Unit- 1 Introduction

to Liner Logistics

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In the most general sense, a ship is an investment that is to be operated in such a
manner that the investors’ expectations with respect to returns are met. A freight
rate must be obtained so that all expenses are covered, with a remainder sufficient
for the returns on investment. In analysis of the economic merit of a shipping
project, this rate is often referred to as the required freight rate. Actual freight rates
are set by market conditions and inevitably fluctuate during the life of a ship.
Logistics is the management of the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of
consumption in order to meet some requirements, for example, of customers or corporations. The
resources managed in logistics can include physical items, such as food, materials, animals,
equipment, and liquids, as well as abstract items, such as time, information, particles, and energy.
The logistics of physical items usually involves the integration of information flow, material
handling, production, packaging, inventory, transportation, warehousing, and often security. The
complexity of logistics can be modeled, analyzed, visualized, and optimized by dedicated
simulation software. The minimization of the use of resources is a common motivation in logistics
for import and export.

 logistics as “the process of planning, implementing, and controlling the

efficient, effective flow and storage of goods, services, and related information
from point of origin to point of consumption for the purpose of conforming to
customer requirements,” which includes inbound, outbound, internal, and
external movements and return of materials for environmental purposes.
Liner trade:-Liner Service – is a service that
operates within a schedule and has a fixed port
rotation with published dates of calls at the advertised
ports.. A liner service generally fulfils the schedule
unless in cases where a call at one of the ports has
been unduly delayed due to natural or man-made
causes..
Example : The UK/NWC continent container service of
MSC which has a fixed weekly schedule calling the
South African ports of Durban, Cape Town and Port
Elizabeth and carrying cargo to the UK/NWC ports of
Felixstowe, Antwerp, Hamburg, Le Havre and
Rotterdam..
A Tramp Service or tramper, on the other hand, is a ship that has
no fixed routing or itinerary or schedule and is available at short
notice (or fixture) to load any cargo from any port to any port..

example : A ship that arrives at Durban from Korea to discharge

cargo might carry some other cargo from Durban to the Oakland in
the West Coast of USA which is in an entirely different direction..
From Oakland, it could carry some cargo to Bremerhaven..
One of the main differences between Liner and Tramp would be in
the type of contract of carriage and Bill of Lading used..
Containerization
Containerization is the international shipping practice of storing
a number of pieces of freight within a large container and
transporting them as a single unit. This technique offers benefits
to shippers, including less cargo handling, greater cargo
protection and reduced shipping costs. Standardized containers,
typically in 20- or 40-foot lengths, can be transported over long
distances and transferred between transportation modes more
efficiently.
1.

Advantages of containerization include:

Less handling of cargo

More protection against pilferage

Less exposure to elements of nature and other man made problems

Lower shipping costs

Containerization is a system of intermodal freight transport using 
intermodal containers (also called shipping containers and ISO containers).[1] The
containers have standardized dimensions. They can be loaded and unloaded, stacked,
transported efficiently over long distances, and transferred from one mode of
transport to another—container ships, rail transport flatcars, and semi-trailer trucks—
without being opened. The handling system is completely mechanized so that all
handling is done with cranes [2] and special forklift trucks. All containers are numbered
and tracked using computerized systems.
Containerization originated several centuries ago but was not well developed or widely
applied until after World War II, when it dramatically reduced the costs of transport,
supported the post-war boom in international trade, and was a major element in 
globalization. Containerization did away with the manual sorting of most shipments
and the need for warehousing. It displaced many thousands of dock workers who
formerly handled break bulk cargo. Containerization also reduced congestion in ports,
significantly shortened shipping time and reduced losses from damage and theft.[3]
Containers can be made from a wide range of materials such as steel, fibre-reinforced
polymer, aluminium or a combination of all.
Containers can be made of weathering steel to minimize maintenance needs.
TYPES OF TRADE

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TRAMP TRADE

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TRAMP

• The tramp ship is one that is hired like a taxi or leased auto.
That is, it is a bulk or tank ship that is hired on a voyage or time
basis.

