Ever since the 19th century, Singapore has been a major trading hub in Asia for ships travelling from Europe to Asia, with the opening of the Suez canal in 1869 making Singapore the hub for trading activity due to its strategic location along one of the busiest trade routes in the world.
Figure 1: The Suez Route
To this day, Singapore remains important to world trade owing to its strategic location. Singapore’s port is the largest transshipment port in the world by cargo volume, accounting for close to one-seventh of world transshipment volume ("About Us", 2016), where cargo is transferred from one ship to another while docking in Singapore. Although Singapore has been diversifying its economy, building up other sectors such as the financial
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The idea of digging a canal through the Kra Isthmus to connect the Indian Ocean and South China Sea has long been existence. In fact, the idea was documented to have been first mooted back in 1677 by Thai King Narai (Chew, 2015). However, the idea was discarded due to a lack of available technology. However, with ever increasing capabilities of modern technology, as well as Chinese interest in taking on the project (the Kra Canal would complement China’s One Belt and One Road Initiative), the possibility of such a trade route opening has risen considerably.
If this project is successful, then the current Suez route for trading would be greatly altered. Instead of rounding Singapore, ships would cut through the Thai canal as shown in the figure below and possibly choose an alternative port in Thailand. Thus, the possible construction of this Thai canal presents another major challenge for the maritime industry in Singapore.
Figure 3: Possible route through the Kra isthmus
How we can overcome
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Other than the push towards automation using Automated Guided Vehicles, the work processes involved in transshipment can be further streamlined when the megaport in Tuas in constructed. Cost savings can be reaped from economies of scale when container capacity is increased, increasing our cost competitiveness.
In addition, the Port of Singapore should continually improve on its service standards such that it increases Singapore’s attractiveness as a port. Although Singapore’s port may be slightly behind its rivals, but it has a reputation for good service as compared to other ports (Tan, 2015). The Port of Singapore should capitalise on its advantage and seek to improve their service standards further, enhancing its strengths and as such increasing its attractiveness, allowing for the growth of the maritime industry in the long run.
Furthermore, we recommend aggressive expansion of PSA International, the company that manages the Port of Singapore, into northern Russia. PSA International can consider managing ports located along the Northern Sea Route, as shown
Shipping goods through Detroit to the Port of Halifax provides the opportunity to use vacated industrial centers by repurposing these facilities for transshipment and manufacturing. Detroit as a transshipment hub provides a distribution system for goods to move to worldwide markets. Many manufacturers have failed due to a lack of an adequat...
"Suez Canal Crisis." CBCnews. CBC/Radio Canada, n.d. Web. 7 Jan. 2014. . (tags: none | edit tags)
The fact the isthmus is so narrow and fits perfectly between the seas a canal could've been
The Indian Ocean Basin was a series of trade routes that went all the way from Southeast Asia to Eastern Africa. From 600 - 1450 CE there were changes, but also continuities. The Indian Ocean Basin changed economically and culturally. The Indian Ocean Basin changes included the the spread of Islam and the fact the China’s government was “revived” during this time period. Though there were changes, there were continuities as well. One major continuity during this time was the trade routes themselves; they had not changed while the Indian Ocean Basin was around.
The national transportation system was composed of relatively discrete units of rail, road and water transportation sub-systems, which interfaced by necessity rather than by design. Today, due to increasing cargo volumes and competition from other national port systems, the cornerstone of our national port and waterways system must be the recognition that intermodalism maximizes the efficiency of our system and provides the well marked pathways to future planning and development efforts. Intermodalism requires a seamless transportation system, which provides smooth transition of cargo from one transportation mode to the other. It also requires the recognition that the waterborne and land based infrastructure must develop with the needs of the users in mind. These developments must include developing technology in the areas of ship design and onboard equipment, vessels traffic systems, aids, and port access programs that efficiently link marine transportation systems to their rail and road links.
Russia, spanning 11 time zones and serving as home to about 150 million people, possesses tremendous natural and human resources. Demand today for imported consumer goods, capital equipment, and services remains remarkably strong, with imports representing an unusually large percentage of the national market. Despite outstanding long-term market potential, Russia continues to be an extremely difficult country in which to do business.
Because the Indian Ocean was one of the most important sea area to conduct import and export activities, traders relied on the area very much, a situation lasting hundreds of years. Also, due to the regularity of mansoon in summer and winter and currents, certain routes were agreed to be the most efficient ways from one place to another. In business, it is huge important to minimize the costs. Therefore, traders from various places utilized the same trade routes. Merchants arrived at one places and sold the goods and purchased the local productions. Even European traders in the seventeenth and eighteenth century utilized these routes as
The U.S. needed an easier way to get to and from the east and west coasts. Back in the 1890's the original site for the canal was Nicaragua. However, this idea was quickly rejected and any plans for a new site were put on hold. "Back in 1878 Ferdinand de Lesseps, the French engineer who built the Suez Canal, received the rights to build a canal in Panama, which was then part of Colombia." (Buschini, J.). Work on the canal commenced in 1881, but by 1889 tropical disease, engineering problems and financial mismanagement brought all construction to a halt.
Eurasian trade when conditions along the Silk Road were unfavorable. For this reason, the geographical context of the Silk Road must be thought of in the broadest possible terms, including sea rout...
Best in the world at moving and managing containerized trade, providing a lifeline for the global economy.
When it opened, the Suez Canal was relatively small and narrow – only 25 feet deep, 72 feet wide at the bottom, and 200 to 300 feet wide at the surface. Due to its size, only a small number of ships navigated it in its first full year of operation. Improvements were attempted in 1876 and the canal soon grew into the one of the world’s most used waterway for shipping purposes. The Suez Canal provided safer, faster navigation to India and East Asia than navigating around South Africa and the dangerous waters of the Cape of Good Hope.
Singapore acts as a role of an entrepôt for Southeast Asia due to their strategic location, port infrastructure and highly skilled workforce. Singapore also purchases raw materials from other country and then refine the product into a better product to re-export. The reason for Singapore to do this is because of the lack of human and natural resources.
...e person). The Johore-Singapore Causeway which connects Malaya and Singapore was completed in 1922. New cities were built due to mining such as Kuala Lumpur, Ampang, Taiping and Ipoh.
International trade is the growing share of global production and growth in trade is expected to outperform
Water transport is not flexible because it is restrained within water bodies. The use of containers has becomes the best inter-modal option for water transport whereby goods are placed in containers and transported through truck or rail to the port where it is loaded in to a container ship. Upon arrival to the destination port it is offloaded and transported again by track or rail to the consumer of customes.This helps reduce staffing needs, transit time and damages (Haulk, 1998).