Sicily and Sardinia comes out to have different and substantial drawbacks in the short sea shipping (SSS) development. According to the White Books of European Union, a supply and demand analysis of regional transportation has been carried out to investigate the possibility to equilibrate different ways of transportation in Sicily. First aim of this paper is the analysis of import/export goods between Sicily, Sardinia and Mediterranean countries. Detailed information is referred to the typology of goods and main import and export sea traffic roots. At the base of a supply analysis a technical description of Sicilian ports from Palermo to Ragusa has been developed in terms of actual and operational infrastructures. Finally some proposals are presented given the transportation strategy of Sicilian government such as a concentration in a unique vector of import/export flows according to a minimum threshold; SSS potential benefits include inside a multiway chain and some possibility to create incentives for maritime operators.