• On a voyage basis, a U.S. exporter of grain will seek a tramp

ship that will become empty at a desired U.S. port. It will then
be hired for one-way movement to a foreign port. Port fees, a
daily operating rate and demurrage, will be part of the charter
contract.

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TRAMP

• shipping service where carriers contract to haul cargo in

shipload lots between ports designated by charterer.
• Tramp ships provide convenient, timely & economic
transportation for many goods needed in a complex industrial
society
• It serves

• In established trades (i.e., grain from US, Canada, Argentina & Australia
to
N. Europe, Med, Africa, Japan & S. Asia
• On new routes to alleviate temporary critical shortages

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TRAMP

• Moves 4.5 billion tons of basic agricultural, forestry, mining

products & manufactured raw materials (steel, cement, etc)
world-wide
• Depends on a global network of brokers, agents &
representatives to market services, and procure & contract
cargoes
• Smaller general purpose Tramps face fierce competition from
• Larger bulkers: 30-50,000 DWT “Handi-Max” & very large (100-
159,000 DWT) special purpose, ore carriers
• Container ships

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TRAMP

• STILL (1996): 50% of all dry-bulk ships & 20% of all dry-bulk
cargo carried by 10-30,000 DWT vessels to service

• Cargoes that cannot be placed in containers

• Transportation of small (10-15,000 T) lots
• Shallow depth ports and/or
• Ports with low to moderate facilities requiring self-unloading
vessels

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 CHARTERING
• CHARTER-The hiring of a vessel for either:
• a specified period of time or
• a specific voyage or set of voyages.
A chartered vessel is technically a private carrier which predominates in
tramp trade, but liner companies often charter vessels or lease
vessels to charter depending on cargo demand

• CHARTERER- The entity hiring the vessel from the shipowner.

• CHARTER-PARTY-The contract between the owner and the
charterer, stipulating in detail each party’s responsibilities in the
transaction.

Charta Partita is Latin for a “letter divided.”

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 LINER TRADE

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LINER SHIPPING

•Liner shipping is the service of transporting goods by means of

high-capacity, ocean-going ships that transit regular routes on
fixed schedules.

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ABOUT LINER SHIPPING

• Transportation by sea in the early days was done by sailing

ships, which depended on wind and weather.
• There are approximately 400 liner services in operation today,
• Most providing weekly departures from all the ports that each
service calls.

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 ADVANTAGES OF LINER
SERVICE
• Regularities of sailing to
scheduled
• Uniform rates for all shippers
• Cover wide range of ports
• Sometimes give rebates based on
loyalty agreements
• Stable freight rates

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 IMPACT OF LINER
SHIPPING
• Positive:
• Lowering of Costs
• Increases in Availability
• Economic Growth
• Large Loads
• Global Economic Engine Negative:
• Time
• Environmental Costs
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LINER SERVICE EXAMPLE INDAMEX

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Different Types of Ships Merchant ships can
be of four types:
1. Tankers
2. Bulk Carriers
3. General cargo vessels
4. Container Ships.

Tankers :-Tankers can be of four types

1. Oil tankers
2. Product tankers
3. LNG tankers
4. Acid tankers
1.2. Edible oil tankers
Operating Ships:- The type of merchant vessel employed
on a trade route is determined basically by the traffic
carried.
There are different ways in which a ship can be operated.

They are as
1) Tramp vessels
2) Liner Vessels.
Special types of tramp vessels are the Tramp Tanker
Vessels. Liner Vessels can be operated as Independent
lines or as Conference lines.
Intermodal transportation.

