PIANC Smart Rivers 2022

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Abstract : *(250~1000 words)

Purpose
The goal of this paper is to create insights about the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for inland navigation during crises. It offers a general overview by the evaluation of past crisis in a detailed SWOT analysis and provides a starting point for further research.

Design/methodology/approach
To acquire knowledge for the realization of the SWOT analysis we followed a three-step approach: First, a literature review on crises and their effects on transport modes was conducted. Second, we analyzed the European transport data over the past 20 years. Third, we interviewed experts about the ongoing COVID-19 crisis to allow insights about current developments which are not yet sufficiently reflected in the European transport data. This approach allowed to develop a detailed SWOT analysis which reflects the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of inland navigation during crises.

Findings
We identified in total four crises (i.e. the 2008/2009 financial crisis, the 2015 migration crisis, the COVID-19 and the climate crisis). We analyzed strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for IWT regarding the four crises identified. Reliability can be mentioned as a strength of inland navigation, which is crucial in each crisis. The free capacities on European waterways, coupled with the high availability of vessels, contribute significantly to the reliability of the sector. A weakness, particularly during health crises such as the COVID-19 crisis, is the longer duration of the inland waterway transport. Goods such as medication etc. are often urgently needed, which makes a fast transportation necessary. In general, crises provide an impulse for transformation, resulting in chances for new developments and market opportunities for the inland navigation sector. In the case of the COVID-19-crisis, an initiation to digital transformation could be observed, e.g., a newly introduced paperless processing of shipping documents. A significant risk in crises is the strong dependence of inland navigation as a transport service provider on economic growth, industry and transport volumes. When certain industries are affected by crises, inland navigation is also concerned., e.g., if the steel industry produces less due to crises, the transport volume of inland navigation also decreases accordingly.

Research limitations 
The SWOT analysis provides a broad overview of inland navigation during crises. A limitation is, that the various aspects identified within the SWOT analysis could not be dealt with in detail. More in-depth analyses are needed, therefore.

Originality/value
This paper includes the investigation on how the impacts of different crises on inland navigation can be converted into strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for inland navigation. The paper provides an overview about different aspects, which are relevant in crisis times, it can be used as a basis for creating further research approaches. Furthermore, the results can be used by shipping companies, in order to prepare better for future crises.

Acknowledgement
This research study has received funding through the research project REWWay which is supported by viadonau.

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