Definition: The process of transporting an item, usually through the mail.

Shipping is a very basic, common way of getting an item from one place to another, or from one person to another.
Shipping is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo by sea, and is extended in US English to refer to transport by land or air (UK English: "carriage"). "Logistics", a term borrowed from the military environment, is also fashionably used in the same sense. Land or "ground" shipping can be by train or by truck (UK English: lorry). In air and sea shipments, ground transport is required to take the cargo from its place of origin to the airport or seaport and then to its destination because it is not always possible to establish a production facility near ports due to limited coastlines of countries. Ground transport is typically more affordable than air, but more expensive than sea especially in developing countries like India, where inland infrastructure is not efficient.

A main shipping line may have a different offices all over the world . thoes offices are called shipping agencies . they offer rates for sea -road-air shipping of the goods and offer services such as issuing storage recipts and invoices for THC or demorages at destination port.

Bulk carriers and tankers Liner and passenger services Technical and offshore

Significance of maritime industry: Maritime Transport is a critical infrastructure for the social and economic development of a country. It influences the pace, structure and pattern of development. The Ministry of Shipping encompasses within its fold shipping and ports sectors which include shipbuilding and shiprepair, major ports, national waterways, and inland water transport. Ministry of Shipping has been entrusted with the responsibility to formulate policies and programmes on these subjects and their implementation. Shri G.K.Vasan Central minister-shipping Shri Milind Murli Deora Minister of State Origin:
History of Shipping Industry
Commercial shipping began perhaps with the activities of the Phoenician merchants who operated their own vessels, transporting goods in the Mediterranean. The practices they developed were adopted by the merchants of ancient Greece and Rome and were continued by the maritime powers through the Middle Ages to modern times. The Venetians, from 1300 to 1500, owned a huge merchant fleet that served the interests of the merchant traders and the city-state exclusively. From 1600 to 1650 the Dutch ranked first in shipping activity, operating a globe-circling tramp service for merchants of western Europe. Advances in the 19th Century Until the 19th century, ships were owned by the merchant or by the trading company; common-carrier service did not exist. On January 5, 1818, the full-rigged American ship James Monroe, of the Black Ball Line, sailed from New York City for Liverpool, inaugurating common-carrier line service on a dependable schedule. A policy of sailing regularly and accepting cargo in less-than-shipload lots enabled the Black Ball Line to revolutionize shipping. Two technological developments furthered progress toward present-day shipping practices: the use of steam propulsion and the use of iron in shipbuilding. In 1819 the American sailing ship Savannah crossed the Atlantic under steam propulsion for part of the voyage, pioneering the way for the British ship Sirius, which crossed the Atlantic entirely under steam in 1838. Iron was first used in the sailing

vessel Ironsides, which was launched in Liverpool in 1838. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 was of great economic importance to shipping. Coinciding with the perfection of the tripleexpansion reciprocating engine, which was both dependable and economical in comparison with the machinery of the pioneer vessels, the completion of the canal made possible rapid service between western Europe and Asia. The first steam-propelled ship designed as an oceangoing tanker was the Glckauf, built in Britain in 1886. It had 3,020 deadweight tons (dwt; the weight of a ship's cargo, stores, fuel, passengers, and crew when the ship is fully loaded) and a speed of 11 knots. The 20th Century Among the technological advances at the turn of the century was the development by the British inventor Charles A. Parsons of the compound steam turbine, adapted to maritime use in 1897. In 1903 the Wandal, a steamer on the Volga River, was powered by the first diesel engine used for ship propulsion. The Danish vessel Selandia was commissioned as the first seagoing motor ship in 1912. After World War I significant progress was made especially in the perfection of the turboelectric drive. During World War II, welding in ship construction supplanted the use of rivets. The keel of the first nuclear-powered passenger-cargo ship, the Savannah, was laid in Camden, New Jersey, on May 22, 1958, and the ship was launched in 1960. In 1962 it was chartered to a private company for experimental commercial use, but it did not prove financially successful.

Terminologies

Bulk Carrier: A single-deck ocean going vessel designed to carry dry bulk commodities such as grain, coal and iron ore.

Bulk Cargo: Homogeneous unpacked dry cargo such as grain, iron ore or coal. Any commodity shipped in this way is said to be in bulk.

Charter: A contract to either provide a ship (time charter) or to carry a cargo for a fixed fee (voyage charter).

