Maritime transport and hydraulic effluvial transport, or more generally waterborne transport, is the transport of people (passengers) or goods (cargo) via waterways. Freight transport by sea has been widely used throughout recorded history. The advent of aviation has diminished the importance of sea travel for passengers, though it is still popular for short trips and pleasure cruises. Transport by water is cheaper than transport by air, despite fluctuating exchange rates and a fee placed on top of freighting charges for carrier companies known as the currency adjustment factor. Maritime transport accounts for roughly 80% of international trade, according to UNCTAD in 2020.
The Port of Hong Kong, located by the South China Sea, is a deepwater seaport dominated by trade in containerised manufactured products, and to a lesser extent raw materials and passengers. A key factor in the economic development of Hong Kong, the natural shelter and deep waters of Victoria Harbour provide ideal conditions for berthing and the handling of all types of vessels. It is one of the busiest ports in the world, in the three categories of shipping movements, cargo handled and passengers carried. This makes Hong Kong a Large-Port Metropolis.
A tanker is a ship designed to transport or store liquids or gases in bulk. Major types of tankship include the oil tanker, the chemical tanker, and gas carrier. Tankers also carry commodities such as vegetable oils, molasses and wine. In the United States Navy and Military Sealift Command, a tanker used to refuel other ships is called an oiler but many other navies use the terms tanker and replenishment tanker. Tankers were first developed in the late 19th century as iron and steel hulls and pumping systems were developed. As of 2005, there were just over 4,000 tankers and supertankers 10,000 LT DWT or greater operating worldwide.
A Marine Surveyor is a person who conducts inspections, surveys or examinations of marine vessels to assess, monitor and report on their condition and the products on them, as well as inspects damage caused to both vessels and cargo. Marine surveyors also inspect equipment intended for new or existing vessels to ensure compliance with various standards or specifications. Marine surveys typically include the structure, machinery and equipment and general condition of a vessel and/or cargo. It also includes judging materials on board and their condition. Because certifications and subsequently payments are processed only after the surveyor has expressed his or her satisfaction, a marine surveyor holds a prestigious position and is held with much regard in the shipbuilding industry. Marine Surveyors are highly qualified and technically sound and are usually selected after thorough evaluation procedures as vessels ranging from small ferries to enormous crude oil carriers and cruise liners are approved to sail into the high seas based purely on their judgment, competence and integrity.
An oil terminal is an industrial facility for the storage of oil, petroleum and petrochemical products, and from which these products are transported to end users or other storage facilities. An oil terminal typically has a variety of above or below ground tankage; facilities for inter-tank transfer; pumping facilities; loading gantries for filling road tankers or barges; ship loading/unloading equipment at marine terminals; and pipeline connections.
Lightering is the process of transferring cargo between vessels of different sizes, usually between a barge (lighter) and a bulker or oil tanker. Lightering is undertaken to reduce a vessel's draft so it can enter port facilities that cannot accept large fully-loaded ocean-going vessels. Lightering can also refer to the use of a lighter barge for any form of short-distance transport, such as to bring railroad cars across a river. In addition, lightering can refer to the process of removing oil or other hazardous chemicals from a compromised vessel to another vessel to prevent an oil spill.
Marine Transfer Operations are conducted at many ports around the world between tanker ships, barges, and marine terminals. Specifically, once the marine vessel is secure at the dock a loading arm or transfer hose is connected between a valve header on the dock and the manifold header on the vessel. A marine transfer of petroleum products cannot be conducted unless it is supervised by a person-in-charge (PIC) on the vessel who is seafarer in the Merchant Marine and another person-in-charge on the dock.
The Port of Southampton is a passenger and cargo port in the central part of the south coast of England. The modern era in the history of the Port of Southampton began when the first dock was inaugurated in 1843. The port has been owned and operated by Associated British Ports since 1982, and is the busiest cruise terminal and second largest container port in the UK. The volume of port traffic categorises Southampton as a Medium-Port City globally.
