Maritime Business

Maritime business from the early years of the 20th century till today is characterised by both structural transformation and change, and continuity. To trace them, the chapter analyses the developments in world shipping and the evolution in the hierarchy of maritime powers, the form of the shipping markets and the shipping firms along with their strategies in the era of globalisation. Four distinctive phases are distinguished where the shipping industry adjusted to the demands of international trade, the developments in the technology of ships and the freight markets. At the micro-level, the strategies of shipping firms and their ability to respond to the changing conditions in the environment of shipping business define the path the main maritime powers followed during the period under examination that triggered changes in the hierarchy of world maritime powers. Examples of the path followed by leading maritime nations, Britain, Greece, Norway and Japan are given.