Abstract. Through empirical analysis of the global structure of the Worldwide Marine Transportation Network (WMTN), we find that the WMTN, a small-world network, exhibits an exponential-like degree distribution. We hereby investigate the efficiency of the WMTN by employing a simple definition. Compared with many other transportation networks, the WMTN possesses relatively low efficiency. Furthermore, by exploring the relationship between the topological structure and the container throughput, we find that strong correlations exist among the container throughout the degree and the clustering coefficient. Also, considering the navigational process that a ship travels in a real shipping line, we obtain that the weight of a seaport is proportional to the total probability contributed by all the passing shipping lines.

PACS numbers: 89.75.Fb, 89.40.Cc, 05.90.+m

Print publication: Issue 11 (November 2009)
Received 8 July 2009