Interesting facts about the shipping industry

The shipping industry is a huge part of our lives, but we usually don’t realize it. Here are some facts and numbers showing you how important the shipping industry is.

Trade

About 90% of world trade is carried by the international shipping industry.
Without shipping, the import/export of affordable food and goods would not be possible – half the world would starve, and the other half would freeze.

More than 95% of all goods that come into the UK arrive by ship

About 36 % of Intra EU-Trade is carried by ship.

About 75 % of EUs external trade is carried by ship.

At any given time, there are about 20 million containers making their journey across the sea.

Work

113,000 UK people are directly employed in the sector.

With the inclusion of ports, shipping and business sectors, the number grows to 240,000.

There are around 1,5 sailors employed globally.

Environment

Shipping is the greenest mass transport compared to moving goods by plane or truck.

There has been a substantial reduction in marine pollution over the last 15 years, especially with regard to the amount of oil spilled into the sea.