As I am in the business of commercial import, I find myself learning new information about international shipping activities every day.  I work for a Dutch company that sells seasonal and garden decor by the container load on an FOB (free on board) basis from Rotterdam or China.  This means the merchandise must fill a 20´, 40´, or high 40´container.  A 20´container is basically a semi truck load.  I would love to visit a large, busy Chinese port such as Shanghai to see what thousands upon thousands of containers on hundreds of ships looks like coming in and out of the harbor.  It´s  been described to me as seemingly mass chaos, but it clearly works and we as consumers are able to find the goods we need in stores.  I´ve also heard the individuals that work in this industry are something else…

While Oslo and Bergen are no Shanghai, they are 2 of Norway´s busy ports.  A few facts:

-Norwegian companies own or operate some 1,400 vessels

-Norwegian vessels account for 10% of the global merchant fleet

-Norway is one of the world´s 4th largest shipping industries

-23% of cruise vessels are Norwegian

-10.5% of the world´s crude oil tankers are Norwegian

-19% of the world´s gas carriers and chemical tankers are Norwegian

-more than 90% of Norway´s shipping activity is cross-trading (Norwegian companies moving commodities from one location to another outside of Norway)

Furthermore, not only is Norway a leading country in shipping, but she is comprised of one of the world´s most all-encompassing maritime environments.  The shipping environment in Norway consists of shipowners, shipyards, classification societies, banks, brokers, maritime research, design, and engineering, specialized law firms, underwriters, and maritime insurance.

Like the Netherlands, another leading shipping nation in the world, I find it so interesting that 2 very small countries such as Norway and the Netherlands are leaders in this industry.  Oslo was actually the host in late May of Norshipping, a global event for the maritime industry, where 30,000 participants from the shipbuilding, shipping, and offshore industries met to discuss future opportunities  in the maritime industry, specifically focusing on new technology.

Norway and China have a close relationship in the maritime industry.  The Norwegian Consulate General traveled to Guangzhou, China this spring to host an event in which he highlighted the mutual benefits of the Sino-Norwegian relationship in this industry.  Norway is selecting Guangdong shipping companies to build “green” vessels designed in Norway.  This bilateral relationship is extremely important for Norway to remain competitive in this field that will undoubtedly advance leaps in the years to come.  China benefits from this relationship in that she gains access to one of the world’s largest and most sophisticated shipping industries.

While container ships account for nearly half of the worlds CO2 emissions, they are still an extremely efficient mode of commercial transport.  Here is a very cool fact that I will end with: China’s first ship engine running on Liquefied Natural Gas is a collaboration between Marintek, a Norwegian Maritime Research Center and Guangzhou Diesel!