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The Merchant Fleet
 Over 90% of world trade travels by sea. The international
merchant fleet employs some 1,250,000 seafarers at sea. A
further 250,000 are estimated to be on shore, in training,
on leave or looking for work. It is believed that more than
60% of seafarers come from a Catholic Christian background.
Modern ships have between 16-25 crew, often with four or
more nationalities on board. English would be the common
language, yet for most this would be their second or third
language.
Cargo ships
Despite developments in road and air transport, it is still
easier to transport heavy or large cargoes by coastal or
long distance ships. Demand for cargo ships is increasing
with the expansion of world trade. Minerals such as coal,
iron, bauxite, copper and chrome are loaded into ships by
conveyor belts. Dry cargoes such as cereals, sugar,
fertilisers, and fodder for livestock are stored silos in
ports before being transferred to the holds of ships.
Containers
Container ships carry their cargo in metal boxes, 20 and
40 foot in length. Some ship may carrier as many as 6,000
Twenty Foot Equivalent (TEU) containers. New ships coming on
line carrier in excess of 10,000 TEU's. These boxes can be
loaded and unloaded very rapidly by portside cranes with as
many as twelve cranes working on a ship moving a container
every 2 minutes. Container ships can be in and out of port
in a matter for hours. This is highly advantageous for
shipping companies anxious to minimise what they pay in port
dues. For the hardworking seafarer it means even less
possibility of spending time ashore. This type of shipping
has grown steadily in the last 30 years.
Tankers
Oil tankers may carry hundreds of tons of crude oil.
Pipelines carry oil to coastal terminals where it is loaded
into the tankers and transported to depots or refineries in
consumer countries. This is a highly specialised and
dangerous occupation. |
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Voyagers on the sea in ships,
plying their trade on the great ocean, have seen the works
of Yahweh, his wonders in the deep... (Ps 107: 23)
Region of origin % of total
| Philippines
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20 |
| Other Far East
countries |
20 |
| Eastern Europe |
28 |
| OECD |
13 |
| South Asia & Middle
East |
11 |
| Latin America &
Africa |
8 |
Seafarers in the merchant fleet source: Lane
A D, Obando-Rojas B, Wu B, Tasiran A (2002) Crewing the
International Merchant Fleet, Lloyd's Register - Fairplay
Ltd.
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