7 - global flows of shipping and sea cables ✅ Flashcards
what is trade
TRADE is the movement of goods and services from producers to consumers, spanning across:
- primary industry products (food, energy, raw materials)
- manufactured goods (processed foods, textiles, electronic goods)
how is world trade represented
WORLD TRADE dominated by developed nations and several large emerging economies including the BRIC group (brazil, russia, india, china)
how much is traded across the Pacific from SE Asia
$2388 billion particularly China, towards wealthy consumer countries of USA and Canada
how much does North America export
exports $1324 billion to growing middle class consumers of China following economic growth
how did intermodal containers begin and what is it like now
These have been the ‘backbone’ of the global economy since their introduction in 1956 by Malcom McLean into his company in Newark, New Jersey.
His company Sea land is now owned by Maersk, the world’s largest global shipping and logistical company
what are containers
Large-capacity storage units that can be transported long distances by multiple types of transport without the need for the freight to be taken out of the container
what is the impact of containerisation
This saves time, money and labour costs and they stack allowing them to be transported easily on large super tankers resulting in further savings by economies of scale.
what is the largest ship and how have container ships changed (4)
- vessels increased in size, with the largest being the Korean ‘OOCL Hong Kong’.
- The ship is 400m long and -has a width of 60m.
It carries 21000 intermodal containers. - In 1988 the largest container ship was 275m and carried 4000 containers.
- The average size of container ships has increased by 90% since 1997!
what has happened recently in the shipping industry (4)
- The shipping industry has entered a period of decline because of over capacity
- Too many ships now operate for the decline in China’s economic growth, resulting in fewer post recession exports to the west.
- Some ships have been sailing at under capacity, significantly increasing costs.
- Hanjin Shipping filed for bankruptcy in 2016 due to the mismatch of supply verses demand.
what have firms and economies been doing as the shipping industry changes
- Many TNCs have shortened their supply chains via reshoring.
- Goods and services are locally sourced instead of using distant offshore suppliers.
- It avoids geopolitical conflicts and can boost jobs in countries.
- The USA has exerted some pressure on American TNCs to help this process happen.
what event triggered changes in global governance of ships
- The UNCLOS made it illegal for ships that delivered oil to wash out their tanks with sea water to reduce marine pollution
- Single-hulled oil tankers were phased out following the sinking of the ‘Prestige’ off the coast of Spain in 2002.
what is shipbreaking
- Many older vessel need to be scrapped. Shipbreaking is the process of dismantling them.
- It often occurs in poorer EEC such as Bangladesh due to the fewer health and safety and environmental regaulations.
what threats do organised crime flows pose
- The illegal trans-oceanic flows of people, narcotics, counterfeit property, stolen goods and endangered wildlife link places together.
- The UN has made repeated calls for states to work together to tackle transnational organised crime flows, many of which use open oceans as their operational space.
example of a crime at sea
Royal Navy warship has seized £8.5million of heroin in a raid on a fishing boat in the northern Arabian Sea.
Nearly 60 kilos – 130lb – of the Class-A drug was found on board by sailors and Royal Marines from HMS Somerset, who intercepted the suspect vessel using fast boats.
how is people trafficking an organised crime at sea
- more than 90% of migrants crossing Mediterranean use services provided by criminal networks and associates
- estimated in 2015 criminal networks involved in smuggling raised funds of $3bn - $6bn
