LAUSR

A general picture of the global shipping network is presented. The maritime network connects countries (nodes) with regular liner services (edges) all around the world. The weight factor of connections is the liner shipping bilateral connectivity index (LSBCI). The LSBCI is a composite index developed by UNCTAD which reflects maritime connectivity between pairs of nations all around the globe. The first goal of the study is to determine the community structure of the network by means of modularity optimisation. The structure clearly shows the main sea routes within the global network. The second goal is to extract more information from the strongest community by means of centrality metrics. The countries which achieved the best performance in the past decade are revealed.