Ferry Services in Europe

Funda Yercan

• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781138311350
• eBook ISBN: 9780429859144
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Sociology
• Index: Social Sciences

Published in 1999, this work is mainly related to ferry services and operations in a number of marketplaces in Europe. Ferry services in the the Atlantic Arc to the West, the Baltic Sea to the North and the Eastern Mediterranean to the Southeast of Europe are reviewed. Ferry markets in the Baltic area and the Mediterranean have been crucial markets in particular becaus of their continuing development - mostly after the post-communism changes in the East European countries and the civil war in the former Yugoslavia. Developments in the Atlantic Arc and the effects of the Channel Tunnel on the ferry market in that area are also explained and conclusions and comment offered.

1 Introduction

FUNDA YERCAN
School of Maritime Business and Management
Dokuz Eylul University
Buca Campus, Izmir 35160 Turkey

This book represents a unique collection of papers related to ferry services of the maritime industry in addition to a number of books published under the series of Plymouth Studies in Contemporary Shipping. It consists of a compilation of studies produced by academics at institutions in different countries. These studies mostly derive from research undertaken primarily at the Centre for International Shipping and Transport, University of Plymouth, as well as the ones earned out at other institutions in Europe.

This book is the first publication published, produced, compiled and edited at the School of Maritime Business and Management, Dokuz Eylul University in Turkey under the Series of Plymouth Studies in Contemporary Shipping in collaboration with the Centre for International Shipping and Transport at the University of Plymouth, UK, the Institute for Maritime Transport and Seaborne Trade at the University of Gdansk, Poland and the Institute for Transport and Logistics at the University of Rostock, Germany.

The institutions involved in the collaboration for producing this book are quite well-known and leading ones in their countries. The School of Maritime Business and Management at Dokuz Eylul University is a leading academic institution in Turkey in the maritime business area; it is still a developing school with a background of ten years, though. The Centre for International Shipping and Transport at the University of Plymouth is the UK's largest academic teaching and research centre for maritime studies, transportation and logistics, particularly specialised in economics, politics, policy, planning, finance and law in the industries of shipping, transport, ports and logistics. The Centre is also known as the leading maritime institute in Western Europe. The Institute for Maritime Transport and Seaborne Trade at the University of Gdansk is the premier academic institute in Eastern Europe specialising in a range of maritime studies in the Baltic Region. The Institute for Transport and Logistics at the University of Rostock is also one of the major academic maritime institutions in the Baltic Region.

The papers collected in this book concentrate upon the ferry services taking place in a number of different markets in Europe. The paper by Tesch examines the changing environment in the Baltic Sea ferry and ro-ro market, which was directly affected by the political changes in Eastern Europe at the end of the 1980s. The paper is structured on a regional basis, beginning with the services in the South-West Baltic.

Miotke-Dziegiel discusses the development of the Polish ferry shipping industry, particularly, in the period of economic and political changes after the 1990s. This paper focuses on the ferry industry mostly concerned with the enterprises in the sector, which have been responding to the recent economic, legal and financial conditions in Eastern Europe.

Heijveld and Gray's paper examines the passenger car ferry industry in the United Kingdom covering both domestic and international routes. The paper concentrates upon the ferry element of the ferry service offers, mainly because the ferries have been communicated to customers as the service offers, but not including other elements of ferry experiences, such as infrastructures, ports and terminals.

Yercan examines recent developments of the passenger ferry industry in the Eastern Mediterranean market after the civil war in the former Yugoslavia since the beginning of the 1990s. Comparative analyses and conclusions are based upon the positioning of ferry operators in the market place, particularly in the Italy-Greece-Turkey corridor.

Finally, Dinwoodie discusses the importance of education and training requirements of the managers of ferry services. The paper reviews some of the areas in which staff competence may need to be developed, and proposes a soft systems approach to defining their education and training needs in an era of change in the industry.

As a consequence, by highlighting the overall role of the ferry shipping industry and reviewing recent developments in ferry services in a number of market places in Europe, it is hoped that this book can contribute to the literature already existing in the maritime sector.

2 Ferry transport in the Baltic Sea: developments in the 1990s

GERNOT TESCH
Institut für Verkehr und Logistik
Universität Rostock
Schröderstr. 23, 18059 Rostock, Germany

Abstract The Baltic Sea is one of the world's higher density areas of maritime transport which plays an important role in the infrastructure necessary for trades and passenger transport in the area. Thus, intensive trades between these states and with other parts of the world take place resulting from economic power of the surrounding states.

