Source: Adapted from Rodrigue, J-P (2020) “The Geography of Maritime Ranges: Interfacing Global Maritime Shipping Networks with Hinterlands”, Geojournal. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-020-10308-y
Note: The boundary of many ranges is based on Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ). Several EEZs are subject to contention. The boundaries depicted on this map are functional representations and should not be viewed as anything else.
The above map is an attempt to depict the world’s main maritime ranges. These ranges can be used as regional units to monitor changes in commercial activity. Since oceans are not empty entities (e.g. Hawaii in the Pacific), they can be considered as separate ranges that have oceanic boundaries, such as between the Atlantic (1) and the Indian (3) oceans. However, they are more systems of maritime circulation than functional maritime ranges, and they account for a marginal share of global port activity. The Arctic (4) is an emerging maritime range with some port activities (e.g. Murmansk, Narvik), but limited container traffic. Climate change and the lengthening of the Arctic navigation season have led to increased traffic in the range. The Antarctic is not a maritime range since it has no port activity level and virtually no maritime traffic.
The maritime ranges of the Americas are oriented along the east and the west coasts, with the Caribbean (7) as a subset. Due to North American economic integration, both the West Coast (6) and the East Coast (5) encompass the United States and Mexico as a single functional entity. The same rationale applies to including Canada in the East and West Coast ranges. While for South America, the hinterland boundary is mostly physical (Andean), the North American hinterland boundary is mostly defined by the market areas of rail operators. Still, the northern boundary with the Arctic range remains ill-defined.
European maritime ranges are organized into two main regions: one linked to the Atlantic (the British Isles, the European Atlantic, and the Northern Range) and the other to the Mediterranean (the East and West). Due to relatively short hinterland distances, all these ranges compete with one another, with the Northern European range (13) assuming a level of dominance. For the African continent, the Southern Mediterranean range (16) represents a specific market of nonintegrated ports servicing their national markets and with limited competition. A similar observation applies to the West African (17) and East African (18) ranges, where ports serve poorly connected national markets by setting up inland corridors at an early stage. The lack of maritime orientation of Sub-Saharan African ports, particularly in West Africa, is mainly attributed to geography. There is a scarcity of suitable port sites and limited access to the hinterland through river systems, which are punctuated by waterfalls and rapids, as well as substantial seasonal variations in water levels. South Africa (20) represents a specific range due to its higher level of economic development and its position at the interface between two oceans, with growing levels of transshipment.
The Middle East (20) and South Asia (21) ranges are impacted by the dual functions of accessing regional economies, as well as serving as growing transshipment platforms. Southeast Asia (22) is an archipelago range with a series of ports servicing their respective insular or national markets, with the system articulated by a major hub; Singapore. Conventionally, East Asia was considered a single range corresponding to its standard regional definition, encompassing China, the Korean Peninsula, and Japan. The substantial growth in port activity, particularly in China, has necessitated the fragmentation of East Asia into four maritime ranges. Mainland China is divided into three ranges, each corresponding to the hinterland of its three main river systems. Conventionally, the Korean peninsula was functionally part of the Japan range (26), but the trade reorientation of South Korea towards China supports its inclusion in the Yellow Sea range (23). Japan (26) is a specific range due to its archipelago nature, with its ports oriented at servicing the national economy and supporting cabotage. The Russian Far East range (27) is marginal and does not see significant volumes, but the setting up of the Eurasian landbridge is improving its relevance. Lastly, Oceania (28) encompasses the ranges of Australia and New Zealand, which are active exporters of resources and agricultural products.