Wars ana’ Wagring
187
years to come, held back only by the need to design the ships for its
most advanced forms. But this is not the only revolution occurring
in marine transport.
Cargo revolution
Since 1960, the world’s sea—borne trade has been dominated by
the bulk transport of oil. The oil tankers are the technological giants
of the oceans—the Idenzitsa Mara is 1,101 feet long and has a dead—
weight of 209,000 tons (the longest passenger ship aoat, the France,
is 66 feet shorter). Modern ‘super—tankers’ carry anything from
150,000 to well over 200,000 tons of crude oil which they can load
and unload at impressive rates; a cargo of 165,000 tons of crude oil
can be dealt with in 17 hours—a rate of just under 10,000 tons per
hour. These tankers contrast sharply with the rst recorded long
sea transport of oil in 1881, when the brig Elizabeth Watts brought
a cargo of 224 tons of oil from Philadelphia to London. Modern
‘jumbo’ tankers, like the 312,000—t0n Universe Ireland, are iron and
steel testimonies to the fact that the bigger the ship, the lower the
cost of transporting the oil.
Bulk cargoes, by virtue of their amorphous nature, lend themselves
to rapid mechanical handling, usually at specially built docks. An
automatic bulk—loading installation for potash and phosphate at the
Israeli port of Ashdod can handle 800 tons an hour. It is the general
cargoes that cause the trouble. Manufactured goods, because of
their variety, frequently have to be treated as separate units and, as
such, need extra handling at warehouses and the quayside.
Obviously, the more such goods have to be handled and moved,
the more costly their transport, and hence total cost, becomes.
In an American study, 54 per cent of the cost of a shipment was
taken by port expenses. This is a cause for concern to most countries,
because in terms of value rather than ‘t_on miles’, general cargo is
far more important than bulk commodities such as oil, iron ore,
grain and coal.
An ideal answer to the question of how to move general cargo
about the world is to use internationally standard containers. These
boxes, which have a cross—section 8 feet square, may be 10, 20, 30
or 40 feet long and hold up to 20 tons of freight. Some space may be
wasted if the container is not full, but this is more than compensated
for by the reduced handling costs. Goods can be packed in containers
at factories remote from the port and then carried by rail or lorry to
187
years to come, held back only by the need to design the ships for its
most advanced forms. But this is not the only revolution occurring
in marine transport.
Cargo revolution
Since 1960, the world’s sea—borne trade has been dominated by
the bulk transport of oil. The oil tankers are the technological giants
of the oceans—the Idenzitsa Mara is 1,101 feet long and has a dead—
weight of 209,000 tons (the longest passenger ship aoat, the France,
is 66 feet shorter). Modern ‘super—tankers’ carry anything from
150,000 to well over 200,000 tons of crude oil which they can load
and unload at impressive rates; a cargo of 165,000 tons of crude oil
can be dealt with in 17 hours—a rate of just under 10,000 tons per
hour. These tankers contrast sharply with the rst recorded long
sea transport of oil in 1881, when the brig Elizabeth Watts brought
a cargo of 224 tons of oil from Philadelphia to London. Modern
‘jumbo’ tankers, like the 312,000—t0n Universe Ireland, are iron and
steel testimonies to the fact that the bigger the ship, the lower the
cost of transporting the oil.
Bulk cargoes, by virtue of their amorphous nature, lend themselves
to rapid mechanical handling, usually at specially built docks. An
automatic bulk—loading installation for potash and phosphate at the
Israeli port of Ashdod can handle 800 tons an hour. It is the general
cargoes that cause the trouble. Manufactured goods, because of
their variety, frequently have to be treated as separate units and, as
such, need extra handling at warehouses and the quayside.
Obviously, the more such goods have to be handled and moved,
the more costly their transport, and hence total cost, becomes.
In an American study, 54 per cent of the cost of a shipment was
taken by port expenses. This is a cause for concern to most countries,
because in terms of value rather than ‘t_on miles’, general cargo is
far more important than bulk commodities such as oil, iron ore,
grain and coal.
An ideal answer to the question of how to move general cargo
about the world is to use internationally standard containers. These
boxes, which have a cross—section 8 feet square, may be 10, 20, 30
or 40 feet long and hold up to 20 tons of freight. Some space may be
wasted if the container is not full, but this is more than compensated
for by the reduced handling costs. Goods can be packed in containers
at factories remote from the port and then carried by rail or lorry to