Sustainable Maritime Passenger Transport: A Network Analysis Approach on a National Basis

The goals of United Nations Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development push the need for a modal shift from the road towards more sustainable modes. The mitigation of the environmental impacts and guarantee of effective connections between distant areas are objectives to be pursued in the logic of greater environmental, economic, and social sustainability. Geographical areas characterized by a big percentage of coastal lines must rethink the potential of their port system. The geographical position of Italy, in the center of the Mediterranean Sea, with the highest length of coast line respect to the national surface, have made it necessary to have a vast port system. The presence of two major islands, Sicily and Sardinia, and many smaller ones has made necessary the creation of a network of passenger transport services. In 2017, 16 Port System Authorities were identified on the Italian territory, including the ports considered to be of national strategic interest. The objective of this research is concentrated on the analysis of maritime passenger transport focusing on the services that connect the ports belonging to the abovementioned network, evaluating their centrality within the national services network. The results highlight an imbalance of the network towards the Tyrrhenian Sea, with the Adriatic mainly delegated to connection services with the Balkans and the East, while the single most central port authorities are the Sicilian and Sardinian ones. This article represents a first step for a better understanding the interconnection between ports around a closed basin in terms of passenger traffic.