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Maritime geography is not just an interesting subject, but is important in planning and negotiation for people working in the shipping business. Having an understanding of its impact on chartering is essential for people wanting to succeed as a chartered shipbroker. This topic introduces you to some of the main areas of maritime geography including: Latitude and longitude Time & tides Weather Waterways Ports Geography of trade
Continents
Note also there are seven main land masses or continents which in descending order of area are:
To establish one's position on the surface of the earth it is necessary to refer to a universally accepted grid of lines which run East to West which are Parallels of Latitude and lines running North to South, from North Pole to South Pole, which are Meridians of Longitude. There are 360 meridians of longitude each one being referred to as a degree and each degree is sub-divided into 60 minutes and each minute into 60 seconds.
Refer to the picture and note the line running North to South cutting through England; it actually runs through a suburb of London called Greenwich where a famous astronomical observatory was once established. This line is nought degrees (0) longitude and is referred to as the Greenwich Meridian. Longitude is therefore referred to as so many degrees, minutes and seconds East or West (of Greenwich).
The earth revolves on its axis once every twenty-four hours and mental arithmetic will reveal that the apparent movement of the sun in one hour will be 15 of longitude (360 -f 24hrs). This change of time with East-West travel will be referred to later when time zones are discussed.
The parallels of latitude provide another purpose because it has been universally accepted that distances at sea should be referred to in nautical miles. A nautical mile is one minute (1') of latitude so that if one travels 60 miles due north or south one's latitude will have increased by one degree (1).
Longitude
Lines of longitude are measured East and West. The prime meridian is at 0 and at the opposite side 180E/180W is the international date line. Lines of longitude converge and pass through the north and south pole.
Mercator projection
The projection that one is most likely to encounter in shipping business is the Mercator Projection, named after the inventor, a sixteenth century geographer. Mercator's projection is based upon the idea of wrapping a cylinder of paper round the globe and projecting an image of the world's features on it.
All three show 20 difference of latitude, but the gap increases as you move further north.
Other projections
Gall's Projection
Mollweide projection
Mercator projection
8.3 Time
Reference was made earlier to the way the rotation of the earth means that the time of day varies according to where one is situated.
Memory aid for changing clocks: "Spring forward, fall back" Countries such as those in Europe and North America, experience a significant change in the amount of daylight depending upon the season i.e. long nights and short days in winter and the reverse in the summer. These countries change their clocks by advancing them one hour in the spring, this is often referred to as "Daylight Saving Time"; the clocks are put back again in the Autumn (Fall). Time zones and any clock changes are important considerations for those in shipping business especially if negotiating a charter with the time limits which are an essential part of offers and counter offers. For example, the New York shipping market is five hours later than the London market so that a London broker wishing to impart some interesting piece of market gossip to his friend in New York would be ill-advised to do so as soon as the Londoner gets into the office (say 0930 London time) because his opposite number in New York will be fast asleep (0430 New York Time).
On the other hand the London broker's Japanese counterpart may be on his way home as it will be 1830 (6.30 pm) in Tokyo. A country like the USA has its own problems because it has five time zones within its own borders.
Tidal Range
The difference between high and low tides varies from place to place. For example, in London the tidal range is about 6.5 metres between high and low on spring tides and 4.3 metres range on neap tides.
Compare this with the Bay of Fundy (the inlet between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in Canada) where the spring tide range is over 15 metres between high and low tide. Conversely in the Mediterranean the greatest range between high and low tide is less than a metre.
Tide tables
As the time of the rotation of the moon round the earth is not an exact day, the times of tides vary. This can be calculated precisely so that almost all the world's ports publish tide tables.
Tide tables Bristol Such tables can be of vital interest to shipping because the rise and fall of tides determines how deep the water will be in the port area during the course of the day and so dictates when ships can reach the port and when the water is too shallow to accommodate the ship's draft.
NAABSA
In some ports, the draft is deep enough at high water to allow the ship to enter but when the tide falls the ship goes aground, hence the abbreviation mentioned in the chartering terms (Appendix 8) NAABSA - Not Always Afloat But Safe Aground. The effect of neap tides can have a serious effect on NAABSA ports because a ship near the upper limit of the permitted draft may enter without difficulty on a reasonably high tide but may become trapped for several days if the neap tide occurs while the ship is at that berth.
Although this is an expensive solution the advantages outweigh the costs. Not only can large ships be accommodated without any risk of their going aground but as the water level within the dock is constant, the level of the ship relative to shore appliances also remains constant.
