Meet the power carrier who drives the Economy.

The world is shrinking, with the remarkable expansion in the maritime industry. From a leisure cruise trip to a business enterprise the maritime industry is one of the fastest growing businesses. Maritime is considered to be the backbone of any country’s development.  In India, or rather the world as a whole, approximately, 90 per cent of the country's trade by volume (70 per cent in terms of value) is moved by sea. As we all know, Trade and development are closely interlinked. Without development, there is no trade and without trade, there isn’t any development either. So basically, the entire existence of development depends on the shipping or maritime industry, indirectly, of course. As per the World Trade Organisation (WTO) projection, the shipping volumes may experience an escalation to 4.5% in 2014.

Think of the GUCCI bag or the PRADA shoes which got everybody’s eyeballs rolling at the party last night or even a casual shirt or jeans that you're wearing for your date last weekend. Ever wondered how did it get to the store where you purchased it from ? Ever wondered how did those AUDIS and the British manufactured BENTLEY managed to kiss the Indian roads? Ever thought where your food at the KFC'c or the  McD's comes from? That’s the irony with all of the commoners, for whom ignorance is bliss, but certainly not anymore. That’s practically the main reason the shipping industry is mainly misunderstood. No one ever tends to even think about it. Shipping is the Invisible Industry That Puts Clothes on Your Back, Gas in Your Car, and Food on Your Plate.

Today almost no nation is fully self-sufficient. In order to grow and prosper every country’s needs to sell what it produces and acquire what it lacks. None can depend on domestic resources alone. Ships have always provided the only really cost-effective method of bulk transport over any great distance. There are more than 45,000 merchant ships trading internationally today, transporting every kind of cargo. The world fleet is registered in over 150 nations, and manned by over one and a quarter million seafarers of virtually every nationality. Without shipping, the world would have extinguished because grains would not be distributed from the points of origin to the points of consumption. Even after having such a profound effect on the world, it is still chosen to be ignored or rather treated as a non-existent mode of transport.

With the introduction of the container in the mid 1960’s, global trade grew two times faster than that of the production rates, and two and a half times faster than global economic output.  Recently, two independent sources looked at the economic contribution of the liner shipping industry and concluded that it is indeed a global economic engine for two reasons: the significant amount the industry contributes directly to the global economy, and the role of the industry as a facilitator of economic growth for other industries.

So how much stuff can a ship actually carry? With the largest container ship being about five times the size of the biggest Plane ever made in the history of mankind, I don’t think I need to say anything more. With a huge capacity to transport shipments and with a cost productive element adding to it, shipping surely is a profitable decision to make. At the very same time, shipping also provides job opportunities and employment for the millions.

With all these facts and figures and advantages of containerization, calling the shipping industry a driver of the world economy isn’t a justified statement. We would rather call it the entire economy itself. 

Source :- http://www.sdcexec.com/news/11225816

www.mapsummit.com

 Significant role of Maritime in India

Half of the world would starve and other half would freeze had it not been shipping - Efthimios Mitropoulos

The maritime industry plays a very significant role in the socio-economic development of any country. The common man has limited perception and appreciation of its influence and role as an essential element in terms of our overall development. In spite of 90% trade being carried out by ships, we choose to ignore the seas. And to highlight this very same fact we give you a very fine example. Ask a person on the street if he has heard of Microsoft and surely you will get an exuberant ‘YES’.

Ask the same person if he has heard of Maersk and he will give you a straight poker face. Maersk is one of the leading shipping companies and generates revenue equivalent to Microsoft.

Both the companies are on par with each other in terms of revenue generation and so as contribution to the economy. But still, we chose to ignore the latter.

We think of the seas as a simple blue patch as we pleasantly fly over it. The sea isn’t considered as an area of work or industry. The main reason for this attitude towards the Maritime Industry is not having proper and adequate knowledge about this industry. There is a lot more to shipping than what meets the eye. It goes beyond the seas.

The food on your plate, the clothes on your back, the gas in your car, the shoes on your feet; everything has made their way on a container on a ship on the seas and oceans. Maritime is a potential source of excellent employment and career opportunities, with several million people currently working in activities and companies directly and indirectly related to oceans and seas worldwide. Our lives aren’t just associated with shipping; their dependent on shipping, totally.

Without shipping, half the world would freeze and the other half will starve because grains would not be distributed from the points of origin to the points of consumption - Efthymios Mitropoulos.

Shipping practically is the mother industry which gives rise to all other industries.

It directly provides job opportunities for the millions and indirectly for the billions.

So let’s sum it up. Shipping is:

• The greenest Industry

• The cheapest mode of transport

• High generator of revenue

• High job opportunities provider

The Maritime Awareness Program society is all out to change this way of thinking.

MAPS, has been formed with the primary objective of promoting and spreading awareness about the maritime sector. We should no longer be known to the public just for pictures of dead birds lying in a pool of oil or a ship stranded on the beach. So come ahead and be a part of this society. Share your views and lets spread awareness about this industry.