The Data Science team of the Hellenic Competition Commission (HCC) developed a a tool for the interactive cartographic display of the state of competition in coastal ferry connections in Greece. Based on publicly available data, this tool provides citizens with a detailed display of the ferry routes served by several shipping companies and, therefore, an initial overview of the market structures concerned. In a second stage, the HCC, will enrich inter alia,  the platform with price data (per mile), by updating it  three times a year, with a view to better monitoring the market and intervening allowing the Authority’s more effective intervention in these markets.

This effort is part of the HCC's overall medium-term strategy for developing market monitoring infrastructure and promoting competition in various sectors of the economy. In particular,  as regards the sector of coastal shipping and the island economy, the HCC has built up a long-term cooperation with the University of the Aegean, with which the HCC  has signed a Memorandum of Cooperation in January 2021 providing for bilateral cooperation through various actions aimed at monitoring the functioning of the relevant markets. A part of this cooperation is the development of the platform, which was based on data collection carried out by the member of the research team of the University of the Aegean, Markella Gota, and data processing by the HCC’s Data Science team, as well as on the relevant action of the programme the "Intelligent Research Infrastructure for Shipping, Supply Chain, Transport and Logistics (ENIRISST+)” , related to coastal shipping.

Firstly, the ferry lines were broken down into individual connections on the Origin-Destination (O&D) database, each with a unique "Route ID", used to identify the integrated route to which it belongs. This procedure is considered particularly useful for determining whether a ferry service (R&B) is provided by more than one company, or it is included in other ferry routes. An incentive for carrying out this process  is the answer to the question "which connections have a monopoly structure" and the marking of these connections in an easily readable way on the interactive map.

Furthermore, the tool presents various information on each route, such as the company operating it, the type of the ship, the origin and destination, the number of companies serving the route, as well as the number of routes that include this route. Information on the origin and destination port traffic is also provided, as well as on whether the route is operated in the framework of public service contracts (PSOs for lean routes) and whether there is a price cap. The tool, which is currently in pilot operation using 2022 data, will be updated and enriched with new data and information on prices and quality of services, upon completion of the ENIRISST+ programme. It should be noted that the ENIRISST+ programme of the University of the Aegean provides for training and awareness-raising activities for users on issues of coastal shipping and competition in the islands (citizen science), within the framework of which two workshops have already been held, in Chios and in Astypalaia, while the web-based application for the evaluation of coastal ferry trips by passengers is nearing completion”.

Figure 1, Route map initial screen

(Cartographic display of the state of competition in coastal ferry connections in Greece –

2022 Traffic and Route data)

Figure 1 shows all the itineraries available based on 2022 data. Οn the right hand side of the of the image, the user can select filters to focus on the route or port of interest. The Full Route filter allows the user to select one or more specific routes to be displayed, while the Origin and Destination filters show only itineraries departing from and terminating in the selected port, respectively. In addition, the Group filter allows the user to focus on routes served by a single group. By using the Pricing filter, it is possible to select the connections (Port A – Port B) that apply (or not) free pricing, while the Subsidy filter displays subsidised ferry connections. Finally, the user can display the associations served by one or multiple companies.

Figure 2, Direct lines from Piraeus

(Cartographic display of the state of competition in coastal ferry connections in Greece –

2022 Traffic and Route data)

Figure 3,  A specific ferry service: PIRAEUS-MILOS-FOLEGANDROS-SANTORINI-IOS-PAROS-MYKONOS-SYROS

(Cartographic display of the state of competition in coastal ferry connections in Greece –

2022 Traffic and Route data)

For example, Figure 2 only depicts a selection of direct ferry lines from Piraeus, while Figure 3 shows a specific ferry line. Direct routes served by only one group are marked in red. Finally, by hovering the mouse, detailed information on the connection is displayed, such as (a) all companies operating, (b) the number of routes that include the specific connection, and (c) the unique routes deriving from (b).