Felixstowe - UK
The disadvantage is that the size of the dock and particularly the dimensions of the locks at its entrance impose a maximum size limitation which in many cases is far smaller than today's ships. It has been this tendency towards the ever-increasing size of ships that has caused many enclosed dock systems to become redundant. East India dock basin
Locks
Locks are simply short sections of canals with water-tight gates at each end. The water level is adjusted via sluice gates to match the level at the entrance side when that set of gates is opened. After the ship(s) have entered the lock, the gates are closed and the water level again adjusted, this time to match the level on the exit side when the exit gates are opened and the ships proceed. Lock gate construction - Victoria dock
As well as being used to enter enclosed docks, locks can also be used to 'lift' ships over high ground in canal systems.
3 Gorges China
8.4.2 Currents
The vessel shown here (Etoile) is only able to enter the Bristol docks at high tide due to it's draft.
Various other factors play their part in the creation of ocean currents which can effect a navigator's task but fortunately the subject has been well researched and reference books produced which tell seafarers what currents to expect in any part of the world
Sea storm
Particularly severe are the tropical storms which have different names in different parts of the world but have the same devastating effect. In the area around the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Islands they are called hurricanes which occur between June and November with the most severe time between August and October. In the Far East they are typhoons for which the season is May to January with maximum frequency between July and October.
Typhoon
Storms
In the Indian Ocean they are cyclones which have various seasons in different parts of the region but the worst periods are during the middle and at the end of the year. When these cyclones reach the north-west corner of Australia they assume the somewhat whimsical name of "willy-willies". These severe storms have been responsible for the loss of ships and in recent years, large bulk carriers have been the worst victims, a typical example being the bulk carrier "Derbyshire" which was loaded with iron ore and was lost with her entire crew in a typhoon. The disaster occurred so quickly that there was not even time for the ship to send a distress signal on the radio.
The Derbyshire
8.5.1 Ice
A hazard in some parts of the world, particularly the northern hemisphere is the risk of ships being immobilised through the sea freezing in winter. Most at risk are ports where timber is traditionally loaded in the Baltic Sea, White Sea and Gulf of Bothnia also ports in North West Russia.
Iceberg
St Lawrence River
Another vulnerable area is the St Lawrence River and the whole of the Great Lakes. From time to time there is an air of concern verging on panic that some ships, which arrived late at Great Lakes ports, becoming trapped in the Great Lakes system because it is necessary to close the St Lawrence Seaway to avoid the lock gates being damaged by the formation of ice. St. Lawrence River & Great Lakes
Ice breakers
Port authorities in the Scandinavian region and in the St Lawrence River endeavour to keep some open water by the use of ice breakers which are specially designed ships some of which, notably those owned by the former Soviet Union, are nuclear powered. By this means some of the Scandinavian timber ports stay open all year round except during a particularly severe winter and in the St Lawrence, every effort is made to maintain access as far up river as Montreal.
Ice-breaker
8.6 WATERWAYS
Types of waterways
Two types of waterways are important in shipping, natural waterways such as rivers, estuaries and creeks and man-made waterways which are usually called canals. Natural waterways provide the shelter from the weather that ships need when loading and discharging. Many major cities owe their very existence to the access afforded by a river. London is a typical example because it was founded by the Romans when they invaded Britain nearly two thousand years ago. London was as far up the river Thames that they could travel by ship and also the lowest point at which the river could be forded (crossed on foot
In 1895 it was slightly re-routed and deepened to its present 11 metres and has since then been regularly used by commercial shipping.
Kiel canal
Suez canal
Suez transit
Work on the Suez canal was commenced in 1859 and it was officially opened ten years later. Fortunately the difference in water levels between the Mediterranean and Red Seas never exceeds 1.25 metres so that there was no need to construct locks and thus it has been possible to widen and deepen the canal from time to time in tune with the increase in ship sizes.
Panama canal
Panama canal Although the canal uses existing lakes and creeks for much of its length, there is a difference in sea levels between the two oceans. Furthermore the land rises considerably so that three sets of locks had to be constructed to raise and lower ships a total of 26 metres. The Panama Canal is of vital importance for trade between Europe, America and the Far East as well, of course, for traffic between the East and West coasts of the USA itself.
