Strategic positioning and development options of the port of Naples in the Mediterranean containerised liner services market

This paper has been aimed at analysing competitiveness of the port of Naples within the development of containerised liner services in the Mediterranean, also taking into consideration the recent extensive investments in the infrastructure jointly made by the Port Authority and some private owners. The first part, dealing with methodology, has defined the criteria for determination of the competitive context. There follows a qualitative and quantitative analysis of traffic relations gravitating toward the Mediterranean market, with reference to ocean-going east-west services and the feeder service, as well as the evaluation of the port of Naples market share concerning the respective market segments. The third part tries to identify the main factors of the offer affecting the positioning of a port, as well as to verify to what extent the port of Naples structures are related to standards prevailing on the Mediterranean market. The final part considers a series of strategic options. Principal results show how the most significant development opportunities of the port are related to the transit function and short sea shipping, provided the organisational and infrastructures network improvement. Actual port strategy tending to transhipment development appear to present a certain risk, whilst at the same they do not significantly contribute to the overall value added. The final observation refers to the partenopean owners’ entrepreneurial culture which does not appear to be adequately adjusted to hanges under way.