Shipping Industry
Executive Summary of the IndustryShip transport refers to the use of watercraft to carry people, generally referred to as passengers, and goods, generally referred to as cargo, from one place to another. Although the historic importance of sea travel for passengers has decreased due to the development of automobiles and aviation, it is still very effective for short trips and pleasure cruises. Sea transport remains the largest carrier of freight in the world. While slower than air transport, modern sea transport is a highly effective method of moving large quantities of non-perishable goods. Transport by water is significantly less costly than transport by air for trans-continental shipping.
Ship transport is often international by nature, but it can be accomplished by barge, boat, ship or sailboat over a sea, ocean, lake, canal or river. This is frequently undertaken for purposes of commerce, recreation or military objectives. When a cargo is carried by more than one mode, the transport is termed intermodal or co-modal. Ships have long been used for warfare, with applications from navalsupremacy to piracy, invasions and bombardment.
Aircraft carriers can be used as bases of a wide variety of military operations. Ship transport is used for a variety of unpackaged raw materials ranging from chemicals, petroleum products, and bulk cargo such as coal, iron ore,cereals, bauxite, and so forth. So called "general cargo" covers goods that are packaged to some extent in boxes, cases, pallets, barrels, and so forth. Since the 1960s containerization has revolutionized ship transport.
Bulk carriers, such as the Sabrina I seen here, are cargo ships used to transport bulk cargo items such as ore or food staples (rice, grain, etc.) and similar cargo. It can be recognized by the large box-like hatches on its deck, designed to slide outboard for loading. A bulk carrier could be either dry or wet. Most lakes are too small to accommodate bulk ships, but a large fleet of lake freighters has been plying the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway of North America for over a century.
Container ships are cargo ships that carry their entire load in truck-size containers, in a technique called containerization. They form a common means of commercial intermodal freight transport. Informally known as "box boats," they carry the majority of the world's dry cargo. Most container ships are propelled by diesel engines, and have crews of between 10 and 30 people. They generally have a large accommodation block at the stern, directly above the engine room.
Tankers are cargo ships for the transport of fluids, such as crude oil, petroleum products, liquefied petroleum gas, liquefied natural gas and chemicals, also vegetable oils, wine and other food - the tanker sector comprises one third of the world tonnage.
Reefer ships are cargo ships typically used to transport perishable commodities which require temperature-controlled transportation, mostly fruits,meat, fish, vegetables, dairy products and other foodstuffs.
Roll-on/roll-off ships, such as the Chi-Cheemaun, are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo such as automobiles, trailers or railway carriages. RORO (or ro/ro) vessels have built-in ramps which allow the cargo to be efficiently "rolled on" and "rolled off" the vessel when in port. While smaller ferries that operate across rivers and other short distances still often have built-in ramps, the term RORO is generally reserved for larger ocean-going vessels.
Coastal trading vessels, also known as coasters, are shallow-hulled ships used for trade between locations on the same island or continent. Their shallow hulls mean that they can get through reefs where sea-going ships usually cannot (sea-going ships have a very deep hull for supplies and trade etc.).
Ferries are a form of transport, usually a boat or ship, but also other forms, carrying (or ferrying) passengers and sometimes their vehicles. Ferries are also used to transport freight (in lorries and sometimes unpowered freight containers) and even railroad cars. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services. A foot-passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, is sometimes called a waterbus or water taxi. Ferries form a part of thepublic transport systems of many waterside cities and islands, allowing direct transit between points at a capital cost much lower than bridges ortunnels. Many of the ferries operating in Northern European waters are ro/ro ships. See the Herald of Free Enterprise and M/S Estonia disasters.
Cruise ships are passenger ships used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are considered an essential part of the experience. Cruising has become a major part of the tourism industry, with millions of passengers each year as of 2006. The industry's rapid growth has seen nine or more newly built ships catering to a North American clientele added every year since 2001, as well as others servicing Europeanclientele. Smaller markets such as the Asia-Pacific region are generally serviced by older tonnage displaced by new ships introduced into the high growth areas. On the Baltic sea this market is served by cruiseferries.
