Short sea shipping in Latin America

This chapter addresses the characteristics of the main Latin American countries in the short sea shipping segment. The focus is on identifying the main obstacles of the specific legislation of each country and the Mercosul economic bloc, the main types of products transported, the regulatory system of these countries, the main problems of the segment in Latin America and possible agreements that could strengthen the sector in the region and its particularities. The study also analyzes the role of Brazil, as the region’s largest economy, in the short sea shipping segment, regulation, companies that operate in the sector and the growth potential of this market. It analyzes the infrastructure of the sector and the integration with other modes of transportation such as road, rail, inland waterway and pipeline. Finally, it analyzes the relationship of the short sea shipping segment with other shipping sectors, such as shipbuilding and port management. Actions are identified to support short sea shipping, initially focused on the entire transport chain and, at a later stage, on the different links which compose the chain. The objective is to make a comparison with countries or commercial blocks that already use short sea shipping extensively in their logistics systems.