What is the importance of shipping?

Britain is an island inhabited by over 50 million people. We could not possibly grow sufficient food to feed our vast population ourselves and we have insufficient supplies of most raw materials. We therefore need to import food and raw materials of every kind. In order to pay for these we must export all sort of finished goods and services. These quantities of goods can be moved only by sea, for air transport is too expensive for heavy goods. Shipping is our most important link with foreign parts, and on it depends the prosperity of our people.

Reference is often made to liner Conferences. The conference system is a way of protecting the liner trade from unfair competition from tramp shipping at times when there is excess capacity in the tramp market. If liners are to provide regular services calling at scheduled ports and leaving at stated times irrespective of the cargo position, they must be assured of reasonable freight rages. Tramp freight rates fluctuate with supply and demand, but liner freight rates are held steady. At times when tramp rates are high the liners carry at their steady rates.

When tramp rates are low there is a temptation for liner customers to transfer their cargoes to the cheaper tramps. If this happens the liners will suffer losses and may be driven out of business. To encourage regular support from traders, the conference system offers rebates which can be enjoyed only if the trader can prove that his goods have on every occasion in the previous trading period travelled by the conference liners.

This conference tie’ permits a trader to ship his goods by any line that is a member of the Shipping Conference. These liners charger similar freights, but it is unfair to regard them as price-fixing “rings’ since they have in no way a monopoly of shipping, which is international in character and highly competitive.

The International Chamber of Commerce, which represents the liners’ customers, itself, approves the conference system because of the security and reliability of service that the liner owners give to businessmen.

Requirements of a Good Port

(i) A clear channel-This may mean dredging, or blasting rocks out of the may, or marking the deep water with buoys and lights. It will certainly be necessary to avoid
blocking the channel with sunken ships. Pilots who know the way into the harbour are given sole charger of vessels entering and leaving.

(ii) Government offices for customers control, emigrating, immigration, licensing, quarantine centres, police and security establishments, public health and sanitation.

(iii) Deep water-This may be permanent deep water or, if it is tidal water, the water in the dock must be kept in by lock gates when the tide goes out. Southampton is a port with a natural advantage; it gets four times a day.

(iv) Shelter-This may be in a natural bay or harbour, or it may be provided by the banks of a river. If these are not available groynes must be built.

(v) Supplies of coal oil, water, food, and electricity for ships calling at the pot. When a ship arrives it will need to re-fuel and replenish its stores of water and food. While its engines are not working it may need to use the shore supply of electricity.

(vi) Wharves, Cranes, floating cranes, and brags are needed to help unload the ship, and turn it round quickly. A vessel is wasted in port-its function is to sail the seas. A labour force of coders and stevedores is needed to carry out the work of loading and unloading.

(vii) Commercial Premises-warehouse, bonded warehouses, refrigerator stores, grain elevators, forwarding depots for packaging exports, insurance offices.

(viii) Dry docks, repair yards, workshops, dis- infestation equipment and maintenance centres.

The Chief Ports of the British Isles

The map above shows the ports of the British Isles, and the shipping lanes which terminate in them the importance of any port depends to some extent on its position and the industries and population it caters for.

1. London-London, under its Port of London Authority, is still wrestling with the problems of adapting to Britain’s changed position in the world, and the technological changes in shipping since containerization began in the sixties. Once the busiest port in the world, it’s up-river docks are now inaccessible to the super tankers and bulk carriers; its passengers trade is dead except for a tiny cruise trade and the economics of the container trade favour a major stopping place in Europe for most Rhine for bare traffic and its absence of serious tidal problems, is a major competitor. P.L.A. plans to build a major deep-water port at Maplin near Shoeburyenees have been frustrated by official policies, but are not quite dead. It is a major container port. Far enough down river to accommodate large ships, it has been chosen as Britain major container terminal.

The facilities when have come into use are some of the most advanced in the world. Six Paceco-Vickers container cranes straddle carriers and other handling equipment provides rapid turnaround for container ships.

The British container consortium O.C.L. uses Tilbury for its Australia service. There are roll-on-roll baths, a common-user berth and also two prepackaged timber berths for the handling of wood products, manned by a permanent crew of skilled dockers who have set up new handling records with their side-loader fork-lift trucks. Just outside the container port in the main river a new grain terminal has been completed which can turn round large bulk carriers in two days. Land has been developed by the creation of modern mills and grain-processing plants and plans are in hand for four deep-draught riverside berths.

2. South-East Ports and Trade with the E.E.C-Two fifths of all U.K. exports and imports now go to, or come from, the South-East ports, While London dominates the South- East, its port is less well placed, partly because of the tidal nature of the River Thames, but also because of excess costs imposed by a traditional dock labour force.

Other ports have been able to expand more easily, with less sophisticated labour, shorter sea routes and absences of tidal problems. Southampton Dover, Harwich and Felixstown have picked up the profitable short-sea container trade at London’s expense. They have all expanded threefold in the decade.

Milford Haven is Britain’s second largest port in terms of tonnage handled, but nearly all its cargo is petroleum products.

Immingham, across the Humber Estuary from Hull, is now the third largest port, also handling mainly bulk cargoes.

Southampton, the next most important port of the British Isles, has a residue of passenger trade with cruise ships taking a larger share of this business in recent years. It has become an important container port too, adding this type of packaged cargo to its traditional high-speed cargoes of refrigerated meat, fruit and vegetables.

Liverpool has declined in influence as U.K. trade has become increasingly Europe-orientated. Its rise to power began with the cotton and tobacco trade about 250 years ago, but its growth has been hampered recently by the decline in foreign and non-European trade.

Hull, the convenient port for the industrial cities of the West Ridding, is smother important British port. Its fish trade has declined, but it imports wool from Australia, wheat, and a wide variety of general cargo.

Glasgow grew to importance when the New World was opened up in the sixteenth century, handling in particular the tobacco trade. Later, the fortunate discovery in the Glasgow area of coed and iron ore led to the growth of heavy industries and a large export trade.

Designated as Britain’s first M.I.D.A., the Clyde Port Authority has deep water suitable for large bulk carriers, but is on the wrong side of the U.K. remote from Europe. For the part Authority, which includes Leith and Grangemouth, is the port authority for East Scotland. It handles cargoes from Scandinavia, the Baltic and the Low Countries.

Bristol, a port that once gave its name to the British sailor’s idea of efficiency-‘ship-shape and Bristol fashion’- has declined because it is too shallow for modern shipping. Instead the port of Avonmouth was built nearer to the sea by the Bristol authorities, and a recent addition has been a now dock, the Royal Portbury Dock.

Other ports: Several small ports have demonstrated since the Second World War that the smaller terminal has much to offer the carrier. Outstanding among the small ports are Flisxstowe, which developed a container berth before the bigger ports had realized the revolution that was to come over shipping. Middleborough now handles 16 million tonnes per year and the Midway Ports, in Kent, 11 million tonnes.