The Mediterranean Maritime Network of Container Shipping: Spatial Structure and Regional Dynamics

This study proposes to analyze the maritime transport network for container traffic in the Mediterranean Sea basin. For this purpose, the 29 main ports that make up the study macro-region were analyzed by taking into consideration the traffic volumes handled and the main pendolum and round-the-world routes operated by the main shipping companies. These two components represent the nodes and arcs of the studied network, on which a subdivision of the different ports was then made based on their geographical location and different ranges of belonging. To fully understand the transport dynamics, Freeman's centrality indices and Eingivenvector Centrality were successively introduced, which are useful in capturing which nodes are the most relevant within the transport network and in defining possible lines of future development for the sampled ports. In this context, the main transshipment hubs located along the Port Said - Gibraltar backbone assume an increasingly relevant role while, in the face of an increasing decentralization of secondary transshipment hubs. Moreover, this analysis highlights how gateway ports that direct their flows not only to the back-port area but also to other ports, assuming the role of mixed ports, are consolidating an increasingly prominent position of centrality.