Global Transport

Over 90% of all of the world’s trade is carried by ships. From the computer that you are reading this on, to the clothes that you are wearing, they were all delivered to you by ship.

50,000 ships trade the world’s ocean and this amounts to over 600 million tonnes of shipping. These ships are crewed by more than 1 million highly trained professional seafarers from almost every nation in the world. It is truly a global industry.

These seafarers operate some of the most technically advanced forms of transport. A large ship can cost over $100 million (£54 million). The world’s shipping industry earns more than $380 billion (£205 billion) in freight rates. These figures may sound high, but the cost of transportation by sea is almost negligible due to the economies of scale.

For more shipping facts click Shipping Facts