Container transport:- The movements of passengers or freight from

one mode of transport to another, commonly taking place at a
terminal specifically designed for such a purpose. In North America,
the term intermodal is also used to refer to containerized rail
transportation.
Therefore, intermodal transportation in the literal sense
refers to an exchange of passengers or freight between two
transportation modes, but the term has become more commonly
used to strictly related to container transportation
Transmodal transportation.

The movements of passengers or freight within the same mode of

transport. Although "pure" transmodal transportation rarely exists
and an intermodal operation is often required (e.g. ship to
dockside to ship), the purpose is to insure continuity within the
same modal network.
What initially began as improving the productivity of shipping
evolved into an integrated supply chain management system
across modes and the development of intermodal transportation
networks.
Intermodal transportation network. A logistically linked system
using two or more transport modes with a single rate. Modes are
having common handling characteristics, permitting freight 2 | P a
g e (or people) to be transferred between modes during a
movement between an origin and a destination. For freight, it also
implies that the cargo does not need to be handled, just the load
unit such as a pallet or a container.
Container.
A large standard size metal box into which cargo is packed for
shipment aboard specially configured transport modes.
It is designed to be moved with common handling equipment
enabling high-speed intermodal transfers in economically large
units between ships, railcars, truck chassis, and barges using a
minimum of labor.
The container, therefore, serves as the load unit rather than the
cargo contained therein. The reference size is the 20 foot box of 20
feet long, 8'6" feet high and 8 feet wide, or Twenty-foot Equivalent
Unit (TEU).
Since the great majority of containers are now forty foot long, the
term Forty-foot Equivalent Unit (FEU) is also used, but less
commonly. "Hi cube" containers are also common and they are one
feet higher (9'6") than the standard.
Containerization.

Containerization. Refers to the increasing and generalized

use of the container as a support for freight transportation. It
involves processes where the intermodal container is
increasingly used because it either substitutes cargo from
other conveyances, is adopted as a mode supporting freight
distribution or is able to diffuse spatially as a growing number

of transport systems are able to handle containers .

Containerization. -:
The development of intermodal transportation and containerization are
mutually inclusive, self strengthening and rely of a set of driving forces linked
with technology, infrastructures and management. One of the initial issue
concerned the different sizes and dimensions of containers used by shipping
lines, which were a source of much confusion in compiling container shipping
statistics. A lift could involve different volumes since different box sizes were
involved. As a result, the term TEU (Twenty foot Equivalent Unit) was first
used by Richard F. Gibney in 1969, who worked for the Shipbuilding &
Shipping Record, as a comparative measure.

Since then, the TEU remains the standard measure for containerized traffic.
The usage of containers shows the complementarily between freight
transportation modes by offering a higher fluidity to movements and a
standardization of loads.
 Containerization
The container has substantially contributed to the adoption and
diffusion of intermodal transportation which has led to profound
mutations in the transport sector. Through reduction of handling
time, labor costs, and packing costs, container transportation
allows considerable improvement in the efficiency of transportation.
Thus, the relevance of containers is not what they are - simple
boxes - but what they enables; intermodalism. Globalization could
not have taken its current form without containerization.
Intermodalism originated in maritime transportation, with the
development of the container in the late 1960's and has since
spread to integrate other modes.
Containerization:

There are five main types of containers

1.Standard container. Container designed to carry a wide variety general cargo. They
are often labelled as dry containers because they carry dry goods either in break bulk
(most common) or bulk (less common) form.
2. Tank container. Container designed to carry liquids (chemicals or foodstuff)
3. Open top container. A container with an open roof and designed to carry cargo that
is too large to be loaded through standard container doors, such as machinery
4. Flat container. Container having an open roof and sides designed to carry heavy
and oversized cargo. The cargo transported is left exposed to outdoor conditions.
Refrigerated container. Also known as a reefer.
5.Container designed to carry temperature controlled cargo, often around or below
freezing point. It is insulated and equipped with refrigeration plant maintaining the
temperature constant.
Advantages and Challenges of Containerization