A Single buoy mooring (SrM) is a loading buoy anchored offshore, that serves as a mooring point and interconnect for tankers loading or offloading gas or liquid products. SPMs are the link between geostatic subsea manifold connections and weathervaning tankers. They are capable of handling any tonnage ship, even very large crude carriers (VLCC) where no alternative facility is available.
An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crude oil from its point of extraction to refineries. Product tankers, generally much smaller, are designed to move refined products from refineries to points near consuming markets.
A marine loading arm, also known as a mechanical loading arm, loading arm, or MLA is a mechanical arm consisting of articulated steel pipes that connect a tankship such as an oil tanker or chemical tanker to a cargo terminal. Genericized trademarks such as Chiksan are often used to refer to marine loading arms.
A loading arm permits the transfer of liquid or liquefied gas from one tank to another through an articulated pipe system consisting of rigid piping and swivel joints to obtain flexibility.
Oil tankers generally have from 8 to 12 tanks. Each tank is split into two or three independent compartments by fore-and-aft bulkheads. The tanks are numbered with tank one being the forwardmost. Individual compartments are referred to by the tank number and the athwartships position, such as "one port", "three starboard", or "six center."
ship-to-ship (STS) transfer operation is the transfer of cargo between seagoing ships positioned alongside each other, either while stationary or underway. Cargoes typically transferred via STS methods include crude oil, liquefied gas, bulk cargo, and petroleum products. The nomenclature STS transfer should be used in reference to techniques used by civilian merchant vessels, as differentiated from underway replenishment which is the term used by the US Navy for similar, but usually far more complicated, operations between naval vessels while underway.
Chinamax is a standard of ship measurements that allow conforming ships to use various harbours when fully laden, the maximum size of such a ship being 24 m (79 ft) draft, 65 m (213 ft) beam and 360 m (1,180 ft) length overall. An example of ships of this size is the Valemax bulk carriers.
The cargo control room, CCR, or cargo office of a tankship is where the person in charge (PIC) can monitor and control the loading and unloading of the ship's liquid cargo. Prevalent on automated vessels, the CCR may be in its own room, or located on the ship's bridge. Among other things, the equipment in the CCR may allow the person in charge to control cargo and stripping pumps, control and monitor valve positions, and monitor cargo tank liquid levels.
Dantec is one of the world’s top three largest manufacturers of composite hoses and the biggest of its kind in the UK. The company was founded in 1969 in Moreton, Wirral.
Vessel safety surveys are inspections of the structure and equipment of a vessel to assess the condition of the surveyed items and check that they comply with legal or classification society requirements for insurance and registration. They may occur at any time when there is reason to suspect that the condition has changed significantly since the previous survey, and the first survey is generally during construction or before first registration. The criteria for acceptance are defined by the licensing or registration authority for a variety of equipment vital to the safe operation of the vessel, such as safety equipment, lifting equipment, hull structure, static stability, ground tackle, propulsion machinery, auxiliary machinery, etc. The SOLAS Convention, specifies safety equipment for commercial vessels operating internationally.
Novorossiysk Sea Port is one of the largest ports in the Black Sea basin and the largest in Krasnodar Krai. At 8.3 km, the NSP berthing line is the longest among all the ports of Russia. The port is located on the Northeast coast of the Black Sea, in the Tsemes Bay. The bay is ice-free and open for navigation all year round. However, in winter the navigation occasionally stops due to the hazardous northeastern bora wind. The Tsemes Bay allows deep-draft vessels up to 19 m DWT, the inner harbour — up to 12.5 m. The liquid bulk terminals depth range from 8.4 to 15.6 m, suitable for tankers with a deadweight of up to 250,000 tons.
A liquefied natural gas terminal is a facility for managing the import and/or export of liquefied natural gas (LNG). It comprises equipment for loading and unloading of LNG cargo to/from ocean-going tankers, for transfer across the site, liquefaction, re-gasification, processing, storage, pumping, compression, and metering of LNG. LNG as a liquid is the most efficient way to transport natural gas over long distances, usually by sea.
