ABSTRACT: The paper presents the European Union’s approach to promote the advantages of short sea shipping as efficient and sustainable alternative solution to the global issues of road congestion. European Commission has made Short Sea Shipping one of the major priorities for European transport and maritime industries have made it one of their key areas for development. Short Sea Shipping plays an important role in reaching the objectives of the European Transport Policy, as it can help curb the forecasted substantial increase in heavy goods vehicle traffic, rebalance the modal shares and bypass land bottlenecks. In the paper are presented the advantages of Short Sea Shipping and the measures adopted by the European Union in order to better promote the use of this mode. Short Sea Shipping needs to be developed within an integrated and participatory approach, with the reliable involvement of stakeholders from the entire sector in order to fulfil its economic, commercial, social and environmental role.

KEYWORDS: Short Sea Shipping, Logistics, Maritime Logistics, Marine Transport Development, Road Congestion, European Transport, European Transport Policy, Maritime Perspectives

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