While recommending Martin Stopford’s Maritime Economics to a
colleague, I was drawn to pouring over the pages again - the last time I
did was during my Masters. Oh, boy! It is so refreshing to read him
again. No wonder, one of my Korean friends is so keen to translate the book for
the benefit of the Hangul readers. In the chapter ‘Bulk Cargo and the Economics
of Bulk Shipping’, Martin reels out simple statistics of a typical bulk transport
system:
- 1 sea voyage and 2 land journeys
- 4 storage areas located at the origin, the loading port, the discharging port and the destination
- 8 handling operations as the cargo moves in and out of the 4 storage areas
- 4 loading/unloading operations from land transport vehicles plus the ship loading and discharge
- 14 times of cargo handling between the producer and the consumer
“No wonder transport system designers are so interested in
finding ways to reduce this cost,” he sums up.
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| Source: Martin Stopford, Maritime Economics 2nd Ed |
This is just an example of his eye for detail and
description. Elsewhere, he says a country’s pattern of sea trade depends on
three variables – GNP, the stage of development and natural resources – and the
character of trade changes as the country develops. He terms this as the Trade
Development Cycle.
The book is worth a read for those interested in
understanding the dynamics of maritime trade.
A visit to Hamburg at the turn of the decade and Martin’s
presence in a gathering there meant meeting just another guest. Oh yeah!
Blissfully ignorant!
For a quick sustainability report at Krishnapatnam Port, please access: http://www.krishnapatnamport.com/data/Sustainability_Report_2016-17.pdf
For a quick sustainability report at Krishnapatnam Port, please access: http://www.krishnapatnamport.com/data/Sustainability_Report_2016-17.pdf
