SHIP TRANSPORT

Ship transport is primarily used for the carriage of people and non-perishable goods, generally referred to as cargo.Although the historic importance of sea travel for passengers has decreased, due to the rise of commercial aviation, it is still very effective for short trips and pleasure cruises. Sea transport remains the largest carrier of freight in the world.While slower than air transport, modern sea transport is a highly effective method of moving large quantities of non-perishable goods. Transport by water is significantly less costly than transport by air for trans-continental shipping.

Ship transport is often international by nature, but it can be accomplished by barge, boat, ship or sailboat over a sea, ocean, lake, canal or river. This is frequently undertaken for purposes of commerce, recreation or military objectives. When a cargo is carried by more than one mode, the transport is termed intermodal or co-modal.Ships have long been used for warfare, with applications from naval supremacy to piracy, invasions and bombardment. Aircraft carriers can be used as bases of a wide variety of military operations.

Ship transport is used for a variety of unpackaged raw materials ranging from chemicals, petroleum products, and bulk cargo such as coal, iron ore, cereals, bauxite, and so forth. So called "general cargo" covers goods that are packaged to some extent in boxes, cases, pallets, barrels, and so forth. Since the 1960s containerization has revolutionized ship transport.A nation's merchant fleet comprises the ships that are used to transport cargo during times of peace and war. A country's merchant marine or merchant navy is the combination of the fleet with the people who man it. There are a number of terms applied to the people who operate the ships, from merchant sailor to merchant mariner, to simply sailor or mariner.According to the 2005 CIA World Factbook, the world total number of merchant ships of 1,000 Gross Register Tons or over was 30,936. Statistics for individual countries are available at the List of merchant marine capacity by country.
A ship's engineering department consists of the members of a ship's crew that operate and maintain the propulsion and other systems on board the vessel. Marine Engineering staff also deal with the "Hotel" facilities on board, notably the sewage, lighting, air conditioning and water systems. They deal with bulk fuel transfers, and require training in firefighting and first aid, as well as in dealing with the ship's boats and other nautical tasks- especially with cargo loading/discharging gear and safety systems, though the specific cargo discharge function remains the responsibility of deck officers and deck workers. On LPG and LNG tankers however, a cargo engineer works with the deck department during cargo operations, as well as being a watchkeeping engineer.