1) Standard transport product. A container can be manipulated anywhere in the world as its
dimensions are an ISO standard.
2) Flexibility of usage. It can transport a wide variety of goods ranging from raw materials
(coal, wheat), manufactured goods, and cars to frozen products
3) Management.:- The container, as an indivisible unit, carries a unique identification number
and a size type code enabling transport management not in terms of loads, but in terms of
unit.
4) Economies of scale. Relatively to bulk, container transportation reduces transport costs
considerably, about 20 times less. Speed.
5) Transhipment operations are minimal and rapid, which increase the utilization level of the
modal assets and port productivity.
6) Warehousing. The container limits damage risks for the goods it carries because it is
resistant to shocks and weather conditions.
7) The packaging of goods it contains is therefore simpler, less expensive and can occupy less
volume.
8) Security. The contents of the container are anonymous to outsiders as it can only be
opened at the origin, at customs and at the destination. Thefts, especially those of valuable
commodities, are therefore considerably reduced.
Limitations to Containerization

In spite of numerous advantages in the usage of containers, some challenges

are also evident:
1) Site constraints. Containerization implies a large consumption of terminal
space. A containership of 5,000 TEU requires a minimum of 12 hectares of
unloading space, while unloading entirely its containers would require the
equivalent of about 7 doublestack trains of 400 containers each. Infrastructure
costs.
2) Container handling infrastructures, such as gantry cranes, yard equipment,
road and rail access, represent important investments for port authorities and
load centers.
3) Stacking. The arrangement of containers, both at terminals and on modes
(containerships and double-stack trains) is a complex problem
4) . At the time of loading, it becomes imperative to make sure that containers
that must be taken out first are not below the pile.
Limitations to Containerization

5) Thefts and losses. While many theft issues have been addressed
because of the freight anonymity a container confers, it remains an issue
for movements outside terminals where the contents of the container can
be assessed based upon its final destination.
6) Empty travel. Maritime shippers need containers to maintain their
operations along the port networks they service. The same number of
containers brought into a market must thus eventually be relocated,
regardless if they are full or empty.
Illicit trade. By its confidential character, the container is a common
instrument used in the illicit trade of drug and weapons, as well as for
illegal immigrants
Vessel loading and discharging (container vessel)

When a container ship is about to approach a port for cargo loading, proper
preparations should be made so that the cargo loading procedure can be
carried out in a quick and safe manner.
Container ships have special cell guides and lashing equipment in the under
deck compartments which helps in giving a secure stowage for sea
transport. Efficient lashing and stowing of cargo containers on the deck is
extremely important to prevent any kind of imbalance and loss of equilibrium
of the ship. Proper planning for cargo loading is therefore required and deck
officers must know how to plan cargo container stowage.
 Vessel loading and discharging (container vessel)

Therefore, during stowage, the first consideration must be given to safety. The
cargo must be stowed so that the ship will be stable and seaworthy, and it
must be secured in such a manner that it cannot shift if the vessel encounters
terrible weather. The type of vessel, the cubic capacity of her compartments
destined for the cargo and the appliances on board or ashore for loading or
discharging, as well as the nature of the cargo, influences how to stow the
cargo in the best possible manner. The ship must be made neither stiff nor too
tender. The next consideration is for the safety of the cargo itself: it must not
be damaged by shifting; certain commodities become easily tainted by others;
rainwater might penetrate
loading and discharging container vessel

The aim of ship’s officers and crewmembers on board should be to prevent damage
or deterioration whilst the cargo is under their care and to deliver it, as far as
possible, in as good condition and order as it was when received aboard.

