Elements of Shipping

For the casual reader, Branch describes an entire world of commercial interactions that is typically little appreciated. Most of the world's commerce in physical goods takes place by boat. An entire global infrastructure has arisen to handle this traffic. The many aspects of which are treated in this book. One is the different types of ships. There is the gas tanker, for liquified natural gas. The fruit carrier. Ore ships, for oil, bulk grain, fertilizer and ore. And of course container vessels. Then there are the various maritime authorities. For the Suez Canal, the Panama Canal, and others. Nor does the book ignore the shipping exchanges. Where people can bid for ships to transport their goods. The Baltic Exchange figures prominently in this section, as perhaps the most important of these bourses. The ideas behind the bill of lading get extensive discussion. A lot of thought has gone into the contracts made explicit by such bills. And there are numerous types, developed for specialised uses.