The Impacts of Globalization of International Ocean Transportation

Effect of Globalization on International Ocean Transportation
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Institution
Effect of Globalization on International Ocean Transportation
Introduction
Throughout history, shipping has been a critical human activity especially in cases where development depended mainly on global and interregional business. This importance has led to transportation being branded as one of the four pillars of globalization, alongside international standardization, trade liberalization and communication. As a result of the technological, economic, and socio-cultural factors, it is hard to find a nation that has cushioned itself from the economic activities of the neighboring nations. The decision by nations to open its borders for international trade has the capacity of increasing the economic prospects of the concerned nation. The increased flow of goods and knowledge across continental borders is what is referred to as globalization. Globalization is seen as having a positive or negative effect on international stability, the environment and sustainable development. This paper discusses the effect of globalization on ocean transportation especially in relation to how the maritime industry has been forced to transform its technologies over the years to meet the arising demands of globalization.
Ocean Transportation and the Movement of Goods
The movement of goods internationally is an important element in the international transportation system that is inclusive of oceans, railways, roads and air transport. Over the years, the use of the ocean as a means of transportation has gained popularity due to its convenience as well as the low cost of transportation has made transportation of goods across nations quite effective. The popularity of sea transport has been mainly due to the convenience that the transporter has on how they want to ship their goods. In most cases, transporters use sealed containers something that safeguards the goods during transportation. The international shipping links the major transportation systems through ocean and coastal routes (International Maritime Organization, 2004). The ability to choose how to transport their goods has been very instrumental as it has led to increased efficiency in the trade between international institutions and nations. In the prevailing global economy, the biggest concern is on saving time, cost as well as in the safe delivery of goods. Even though ocean transport takes more time, it can carry more goods thus increasing its preference especially for the transportation of non perishable goods. Despite this being a slow mode of transportation, proper planning can see this mode of planning meet all the inventory needs in an organization (International Maritime Organization, 2004).
Globalization and the Role of Ocean Transport
Ocean transportation plays an important role in global transportation. Even though this mode of transportation is less visible to many people, it is well synchronized and thus capable of bringing numerous benefits to a nation. The maritime transportation system is a well coordinated network that is comprised of special vessels, the harbors that they visit as well as transportation structure from the manufacturing industries to channels of distribution centers to markets. This form of transport is an important augmentation to the other available channels of transportation. In some instances, there are no substitutes to ocean transportation and even though air transportation has taken the place of some ocean liner passenger transportation, the movement of goods still relies heavily on ocean transportation. There are also infrastructure constraints in some cases that make ocean transportation the only mode of transportation of goods or people from one place to the other. These factors have worked together to make ocean transport an integral part of the global system of transport (Blonigen, & Wilson, 2006).
Globalization is driven by the realization that resources and goods are not always aligned to the individuals that require them and hence the need for an international transportation system. For instance, in the mid 20th century, a large section of crude oil was refined at the source and the product transported to different markets in smaller tankers. However, the changing times dictated that oil companies would be better placed if they transported large amounts of crude oils to refineries that were placed closer to the final products. Once this was done, the products could then be distributed to the final market using the lighter wagons. This realization led to the establishment of huge tanker vessels to transport petroleum products. This was the same knowledge that shaped the mode of transportation for other products such as grains and minerals. Globalization also led to the realization of labor markets across borders that promoted the transportation of unfinished raw materials to areas where the cost of production was lower. This realization called for the development of novel routes to transport the products and this led to the phenomenal growth of sea transport. An example of this is the scenario where American products are taken to Africa where there is availability of cheap labor before they are transported back to America for refining purposes. This leads to an overall reduction in the prices for such products (Blonigen, & Wilson, 2006).
In the past, most boats that were used to transport products were propelled by oars. However, as the need to transport goods and products across nations came to place, this was transformed from oars to wind-driven sails. This was the first change that was related to globalization in the transportation sector and it played a significant role towards the other change that was experienced in the field. As globalization continued to take root, the mode of transportation was changed from sail to combustion. This technology was brought in by the need to reduce the cost of transportation while at the same time ensuring efficiency. This shit saw the construction of larger ships that supported the combustion technology as part of an economy of scale. Since the new technology was not dependent on wind to function, it led to the emergence of new trade routes that had not been explored before. These new routes supported both global industrialization as well as emerging political superpower growth. This new technology led to a scenario where larger quantities of goods could be transported. Since the new technology could be installed in both the old and the new ships, the conversion of the fleet tonnage took place at a much quicker pace thus leading to the spread of goods and services in different places. At first, the ships were fuelled by coal-fired boilers that produced steam to the steam engines and then to high-speed turbines that helped the propellers to turn. At a later date, however, petroleum was introduced as an alternative thus leading to the growth of current marine engines. This pattern is replicated in numerous technological transformations for marine transportation. Some ship owners continue to use outdated vessels bought from second hand markets while leaders in the industry buy new fleets to acquire new markets or realize economies of scale (Endresen, et al., 2007).
The shift from coal to petroleum was encouraged by the need to bring down costs and enhance the performance of the vessels. Unlike the traditional vessels that were driven by coal, the new cargo steamers had the capacity to save 78% of fuel and increased 30% of cargo space. This new technology also led to a reduction in the number of professional staff that ran the ships and hence a reduction in operating costs. The change was first introduced into the commercial sector and this was soon followed by the military as a way of saving money and attaining performance benefits (Endresen, et al., 2007).
The globalization need to minimize the cost of transportation was the main reason for the conversion of alternative fuel in the 1900s. This means that the switch was not motivated by the need to conserve energy or even curb the cost of fuel. The commercial ships that were powered by petroleum required lesser crew to operate and enjoyed a wide range of operations between fuelling. This was not just done for the purposes of saving costs but it was rather due to th...