A New Age for the Wind Assisted Propulsion

Maritime transport enables us to carry very large flows of goods of all kinds across oceans and between continents: liquid hydrocarbons (oil, natural gas, etc.), dry bulk (coal, ores, grain, etc.) and general cargo aboard container ships.

As a result, shipping has played a major role in the growth of international trade since the end of the Second World War. Today, sea freight accounts for 90% of world trade in terms of volume and 80% in terms of value. Since the end of the Second World War, it has grown considerably: in 2017, over 10 billion tonnes of goods were transported on the world's seas, compared with just 550 million tonnes in 1950. .

The annual growth rate of maritime trade has been 2.9% over the last two decades, but according to forecasts by UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development), it is set to fall to 2.4% over the period 2022-2026. This growth has been made possible by an increase in the number of ships and total fleet tonnage: since 1990, tonnage has more than quadrupled, and since 2010 it has doubled. .

Containerization has contributed enormously to the widespread use of sea freight. Invented by the American Malcolm McLean in the 1960s, containerization has enabled goods to be transported relatively safely and inexpensively, thanks to the standardized dimensions of the boxes, which facilitate intermodality and lower transport costs thanks to massification. Containers also make it possible to limit the additional costs generated by breakage or theft, since goods are packaged and not handled directly.