Chapter 9 Maritime operational, regulatory and technological systems

The international maritime transport is an integral part of international trade, as we discussed in the chapters of Part 1. Over many years, the industry has evolved into a complex international maritime transport system consisting of numerous categories of activities or subsystems that are interconnected and interdependent. The relationship between the subsystems is different from one case to another. If ship operation is considered as the core of the maritime transport industry, there are several other groups of activities or systems which provide conditions for the core ship operation activity to be carried out properly. Some such systems are more closely linked to ship operation, others are more general, providing broader supportive activities. In this chapter we will discuss the major systems and the activities which constitute the business conditions and environment in which the international maritime transport of cargo operates. Our focus will be on the three most important ones: the operational, regulatory and technological systems of maritime transport. We will first discuss the specific characteristics of each system: the key factors, the standards and the requirements to follow, etc. Then we will analyse the relationship between each of the main subsystems and ship operation.