If unacquainted with a certain type of cargo you should ascertain as to its nature and
any necessary precautions.
Therefore, the Master and officers of all vessels require a good working knowledge
of the various kinds of cargo they are likely to carry: their peculiar characteristics,
liability to damage, decay, or deterioration, their measurement, and the usual
methods of packing, loading and discharging, stowage, dunnaging, etc., as the Master
is responsible for the safe loading of his vessel and the proper stowage of the cargo.
Vessel loading and discharging

here are two stages in the development of a safe plan for cargo loading or unloading:

a) Step 1: Given the intended voyage, the amount of cargo and/or water ballast to be carried and
imposed structural and operational limits, devise a safe departure condition, known as the
stowage plan.

b) Step 2: Given the arrival condition of the ship and knowing the departure condition (stowage
plan) to be attained, devise a safe loading or unloading plan that satisfies the imposed structural
and operational limits.
 Loading and unloading operations at the Complex

The first two sections of this chapter cover the loading and discharging of general cargo vessels.
Special attention is given to the different methods of securing cargo, as well as careful h
procedures to prevent damage.
Sections three and four describe the loading and discharging methods for RO/RO vessels.
The last section in this chapter discusses performing LO/LO and RO/RO operations (Lo-Lift on
Lo-Lift off) Ro-Ro shipment:- Roll on roll off. (difference between Lo-Lo and RO- RO)
ADMINISTRATIVE LOADING. The majority of vessels are administratively loaded.
Administrative loading is used in a noncombat situation.
It makes maximum use of a ship's cargo carrying capability.
In administrative loading, equipment and supplies are discharged and sorted before they can be
used.
Cargo loaded administratively can be discharged at a single port or multiple ports.

In loading for a single port of discharge, cargo planners stow supplies to make maximum use of
the carrying
capacity of a ship.
In loading vessels for multiple-port discharge, cargo planners stow supplies for more than one
destination
so that items can be discharged in the order of arrival at the ship's scheduled ports of discharge.
Personnel must take care at the original and intermediate loading ports to prevent stowing cargo
on top of
other cargo that will be discharged sooner.
CARGO-HANDLING OPERATIONS. Containerization is a general term that describes the
transportation of goods in specially designed containers so that loose products, small packages,
high value items, and high density cargoes are unitized for easier handling. Containers can be
moved aboard most cargo ships; however, movement aboard full containerships offers the
greatest system efficiency.
Cargo Handling Operations

Containerization has changed every aspect of cargo movement. Cargo-

handling operations are no exception. The basic function of the cargo
handler is to handle cargo between the terminal and the vessel. This
function has not changed, but the manner in which it is accomplished and
the equipment used have undergone a dramatic change. Full
containerships are specially designed to carry containers. The first ships
used to carry containers were conventional vessels converted to partial or
full containerships, usually self-sustaining. The latest containerships are
not self-sustaining. Conventional ships can carry limited numbers of
containers but only as conventional cargo, which means containers are
heavy lifts for most conventional vessels. Partial containerships are
equipped to handle containers and break-bulk cargo.
Only ships with a capacity of at least fifty 20-foot containers are
considered partial containerships.
Cargo Handling operations

General cargo is still handled in the conventional manner and, in some trade routes, this remains
the predominant method. Some cargoes will always remain as general cargo commodities. As
containerization increases in a port, "cargo mix" in the general cargo operation undergoes change.
Package cargo gradually disappears into containers and the larger, harder to handle (or low-
revenue) cargo remains. With this specialization in specific commodities, it becomes
economically necessary to improve the handling method previously employed.

Newer general cargo ships have replaced the conventional 5-ton capacity cargo gear with cranes
of 20-ton capacity or more. Paper pulp and newsprint are handled with a special multiple-sling
arrangement which handles several rolls in single hoist. Steel products and pipe are similarly
handled. For the package cargo, unitization has eliminated almost all hand stowage in the vessel.
Special "squeeze lifts" handle cotton and other solid-bale commodities. Special slings permit the
unitization of bagged cargoes. Two different types of cages are used for handling palletized or
unitized loads.
Liner Operations:

