The shipping industry is one of the oldest and most important in the world. More than 90% of goods are moved by sea, that does not even count the fact that shipping is responsible for more than half of all the global trade.
Here are some surprising facts about the global shipping industry.
Ocean shipping is one of the most eco-friendly forms of transportation compared to land and air transport.
Approximately 1.5 million people are employed in the maritime sector, with the Philippines producing the highest number of seafarers.
The largest container ships are 400 meters long, can carry 20,000 containers and weigh 200,000 tons.
The shipping industry was one of the first industries in the world to adopt widely implemented safety standards (in the 19 th century).
Shipping is the safest form of commercial transport.
The shipping industry is regulated by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the International Labor Organization (ILO). The shipping companies must adhere to certain safety standards, including training employees.
97% of all shipping containers are built in China.
The International Chamber of Shipping estimates that marine shippers transported over 7.7 billion tons of cargo in 2008, generating roughly $380 billion in freight charges alone.
Shipping is still one of the most affordable ways to transport cargo. For example: it is cheaper (£1) for Scottish cod to be shipped to China (16093.44 km away), filleted and returned to Scotland than it is to pay £22.50/kg to pay Scottish workers to do the same job.
Only 3% to 10% of containers are inspected worldwide.
Approximately 55,000 merchant ships are sailing the seas.
There are six types of vessels in the merchant fleet: general cargo ships, fishing vessels, container ships, bulk carriers, tankers and cruise ships.
It takes the fuel of more than 3770 smart cars per kilometer to move a large cargo. The ship uses 150-250 tons of fuel every day.
About 33% of the world’s ship crews have no means of communication while at sea, and only 10% have any internet access.
Ships are high-value assets with the cost reaching $200 million to build a large tech vessel.
Over half a trillion dollars are generated every year in freight rates by operating commercial vessels.
The average annual salary of a maritime worker ranges between $45,000 to $65,000.
Approximately 20 million containers are currently travelling across the oceans at this moment in time. 60% of these containers are travelling to and from Asia.
The global trade industry has seen a dramatic rise in container traffic since 2000. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), world trade reached $23 trillion in 2017 and rose by 5% the same year.
It is estimated that 10,000 shipping containers are lost at sea every year. The lost containers are often damaged by the waves and sink quickly.
If the containers are stacked, they would reach nearly 7,500 Eiffel Towers and if unloaded, their cargo into trucks the traffic would stretch for 96.56 km.
In 2011, 360 commercial ports in the United States received goods from abroad worth $1.73 trillion. The U.S.A. heavily relies on shipping to bring in two-thirds of its oil supply.
If all the containers in the world were lined up on one ship, that ship would stretch halfway around Earth.
Containers have been used as clinics during disaster relief, such as after the earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand.
The largest ships can store 745 million bananas in nearly 15,000 containers.