Scientific paper ID 1630 : 2018/3

The European transport policy in the field of water transport (inland waterway and maritime transport) is oriented towards provision of environmentally friendly and energy efficient transport services, increased market share of water transport of 30% till 2030, as well as development of dense network of multimodal terminals. This is also one of the main priority axes of the policy for the development of the TEN-T network. The main goal is both to be created regular lines for freight transportation in inland waterways of Europe and in the sea, as well as the share of general cargos and containers, transported by water transport to be increased. In this regard, in the last years, most of the ports and their superstructure in many Danube riparian countries and those with access to the Black Sea are rehabilitated and renovated. Most of the port operators reinvest their profit for better hinterland connections of port as well as for turning the ports into tri-modal freight terminals. In order to be better managed and developed, many public ports in the Danube riparian countries are granted to concession as a widespread form of public-private partnership. Having in mind the aforementioned, the main purpose of the current research is to be assessed the status quo of the river and sea ports in relevant European countries in order to be revealed the opportunities for better transportation services between Danube River and the Black Sea. Based on the analysis there will be made an attempt to be presented the potential cargo flows among river and sea ports in order the water transport to be better integrated in the intermodal transport chain.