The terror of “transport miles”

In the shipping industry we need to be always alert to the enthusiasms of the public, which could in time (and often faster than we might think) affect our business of maritime transport. Who remembers, for instance, the speed with which the horror of atmospheric emissions from ships spread around the world, from a single Californian medical report which suggested that people who lived near ports had worse health than the average, to what we have today in the spreading network of Emission Control Areas? The notion of the “diesel death zone”, picked up by the press, extrapolated by environmental lobbyists and acted upon by governments, seemed to chime with public demand.
We might also think of the aftermath of the Exxon Valdez and the impact of this fairly simple navigational error upon world shipping. The three “P”s – Press, Public and Politicians – will always be a force to be reckoned with, especially in the era of 24 hour news.
Maybe we should be looking with rather more seriousness at the issue of “localism”, which is raising its head in Northern Europe. This might be thought of as a public reluctance to buy goods which have racked up “transport miles”, or at the very least, a preference for locally produced goods over those which come a long way from their source. Enthusiastically embraced by the environmental lobby along with media friends, this phenomenon of the better-off needs to be watched carefully.
Localism might appear to have many attractive features, but does erode our concepts of free trade, with a certain degree of protectionism implicit in the concept. And like so many of these ideas which might appear simple and straightforward when applied to a small and largely self-sufficient community, it fails to translate into the large-scale, complex and interdependent world of modern industrial society, kept alive by world trade.
Such a society we have today depends on world trade to keep it healthy and flourishing and in maritime transport we have the most efficient, environmentally friendly and useful vehicle for the transmission of goods around our planet. Globalisation may not have begun with containerisation – the claims of mechanically propelled ships and even the Indiamen are by no means irrelevant – but it is a reality of modern life. Think of seasonal goods, think of the economies possible with the maritime logistic chain, think of the soaring prices if this vast fleet of merchant ships was not distributing wealth around the world.
When the Emma Maersk reached Europe on her maiden voyage the “localists” had a field day countering the positive publicity being earned as this huge ship rotated around her ports and complaining about “transport miles” undertaken by the cargo in her. The likelihood is that the spectacle of Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller and her Triple-E sisters will generate the same carping criticism, when they should be hailed by the public as a technical wonder of the maritime world. We should be on our guard, our messages of the marvel of world trade and the essential nature of shipping all ready to be deployed!
Source: BIMCO