Introduction
23
avoiding detection has a considerable amount of space at its disposal…
F ortunately, armed vessels are not the only ones to roam the sea——
merchant wayfarers far outnumber the military. But the days when
pe0ple used ships to move from one place to another for business and
similar purposes appear to be numbered—the commercial airlines
have seen to this. Passenger ships will probably eventually disappear, with the exception of those used on cruises away from the
overcrowded land. The cargo—ship, on the other hand, is likely to
_
remain the cheapest way of moving goods in bulk around the world.
This changing maritime world may well reect naval preoccupation
with fast craft and submarines, With huge submarine freighters and
fast hydrofoil and hovercraft used for local journeys (Ch. 7).
Clearly, exploitation of the oceans is moving into a critical phase.
Within the next decade or so decisions Will have to be made which
might either prejudice or advance the progress towards, adequate
international controls benecial to all nations. Unlike adventures in
space, those in ocean science and technology are not necessarily the -
prerogative of the rich—shing boats and survey Vessels are within
the pocket of most countries. It is too easy to be sidetracked by the
remote glamour of outer space and as a result fail to appreciate the
universal ‘pay—off
’ which inner space can oer. .While giant Saturn
rockets point towards distant goals, even larger supertankers trek
across the oceans carrying vital supplies of oil and petroleum—some
of which come from offshore wells. Already commercial exploitation
of the more valuable ocean assets has started but this is only the
beginning of the ocean era—(Ch. 8).
…
23
avoiding detection has a considerable amount of space at its disposal…
F ortunately, armed vessels are not the only ones to roam the sea——
merchant wayfarers far outnumber the military. But the days when
pe0ple used ships to move from one place to another for business and
similar purposes appear to be numbered—the commercial airlines
have seen to this. Passenger ships will probably eventually disappear, with the exception of those used on cruises away from the
overcrowded land. The cargo—ship, on the other hand, is likely to
_
remain the cheapest way of moving goods in bulk around the world.
This changing maritime world may well reect naval preoccupation
with fast craft and submarines, With huge submarine freighters and
fast hydrofoil and hovercraft used for local journeys (Ch. 7).
Clearly, exploitation of the oceans is moving into a critical phase.
Within the next decade or so decisions Will have to be made which
might either prejudice or advance the progress towards, adequate
international controls benecial to all nations. Unlike adventures in
space, those in ocean science and technology are not necessarily the -
prerogative of the rich—shing boats and survey Vessels are within
the pocket of most countries. It is too easy to be sidetracked by the
remote glamour of outer space and as a result fail to appreciate the
universal ‘pay—off
’ which inner space can oer. .While giant Saturn
rockets point towards distant goals, even larger supertankers trek
across the oceans carrying vital supplies of oil and petroleum—some
of which come from offshore wells. Already commercial exploitation
of the more valuable ocean assets has started but this is only the
beginning of the ocean era—(Ch. 8).
…