halshs-00551207, version 3
Maritime constellations: A complex network approach to shipping and ports
Maritime Policy and Management 39, 2 (2012) 151-168
Abstract: The analysis of community structures is one major research field in the science of networks. This exercise is often biased by strong hierarchical configurations as it is the case in container shipping. After reviewing the multiple definitions of port systems, this paper applies a topological decomposition method to worldwide inter-port maritime links. Isolating ports of comparable size reveals hidden substructures with the help of graph visualization. While geographic proximity is one main explanatory factor in the emergence of port systems, other logics also appear, such as specialized and long-distance trading links. This research provides interesting evidence about the role of geography, technology, and trade in the architecture of maritime networks.
- 1:
- CNRS : UMR8504 – Université Paris I - Panthéon-Sorbonne – Université Paris VII - Paris Diderot
- 2:
- CNRS : UMR5800 – Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux I – École Nationale Supérieure d'Électronique, Informatique et Radiocommunications de Bordeaux (ENSEIRB) – Université Victor Segalen - Bordeaux II
- 3:
- INRIA – CNRS : UMR – Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux I – École Nationale Supérieure d'Électronique, Informatique et Radiocommunications de Bordeaux (ENSEIRB)
- Domain : Humanities and Social Sciences/Geography
- Keywords : container shipping – port systems – scale-free networks – topological decomposition
- Comment : Special Issue on "Geography of Maritime Transportation: Space as a Perspective in Maritime Transport Research"
- Available versions : v1 (2011-01-03) v2 (2011-08-09) v3 (2012-01-17)
- halshs-00551207, version 3
- http://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00551207
- oai:halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr:halshs-00551207
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- Submitted on: Monday, 16 January 2012 11:08:56
- Updated on: Tuesday, 17 January 2012 11:02:27
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