8.7 Ports
Ports form the beginning and end of a sea voyage and form the interface between the ship and the shore. Even today, ports vary widely in their degree of development and sophistication. Some are simply a reasonably sheltered inlet, creek or river mouth where a ship may lie at anchor and load or discharge into barges which ply between ship and shore. At the other end of the scale are highly developed systems of quays and terminals with the most technologically advanced systems of moving the cargo to or from the side of the ship and into or out of its holds or tanks. There are, of course an infinite variety of ports between those two extremes.
Location of ports
It is always interesting to discover why a port has developed in a particular location. In many cases, as was mentioned earlier in this lesson, a port and then a town grew up because of the
geographical convenience of the position. A position sheltered from rough seas plus a good depth of water has often been the reason for a port to develop; Southampton on England's south coast is a typical example of this:
Southampton
In many cases the original purpose of the port has long since disappeared but because its original use created a centre of population the town has remained and new uses have been found for the port. Several ports in the United Kingdom are like this because they were first developed simply as coal export outlets but remain as ports with several functions even though coal exporting has almost entirely disappeared.
Mineral extraction
Ports are still created as outlets for particular commodities and the exports of coal and iron ore from places like Australia have prompted the building of huge automated loading terminals in places which may have no population nearby but which have the right amount of shelter and depth of water and are conveniently located as near as possible to the mineral extraction.
This has resulted in development of ports like Felixstowe in England which has an almost entirely agricultural hinterland but is well positioned to despatch containers all over the UK and to work with feeders to many places on the European mainland.
Felixstowe UK
Strategic ports
Singapore, similarly has a very limited land area behind it but its strategic position enables its transshipment traffic to keep it always among the top three container ports in the world. The port of Colombo in Sri Lanka, originally built to serve the local tea, rubber and coconut trades, now has ambitions to emulate Singapore as a trans-shipment port for the Indian subcontinent region.
and alongside.
Costs, ports vary considerably in port, pilotage towage and other charges Cargo handling systems and working schedules. Facilities for repairs, and/or servicing of equipment. Availability and cost of stores especially bunker fuel.
7. The location of discharging port relating to obtaining the ship's next cargo (again how far to sail in ballast). A trustworthy agent.
Coal
Note that coal moves from such places as: USA (e.g. Hampton Roads in South Africa (e.g. Richards Bay) also Australia (e.g Newcastle - New Virginia) to Europe and to Japan. to the Far East and to Europe. South Wales and Hay Point - Queensland) particularly to Japan.
Coal
Grain
Grain is shipped from such places as: Canada (e.g. the Great Lakes and Montreal) to Europe. USA (e.g. Gulf of Mexico ports) to Europe West Coast North America (e.g. South America (e.g. Buenos Aires in Grain hold
and to the Far East. Vancouver) to Japan. Argentina) to Europe and to the Far East.
Iron ore
Iron Ore is shipped from such places as: Canada (e.g. ports in the province of South America (Brazilian ports) to Europe Quebec), to Europe. Far East Australia (e.g Dampier - Western Australia) mainly to Japan. loading iron ore
Oil
Oil is shipped from such places as: The Middle East, that is the countries around the Gulf between Iran and Saudi Arabia
called by some the Arabian Gulf and by others the Persian Gulf and some the Middle East Gulf; politics influences the choice of name. These exports go to Europe, the Far East and many other places. Latin America (e.g. Venezuela) to Europe and the Far East. Oil tanker West Africa (Nigeria) mainly to Europe. United Kingdom (Sullom Voe in the Shetland Isles).
N.B. The oil from the North Sea oil fields (which are also drilled by the Netherlands and by Norway) produce a particularly light crude oil which provides quite different products and byproducts from those derived from, for example the much heavier Middle East Crudes so that European oil-rich countries both export and import crude oil so that all the chemicals and other by-products can be produced in their refineries.
These are examples and students should research into other seaborne trades specially those to and from their own locality.
raw materials tend to be predominantly North to South, general cargo routes are predominately East to West. For example Transatlantic between Europe and North America, Transpacific, e.g. West Coast USA to and from the Far East, and Europe to and from the Indian sub-continent, South East Asia and the Far East. The world-wide container trade, which is almost entirely made up of manufactured or partly manufactured goods, is expected to reach one billion (1,000,000,000) tonnes per annum by the early years of the 21st century.
Cars and Trucks, carried in specially designed ships, are also now a global trade especially since motor manufacturers construct vehicles in other countries as well as their home base. The network of lines carrying cars and trucks is almost as complex as that of the container trade.