Liner shipping is the service of transporting goods by means of high-capacity, ocean-

going ships that transit regular routes on fixed schedules. There are approximately 400
liner services in operation today, most providing weekly departures from all the ports that
each service calls. Liner vessels, primarily in the form of containerships and roll-on/roll-
off ships, carry about 60 percent of the goods by value moved internationally by sea
each year.
Globalisation of container shipping and World economic production has resulted in stiff
competition, low freight rates and a rethink of business strategies. Many shipping lines
have even reorganised their long-standing consortia associations; and mergers such as
pioneered by P&O and Nedlloyd or the acquisition of Sealand by Maersk point to the
strategy pursued by many of the leading lines.
Types Of Liner Services
POSTED BY LOGISTICS INDIA ⋅ 
Having understood the characteristics of the Liner Services from the earlier
sessions, it is important to know about the various type of Liner Services available
and their strengths and weaknesses.

Types Of Liner Services

Independent Service.
Conference Service.
Consortia Service.
Alliance Service.
Types Of Liner Services
When there are operators to offer the services in either one of the above mentioned
pattern, every one type of operator has got their own advantage and disadvantage
in operating in such a fashion. It is depending upon the service type they offer to
the trade and the trade route they cover. The most commonly known services
offered by liners are as below:
1.End to End Service
2.Round The Word Service
3.Pendulum Service
4.Hub & Spoke Service

•To list the various types, it can be also stated as (in some websites)
•Independent Service
•Conference Service
•Consortia Service
•Alliance Service
1) END TO END SERVICE:
The Liner Operator has a choice to select any one type of service option or
combination of more than one type. One of the characteristics of the liner service is
that the vessel sailed from the starting point to call on the various loading ports to
the discharging ports and then to return over the same route to its starting point.
Traditional way of serving liner trade route was to cover a range of loading ports at
one end of the route and range of discharging ports at the other. At certain trade
routes, there may be some differences as to the individual ports called because of
the availability of export cargo from a particular port that may have no demand for
imports or vice-versa. Example of such route might be from Hamburg, London,
Rotterdam and Antwerp to Sharjah, Mumbai, Colombo and Chennai. The return
route might add an Indian Export port such as Visakapatnam but omit the Arabian
Gulf Port.
2) ROUND THE WORD SERVICE (RTW)
This is an alternative to the end to end service. The ship never turns round, it just keeps
sailing until it completes a circumnavigation and returns to its starting point i.e., the ship
will not have to report the ports through which she has traveled for loading the cargo.
Transatlantic, Transpacific and Far East To Europe route are the examples of such
service. The expected economy of this operation is that the vessel will have the
opportunity to carry cargo on every leg of the voyage including ports that are
intermediary to the main voyage legs. Ideally the service operates both west about and
east about the world. One obvious limitation is that such a service is restricted to using
PANAMAX tonnage (the largest size of vessel that can transit the Panama Canal). This
type of services have declined in importance now day.
3) PENDULUM SERVICE
In its most ambitious form a pendulum service is a RTW service that omits the Panama Canal allowing the largest size
of vessel to be used. It would operate from the Eastern Seaboard of USA (ECUS) via Europe to the Far East and vice
versa. Compared with an RTW service it loses the ability to carry cargo between, for example, ECUS and and the Far
East because its transit time is too long. Pendulum differs from End to End in that it combines two or more main trade
routes.

