Bulk Carriers Intro & History
0 (0 Likes / 0 Dislikes)
[piano music]
[Maritime Training
Services Inc.]
[In case of any conflict
between the requirements shown]
[in the movie and the company's
safety management system (SMS),]
[please follow
the company's SMS requirements]
[Intro & History]
Grains. Coal.
Ore and cement.
These are just some
of the foundations of everything
around us today.
From buildings, to electricity,
and even the most
basic of food like bread.
But to make this all possible,
bulk goods need to be carried
from one part
of the globe to another.
And when roughly 70% of the world
is water, we need bulk carriers.
Bulk carriers are vessels
that are designed to transport
loose bulk cargo
without the requirement
of any specific packaging.
Bulkers make up
anywhere from 15% to 17%
of the globe's merchant fleets.
They range in size
from mini-bulk carriers
with one hull,
to enormous cape-size vessels,
like the M S Ore Brasil
that is able to carry
up to 400,000 metric tons
of dead weight.
To put that in perspective,
that is almost 55 Eiffel Towers
packed into one ship.
But what led to
the creation of bulk carriers?
There has been a need
to transport goods
across the ocean and lakes from
the earliest known civilizations.
In fact, there is evidence
of bulk cargo shipping
from 2300 BCE,
where inscriptions
found in Mesopotamia indicate
that traders were involved
in bulk shipping of timber,
ivory, copper and luxury items
like gold and pearls.
Until recent history,
sailing ships were used
to transport bulk goods
using methods that were
time consuming
and not cost-effective,
two driving factors
that led to today's bulk carrier.
In 1852, the SS John Bowes
was introduced to the world.
and is considered by many
to be the first bulk carrier.
The new technologies
of the time she embodied
was the steam engine, iron hull,
water ballast and screw propulsion.
Bulkers and their crew
also have heroic roots
as they played
a major role in World War Two,
shipping essential goods between Allies,
and contributing greatly
to the war effort.
After World War Two,
there was high demand
for bulk trade
among industrialized nations
that grew rapidly.
This led to increasingly
larger and further-specialized
bulk carriers,
like the ones we know today.
These vessels
have helped to build cities
shaped nations,
triumphed wars,
and even
alleviate starving populations.
Bulkers and their crew
are an essential part
of the world and its economy.
Without them, today's world
would be unrecognizable.
For instance, because of
the desire to build
cost-effective vessels
to efficiently carry
the maximum amount of cargo
the price of consumer goods
is so low that it makes them
accessible to most
consumers worldwide.
These ships are so vital
to the world as we know it today
because they carry
the most needed basic materials,
such as cement
that is used to build structures
and buildings the world over.
Coal, most notably used
in electricity generation.
Steel production,
and cement manufacturing.
Ore, that is needed
to make automobiles.
Ships and beams for buildings
among thousands of other items.
Grains, used
to produce cooking oils.
Fuels, cosmetics, alcohols,
and most importantly food.
Thousands of these crafts
are at sea at any given time,
carrying hundreds of millions
of tons of bulk cargo
to their destinations.
in 2017 alone,
7,556 million metric tons
of dry cargo were loaded
on to these type of vessels.
Bulk carriers
have a stake of about 40%
in the international
shipping sector.
Assuring them
a vital position
in the overall maritime sector
that is growing, evolving,
and becoming even more
specialized each day.