What are the advantages and disadvantages of ocean transportation compared with other modes of transportation?

Marine transportation mainly has the following advantages:

(1) large capacity. Ocean transportation can make use of natural waterways extending in all directions, unlike trains and cars, which are limited by tracks and highways.

(2) large volume. The carrying capacity of maritime transport vessels is much greater than that of railway transport vehicles and road transport vehicles. For example, the carrying capacity of a 10,000-ton ship is generally equivalent to the carrying capacity of 250-300 trucks.

(3) the freight is low. The transportation volume is large and the voyage is long, and the transportation cost allocated to each freight ton is small.

Marine transportation mainly has the following disadvantages:

(1) Due to the limitation of climatic conditions and commercial ports, cargo ships sailing at sea need to take shelter from the wind in time when encountering storms; In case of heavy fog, it should be handled according to collision avoidance regulations to prevent damage. These are the restrictions of climate on shipping. When a cargo ship arrives at a commercial port, the manned port and operation of the cargo ship will be restricted due to the water depth in the port or the hardware facilities such as loading and unloading equipment.

(2) Unable to directly realize "door-to-door" Due to the restrictions of navigation channels and ports, the accessibility and flexibility of maritime transportation are not high, and the whole process of cargo transportation often needs the cooperation of the ground transportation system to complete, that is, the "door-to-door" transportation service cannot be directly realized.

(3) Low speed Due to the large size of large ships and high water resistance on the route, the speed is generally low and the timeliness of cargo transportation is low.

(4) High operational risk. Because it is international, it is easily influenced by international politics and economy (law and foreign exchange), which is more difficult and risky than other modes of transportation.

(5) Shipping companies (or shipping companies) with huge investment and long payback period need huge funds to order or buy ships. Ships are their fixed assets with a long depreciation period (generally 20 years).

(6) The competition is fierce. Due to the internationalization of shipping operation and the serious tonnage surplus of merchant ships in the world, the competition between the same industry is very fierce. At the same time, it also needs to face the competition from other modes of transportation.

(7) The unstable shipping market, like the economic boom, has its cyclical cycle, which has a great impact on freight rates.

(8) The shipping space cannot store the shipping services of shipping enterprises, nor can it reduce or increase production at will like ordinary enterprises, that is, the shipping goods cannot store the shipping space.

(9) There are many international laws. Shipping business is a global business activity. It must not only abide by the maritime laws and regulations of various countries, but also be bound by international conventions and practices.