Until the political changes at the end of the 1980s, divisions were visible in the development of Baltic ferry transport which corresponded to the differences between the socialist states and the free market systems of northern Europe. Today's Baltic region is developing into an independent economic centre having a highly distinctive transport system as a basis for economic, cultural and tourist exchange in the area. A dense network of ferry and ro-ro connections, especially in a north-south direction, offer safe and reliable connections across the Baltic and guarantees the inclusion of northern European and increasingly eastern European economies in the Europe-wide production and distribution systems.

Consequently, this paper concentrates upon the changing environment in the Baltic Sea ferry and ro-ro market and is structured on a regional basis, beginning with services in the South-West Baltic.

Introduction

Throughout the economic history of the region, the Baltic Sea has always played an important role in the infrastructure necessary for trade and passenger transport. The Baltic Sea is one of the world's higher density areas of maritime transport; a result of the economic power of the surrounding states and the intensive trade between these states and with other parts of the world. At the end of the 1980s, according to the port turnover of the time, the volume of trade was estimated to be 280 million tons, of this, 110 million tons were internal and 170 million tons were external. Two thirds of internal trade was international and one third was domestic. Since 1990 there have been two opposing tendencies: while external movements decreased because of the collapse of the former socialist economies like the GDR, Poland and the Soviet Union, internal transport are increasing. There is, however, no compensation yet in weight/volume. Overall, there is less maritime throughput in the Baltic today than there was in 1990, but, recent increases in port turnovers for the states surrounding the sea seem to indicate that maritime trade could be on the increase again.

Until the political changes in 1989, divisions were visible in the development of Baltic ferry transport which corresponded to the differences between the socialist states and the free market systems of northern Europe. Because of the types of goods and the trade policies of former COMECON-states, ferry transport was relatively underdeveloped despite the presence of certain potentially important ferry lines. The development between the Nordic states and Western Europe was substantially more dynamic.

Today's Baltic region is developing into an independent economic centre having a highly distinctive transport system as a basis for economic, cultural and tourist exchange. The governing characteristic lies in the dominance of ferry and ro-ro lines in internal Baltic transport. In 1980, ro-ro-based movements stood at more than 30%; this increased to 45% in 1990 and currently stands at more than 50% today. A dense network of ferry and ro-ro connections, especially in a north-south direction, offer safe and reliable connections across the Baltic and guarantees the inclusion of northern European and increasingly eastern European economies in the Europe-wide production and distribution systems. Ferry and ro-ro traffic has proved itself as the ideal mode of maritime traffic for short distances as well as to the contemporary structure of cargo and passenger traffic in the Baltic region. Here, these types of vessel successfully compete against lo-lo (lift on - lift off) because of the frequency of service which is offered on short sea crossings in addition to their inherent flexibility. This flexibility is characterised by their ability to accommodate trailers, which currently dominate intra-European traffic, all other types of wheeled cargoes, containers, heavy lift and forest products amongst others.

A dense ferry network compensates for the natural interruption of land-based transport systems such as roads and railways. Ferry routes were developed over differing periods of time with the aim of connecting economic areas with high trade potential otherwise separated by water. Ro-ro maritime transport in the Baltic Sea is adapted to the specific needs and geographical situation of this area: short distances between countries make this system economically viable. From 1960 the development was very dynamic, but then entered into a period of consolidation. This was accompanied by a steady growth of transport volumes. By 1989, an equilibrium in the structure of the ferry network was essentially reached. The political and economic changes since 1989 have created a new basis for economic co-operation and international trade, encompassing hitherto excluded areas of central and Eastern Europe. This new basis had latterly led to the expansion of the ferry network.

The countries surrounding the Baltic Sea already sought economic and cultural links from as early as the Middle ages. Today the Baltic Sea functions as a water-based motorway to bring countries, economies and people closer together. The recent EU membership of Sweden and Finland as well as the market-oriented transformation of the eastern European states will continue...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Dedication
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• Foreword
• Acknowledgements
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Ferry transport in the Baltic Sea: developments in the 1990s
• 3 Development of Polish ferry shipping in the period of economic and political changes
• 4 The United Kingdom passenger car ferry industry
• 5 Analysis of recent developments in the passenger ferry services in the Eastern Mediterranean market
• 6 Learning through accident or academy?: the potential of classroom based study for developing competencies in managers of ferry services