Shipping Glossary
The freight market
The freight market consists of shipowners, charterers and brokers. They use four
types of contractual arrangements: the voyage charter, the contract of affreightment,
the time charter and the bareboat charter. Shipowners contract to carry cargo for
an agreed price per tonne while the charter market hires out ships for a certain
period. A charter is legally agreed upon in a charter-party in which the terms of
the deal are clearly set out. The sale and purchase market
The sale and purchase market
In the sale and purchase market, second-hand ships are traded between shipowners.
The administrative procedures used are roughly the same as in the real-estate business,
using a standard contract. Trading ships is an important source of revenue for shipowners,
as the prices are very volatile. The second hand value of ships depends on freight
rates, age, inflation and expectations. The newbuilding market
The newbuilding market
The newbuilding market deals with transactions between shipowners and shipbuilders.
Contract negotiation can be very complex and extend beyond price. They also cover
ship specifications, delivery date, stage payments and finance. The prices on the
newbuilding market are very volatile and sometimes follow the prices on the sale
and purchase market. The demolition market
The demolition market
On the demolition market ships are sold for scrap. The transactions happen between
shipowners and demolition merchants, often with speculators acting as intermediaries.
Right of way (shipping)
A right of way in shipping means a collection
of all sailing rules on the water roads. It concerns passing, overtaking and priority.
In the bigger sense, the right of way concerns also using the lights, signs and
signals, the behaviour of sailors during bad weather condition and all of the rules
of being a sailor.
Several sets of rules have been published. The International Regulations for Preventing
Collisions at Sea apply to vessels at sea, while the Code Européen des Voies de
la Navigation Intérieure applies to vessels navigating Europe inland and the International
Sailing Federation has published Racing Rules of Sailing.
Chinese shipping
In 1961 China established a state-run maritime
shipping company and subsequently signed shipping agreements with many countries,
laying the foundation for developing the country's ocean transport. That organization
developed into the present-day China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (COSCO). The
Chinese government also invested heavily in water transport infrastructure, constructing
new ports and rebuilding and enlarging older facilities.
A major effort has also been made to increase mechanization and containerization
at major international ports. China's shipping industry and container transportation
has reached international standards both in handling efficiency and building networks.
The governmental responsibility of the shipping industry is under the Ministry of
Transport. The number of container units handled by mainland Chinese ports in November
2007 reached 100 million. The country also manufactures 90% of the world's containers.
The throughput of cargo and containers at China's ports has been the largest in
the world for the past five years, with an annual growth rate of 35%.
Greek shipping
The Greeks have been a maritime nation since the times
of ancient Greece, as the mountainous landscape of the mainland, the limited farming
area and the extended coastline of Greece led people to occupy with shipping. The
geographical position of the region on the crossroads of ancient sea lanes in the
eastern Mediterranean, the multiplicity of islands and the proximity to other advanced
civilizations helped shape the maritime nature of the Greek nation at an early stage.
Thus, the Greeks soon came to dominate the maritime trade in the region, gradually
expanding it along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea, and establishing
colonies.
A large part of the sea trade of the Roman Empire was carried out by the Greeks
in the following centuries, while they continued to be involved and play a major
role in shipping during the era of the Byzantine Empire as well.
Transshipment
Transshipment or Transhipment is the shipment of
goods or container to an intermediate destination, and then from there to yet another
destination.
One possible reason is to change the means of transport during the journey (for
example from ship transport to road transport), known as transloading. Another reason
is to combine small shipments into a large shipment, dividing the large shipment
at the other end. Transshipment usually takes place in transport hubs. Much international
transshipment also takes place in designated customs areas, thus avoiding the need
for customs checks or duties, otherwise a major hindrance for efficient transport.
Note that transshipment is generally considered as a legal term. An item handled
(from the shipper's point of view) as a single movement is not generally considered
transshipped, even though it may in reality change from one transport to another
at several points. Previously it was often not distinguished from transloading since
each leg of such a trip was typically handled by a different shipper.
Transshipment is normally fully legitimate and an everyday part of the world's trade.
However, it can also be a method used to disguise intent, as is the case with illegal
logging, smuggling or grey market goods.
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers
and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road
transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also
directionally guided by the tracks they run on. Track usually consists of steel
rails installed on sleepers/ties and ballast, on which the rolling stock, usually
fitted with metal wheels, moves. However, other variations are also possible, such
as slab track where the rails are fastened to a concrete foundation resting on a
prepared subsurface.
Rolling stock in railway transportation systems generally has lower frictional resistance
when compared with highway vehicles, and the passenger and freight cars (carriages
and wagons) can be coupled into longer trains. The operation is carried out by a
railway company, providing transport between train stations or freight customer
facilities. Power is provided by locomotives which either draw electrical power
from a railway electrification system or produce their own power, usually by diesel
engines.
Most tracks are accompanied by a signalling system. Railways are a safe land transportation
system when compared to other forms of transportation.[1] Railway transportation
is capable of high levels of passenger and cargo utilization and energy efficiency,
but is often less flexible and more capital-intensive than highway transportation
is, when lower traffic levels are considered.
Ship transport
Ship transport is watercraft carrying people (passengers)
or goods (cargo). Sea transport has been the largest carrier of freight throughout
recorded history. Although the importance of sea travel for passengers has decreased
due to aviation, it is effective for short trips and pleasure cruises. Transport
by water is cheaper than transport by air.
Ship transport can be over any distance by boat, ship, sailboat or barge, over oceans
and lakes, through canals or along rivers. Shipping may be for commerce, recreation
or the military. Virtually any material that can be moved, can be moved by water,
however water transport becomes impractical when material delivery is highly time-critical.
"General cargo" is goods packaged in boxes, cases, pallets, and barrels. Containerization
revolutionized ship transport in the 1960s. When a cargo is carried in more than
one mode, it is intermodal or co-modal.
Affreightment
Contract of Affreightment is the expression usually
employed to describe the contract between a ship-owner and another person called
the charterer, by which the ship-owner agrees to carry goods of the charterer in
his ship, or to give to the charterer the use of the whole or part of the cargo-carrying
space of the ship for the carriage of his goods on a specified voyage or voyages
or for a specified time. The charterer on his part agrees to pay a specified price,
called freight, for the carriage of the goods or the use of the ship.
A ship may be let like a house to a person who takes possession and control of it
for a specified term. The person who hires a ship in this way occupies during the
specified time the position of ship-owner. The contract by which a ship is so let
may be called a charter-party; but it is not, properly speaking, a contract of affreightment,
and is mentioned here only because it is necessary to remember the distinction between
a charter-party of this kind, which is sometimes called a demise of the ship, and
a charter-party which is a form of contract of affreightment.