To introduce students to the essentials of business practice and to ensure a basic knowledge and understanding of the elements of shipping business
Continents, Oceans, Currents, & Tides, Weather & Climate, Canals & Waterways, Geographical regions. Location of major countries and ports. Latitude & Longitude.
Global markets and the need for shipping.
The role of liners and tramps. The dry bulk trades. The oil and other liquid trades. Manufactured goods. Origins and distributors of principal cargoes and trades.
Bulk Carriers, Tankers, Containerships, Ro-Ro and General Purpose vessels.
The basic anatomy of voyage and time charter parties. The main specialist terms and expressions. Basic functions of the Bill of Lading with a comparison of its role in the liner and tramp trades.
The fundamental difference between Contract and Tort. Hague/Hague-Visby/Hamburg Rules. The role of international conventions. Legal aspects of Bills of Lading. The role of marine insurance and P & I Associations.
Flag state, offshore registers and flags of convenience. The function of classification societies.
Principals – shipowners, charterers, shippers and NVOCs Intermediaries – dry cargo chartering brokers, tanker chartering brokers, ship sale & purchase brokers, port agents, liner agents, ship managers, freight forwarders
The fundamentals of bookkeeping & corporate accounts. Definitions and roles of Revenue, Cost, Profit, Capital, Cash-flow, Interest. The structure of business entities.