4) HUB & SPOKE

It is a type of service that is offered between the hub port and the gateway port. The mainline ship will call at key ports
(hubs) on its route. From these hubs, it will operate feeder services to other local areas and ‘spoke’ services to serve
other accessible trade routes. This concept is used to allow east / west service vessels to link to north / south trades.
Almost all deep sea container services today use the hub and spoke concept to some extent and the major players
support their worldwide services by this method.
After we understanding the various service options available in liner trade, let us understand the nature and style of
functioning of the Liner Service Provider from the point view of Independent / Conference / Consortium / Alliance.
INDEPENDENT SERVICES
Independent service provider is a one who does not get into any arrangements of
consortium or alliance with other shipping line operators. He will be operating in a trade
route having all necessary ingredients of a liner service.
To be successful, the operator should not only offer good service to shippers but also a
cheaper rate. In the last three decades, much bigger operators have challenged the
conference and have successfully reassured the merchants of the seriousness of the
independent lines’ endeavours. The emergence of independent operator coupled with
changing attitude to business in general and shipping in particular, provided the impetus
for the liberalization of liner shipping. This helped the shippers who wanted to negotiate
the rates and terms with the independent operators those who have been controlled by
the strict conference rules.
Liner trade routes- Earlier routes

Cargoes imported into Europe were mainly raw materials, for example –
· Europe / Australasia – Wool
· Europe / India – Sisal, Cotton, Tea
· Europe / Far East – Rice
· Europe / North & South America & Canada – Timber, Meat, Paper Pulp
· Europe / Africa – Sisal, Timber, Coffee
· Europe / Mediterranean – Fruits & Vegetables
Asia-East Coast North America 19

Asia-West Coast North America 54

Asia-North Europe 20

Asia-Mediterranean 29

North Europe-North America 32

Mediterranean-North America 17

Asia-Middle East 43

Asia-South Asia 53

North America-Mid-East/South Asia 10

South Asia-Europe 20

Middle East-Eastern Europe 36

Oceania 46

East Coast South America 14

West Coast South America 31

South Africa 19

West Africa 46

Total 487 trade routes

Liner service option

The most commonly known services offered

by liners are as below:
1. End to End Service.
2. Round The Word Service.
3. Pendulum Service.
4. Hub & Spoke Service.
The tramp trade
The closest approximation to free-market freight rates is found in the case of the so-
called tramp service offered by ships that are able to carry a variety of cargoes between a
variety of ports. In many instances the services of these ships are matched with cargoes
by brokers who meet face-to-face on a trading floor in an environment analogous to a 
stock exchange or a commodities exchange. Elements of such exchanges are present,
even down to speculation on future changes in rates. For example, in times of low freight
rates a broker representing cargo interests may charter a ship for a future date, all the
while having no cargo in prospect but expecting to resell the contract when rates have
risen.
Most of the world’s tramp-ship chartering business is carried out in the Baltic Mercantile
and Shipping Exchange in London, commonly known as the Baltic Exchange. Other
exchanges, especially for special cargoes, are in operation. For example, a large part of
the immense world oil transportation business is chartered by brokers based in a number
of ports.

The four principal methods of chartering a tramp ship are voyage charter, time charter,

bareboat charter, and contract charter.
 The liner trade
Other shipping is done by the “liner trade”—i.e., the passage of ships
between designated ports on a fixed schedule and at published rates. Liner
companies are able to provide such service through the liner conference
system, which was first used on the Britain-Calcutta trade in 1875.
The object of the conference system is to regulate uneconomic competition. 
Shipping companies of different ownership and nationality that service the
same range of ports form a conference agreement to regulate rates for each
type of freight; in some cases the agreement also allocates a specified number
of sailings to each company. Coupled with this agreement there is generally a
deferred-rebate system, by which regular shippers of goods by conference
vessels receive a rebate of a percentage of the tariff freight rate, payable after
a period of proven loyalty, provided they use conference vessels exclusively.
INDAMEX

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• 1. A.P. Moller–Maersk Group
• TEU: 3,012,172
HQ: Copenhagen Denamrk
Founded: 1904
Revenue: $40.3 Billion (USD)
Employees: 89,000
• Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A. (MSC)
• TEU: 2,659,489
HQ: Geneva, Switzerland
Founded: 1970
Revenue: $28.2 Billion (USD)
Employees: 24,000

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• 3. CMA CGM Group
• TEU: 1,799,291
HQ: Marseille, France
Founded: 1978
Revenue: $15.7 Billion (USD)
Employees: 22,000

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