Bsmt

Maritime Transportation Authors: Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue, Dr. Theo Notteboom and Dr. Brian Slack 1. Maritime Routes From its modest origins as Egyptian coastal sailships around 3,200 BC, maritime transportation has always been the dominant support of global trade. By 1,200 BC Egyptian ships traded as far as Sumatra, representing one of the longest maritime route of that time. European colonial powers, mainly Spain, Portugal, England, the Netherland and France would be the first to establish a true global maritime trade network. With the development of the steam engine in the mid 19th century, this role expanded considerably as ships were no longer subject to dominant wind patterns. This long term attribute has been reinforced by recent trends where changes in international trade and seaborne trade are interrelated. Maritime transportation, like all transportation, is a derived demand. As of 2006, seaborne trade accounted for 89.6% of global trade in terms of volume and 70.1% in terms of value. Maritime shipping is one of the most globalized industries in terms of ownership and operations. Maritime transportation, similar to land and air modes, operates on its own space, which is at the same time geographical by its physical attributes, strategic by its control and commercial by its usage. While geographical considerations tend to be constant in time, strategic and especially commercial considerations are much more dynamic. The physiography of maritime transportation is composed of two major elements, which are rivers and oceans. Although they are connected, each represents a specific domain of maritime circulation. The notion of maritime transportation rests on the existence of regular itineraries, better known as maritime routes.
Maritime routes. Corridors of a few kilometers in width trying to avoid the discontinuities of land transport by linking ports, the main elements of the maritime / land interface. Maritime routes are a function of obligatory points of