Time Charter: The hiring of a vessel from a shipowner for a period of time. Under this type of contract, the Shipowner places his ship, with crew and equipment, at the disposal of the Charterer, for which the Charterer periodically pays Hire Money. Subject to any restrictions in the contract, the Charterer decides the type and quantity of cargo to be carried and the ports of loading and discharging. The Charterer is responsible for supplying the vessel with bunkers and for the payment of cargo handling operations, canal and port charges, pilotage, towage and ships agency. The technical operation and navigation of the vessel remains the responsibility of the Shipowner. A vessel hired in this way is said to be on Time Charter. Such periods can vary from the anticipated time necessary to perform a specific voyage (e.g. two months), short term time charters; a number of voyages in succession (e.g. six to nine months), medium term time charters; or a number of years, long term time charters. Voyage Charter: Contract of carriage in which the Charterer pays for the use of a vessels cargo space for one, or sometimes more than one, voyage. Under this type of charter, the Shipowner pays all the operating costs of the vessel (including bunkers, canal and port charges, pilotage, towage and ships agency) while payment for payment for port and cargo handling charges are the subject of agreement between the parties. Freight is generally paid per unit of cargo, such as a ton, based on an agreed quantity, or as a lump sum irrespective of the quantity loaded. The terms and conditions of the contact are set down in a document as a Charter-Party. A ship chartered in this way is said to be on Voyage Charter.

Contract of Affreightment: A contract between a cargo shipper and carrier for the transport of multiple cargoes over a period of time. Contracts are individually negotiated and usually include cargo description, quantities per shipment and in total, load and discharge ports, freight rates and duration of the contract.

Deadweight Tons (DWT): The cargo carrying capacity of a vessel, including fuel oil, stores and provisions. Free Discharge: Expenses of discharging cargo are for the charterers account. Free In And Out: Expenses of loading and discharging cargo are for the charterers account.

Handy-size Bulk Carriers: Bulk Carriers of 25.000 to 40.000 DWT.

Panamax Bulk Carriers: Bulk Carriers of 40.000 to 80.000 DWT, of maximum width capable of passing through the Panama Canal. Capesize Bulk Carriers: Bulk Carriers of 100.000 to 160.000 DWT, too large to navigate the Panama Canal, a.k.a. Capers

Classification Societies: Det Norske Veritas (DNV), American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (NKK), Lloyds Register (LR), Registro Italiano Navale (RINA), Germanischer Lloyd (GL), Korean Register of Shipping (KRS), Bureau Veritas (BV), China Classification Society (CCS), Polshi Rejestr Statkow (PRS), Hellenic Register of Shipping.

On Hire Day: Each day on which a vessel is in all respects capable of performing its functions under the relevant Time Charter.

Spot Cargo Market: The market for immediate transportation of cargo from one port to another on a fixed fee basis.

Spot Charter Market: The market for immediate chartering of a vessel on a Dollars-per-day basis.

Bunker: Space in which fuel for the vessel is stored on board. The expression bunkers denotes the fuel itself.

Market share of companies

Rnk 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 APM-Maersk Mediterranean Shg Co CMA CGM Group Evergreen Line COSCO Container L. Hapag-Lloyd Hanjin Shipping APL CSCL MOL OOCL Hamburg Sd Group NYK Line Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp. Hyundai M.M. K Line Zim PIL (Pacific Int. Line) UASC CSAV Group Wan Hai Lines X-Press Feeders Group HDS Lines TS Lines NileDutch SITC KMTC RCL (Regional Container L.) CCNI STX Pan Ocean (Container) Operator Teu 2,598,132 2,202,039 1,394,452 734,845 719,652 636,214 578,114 573,728 554,607 509,065 446,054 416,795 411,066 359,411 353,320 347,414 318,180 303,238 270,024 266,904 162,600 88,036 86,320 83,164 65,248 59,927 59,421 50,175 47,746 41,718 Share 15.5% 13.1% 8.3% 4.4% 4.3% 3.8% 3.4% 3.4% 3.3% 3.0% 2.7% 2.5% 2.4% 2.1% 2.1% 2.1% 1.9% 1.8% 1.6% 1.6% 1.0% 0.5% 0.5% 0.5% 0.4% 0.4% 0.4% 0.3% 0.3% 0.2%

References:

http://www.businesshistory.com/ind._shipping.php http://naval-engineers.blogspot.in/2008/06/history-of-shipping-industry.html http://www.shipindia.com/profile/news-happenings/press-releases/corporate.aspx http://www.offshoreindustry.net/info/Terms_and_Expressions_in_Shipping_and_Offshore.pdf http://www.bulkcarriersinvestors.com/glossary.php http://www.logisuite.com/logistics-terms-glossary/ http://www.nortonrose.com/files/investing-in-shipping-companies-67119.pdf http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/ll/775mkt.html http://www.wikinvest.com/stock/FedEx_(FDX) http://www.shippingcontainertrader.com/facts.shtml http://www.micportal.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&i d=22&Itemid=33