Introduction

Maritime history is the study of human activity in the sea. It covers a broad thematic elements
of history often using a global approach, although national and regional history remains
dominant. As an academic subject, he often crossed the boundaries of discipline standard,
focused on human relations to understand the various oceans, seas, and major waterways.
Record nautical history and interpret past events involving ships, shipping, and sailors.
Maritime history is the subject of an extensive area including fishing, whale watching,
international maritime law, naval history, the history of the ship, ship design, shipbuilding,
shipping history, the history of various maritime related sciences (oceanography, cartography,
hydrography and so on other), sea exploration, maritime economy and trade, shipping,
yachting, seaside resort, history of lighthouses and aids to navigation, maritime theme in
literature, maritime theme in art, social history of sailors and sea passengers and related
communities.

Merchant Industry
Merchant
-

Is a businessman who trades in commodities produced by others, in order to make a

profit. Merchant status was changed in different periods of history and different
societies. Merchants often been the subject of works of art.
A merchant class characterizes many societies pre-modern. Its status can range from
high (although members have finally reached the title as the Merchant Prince or
Nabob) to low, such as in Chinese culture, which is considered as the distastefulness
benefit from "mere" trade instead of labor or labor others, such as in agriculture and
craftsmanship.
In the Greco-Roman world traders usually do not have high social status, even though
they have enjoyed great wealth, and there are exceptions, such as in Syria and
Palestine in the time-an, where the dealer does have a high social position.
Medieval attitude towards businessmen in the West have been influenced by criticism
of their activities by the Christian church, which is closely related to the activities of
their sin of usury.
From about 1300 to 1800 a large number of European and Chartered Merchant
Company was formed to exploit the opportunities of international trade, such as the
Company of Merchant Adventurers of London, chartered in 1407.

Industry
-

Is the production of goods or services within an economical. The major source of

revenue of a group or company is the indicator of its relevant industry. When a large
group has multiple sources of revenue generation, it is considered to be working in
different industries.

Types of merchant
i.

A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant,
typically dealing in large quantities of goods. Some wholesale merchants only

ii.

organize the movement of goods rather than move the goods themselves.
A retail merchant or retailer, sells merchandise to consumers (including
businesses), usually in small quantities. A shop owner is a retail merchant.

Merchant Navy/Merchant Marine

A merchant navy or merchant marine fleet of merchant ships are registered in certain
countries. Merchant ships, seafarers of various ranks and sometimes members of the maritime
trade union required by the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification
and Watch keeping for Seafarers (STCW), to carry out the Merchant Mariner Document.
King George V bestowed the title of Merchant Navy" on British merchant shipping fleet
after their service in the First World War ; since then several other countries have also adopted
the use of the title or any such thing , " Merchant Marine . " Here is a partial list of the
merchant navy or merchant marine from many countries. In many countries the right fleet is
capitalized version of a common noun (Merchant Navy").

Merchant Ship

Merchant ship are ships that are primarily used either for carrying cargo or passengers.
Basically, the ships that are engaged in active commercial transportation fall in this category.
The navy ships or pleasure craft that dont charge passengers are excluded from the category
of merchant vessels.

2005 registration of merchant ships (1,000 gross register tons (GRT) and over) per country.
Merchant vessels come in different sizes and shapes. It can be as small as a 6 m (20 ft) long
diving boat, or as big as ultra large crude carriers (ULCC) that can be up to 415 m (1,361 ft)
long. They are the main tool of ocean transportation, carrying crude oil and goods throughout
the world, in varied sizes of tankers, containers and bulk carriers.
Almost all countries in the world possess and operate merchant ships. Currently, the Greek
merchant fleet is the largest in the world accounting for over 16% of the worlds total tonnage.
The term "commercial vessel" is defined by the United States Coast Guard as any vessel (i.e.
boat or ship) engaged in commercial trade or that carries passengers for hire.
In English, "Merchant Navy" without further clarification is used to refer to the British
Merchant Navy; the United States merchant fleet is known as the United States Merchant
Marine.

Types of Merchant Vessels

i.

Dry Cargo Ships

Dry cargo ship is a term generally used for bulk carriers and container ships. While bulk
carriers are used in the transportation of bulk cargo such as grains, coal, ores and cement,
container ships are normally used for carrying miscellaneous goods.
ii.

Bulk carriers

Bulk carrier is primarily used in carrying unpackaged bulk cargo items including grains, ores,
cement and other similar cargo. They comprise of 40% of the merchant fleets in the world.
They can be categorised in six major categories according to their size. The categories include
Small, Handysize, Handymax, Panamax, Capesize and Very Large. Their size can range from
a small mini-bulker to giant ships with a capacity of 400,000 dead weight tonnage (DWT).
South Korea is the largest builder of bulk carriers in the world. The size of a bulk carrier can
range from a small mini-bulker with a capacity of under 10,000 dwt to the giant capesize
vessels with a capacity of up to 400,000 dead weight tonnage (DWT) or even more.
iii.

Container Ship

Container ships are ocean vessels that carry goods in large containers, a technique called
containerisation. Container ships are primarily used for the transportation of non-bulk cargo,
generally manufactured goods, in truck-size intermodal containers. They can be divided into
several categories according to their size. Main categories of container ships include such as
feeder, feedermax, Panamax, new Panamax, and ultra large. They play a dominant role in
international trade. The modern container ships have been designed to have a cargo capacity
of up to 15,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU). They play a dominant role in
international trade.
iv.

Tankers

Tankers are used for transporting crude oil, finished petroleum products, liquefied natural gas
(LNG), chemicals and other liquids in bulk. They play an important role in international trade
with a share of over 33% of the world tonnage. Tankers come in varied sizes ranging
from handy size tankers to ultra large crude carrier (ULCC) with a size ranging between
320,000 to 500,000 DWT.
The first use of tankers in transporting bulk liquids dates back to the later years of the 19th
century. Before the advent of tankers, the idea of carrying bulk liquids in ships was
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considered a costly and even an infeasible affair. In that period, the market was also not ready
for transporting or selling cargo in bulk. As a result, ships were used for transportation of a
wide range of products in their holds. Liquids including wines and fresh water were usually
loaded in casks. With the discovery and exploration of oil, tankers have emerged as the main
mode of transportation to carry crude and refined oil to ports across the world. Today, tankers
carry over 33% of the world tonnage.
Tankers can be classified on the basis of their cargo capacity as well as the type of product
they transport. On the basis of their purpose, they can be classified as oil tankers, chemical
tankers, LNG carriers, Slurry tankers, Hydrogen tankers, Wine tankers, Juice Tankers and
Integrated Tug Barges (ITB). Nowadays, super tankers like very large crude carriers (VLCC)
and ultra large crude carriers (ULCC - deadweight tonnage of up to
550,000) are being built to carry huge amount of crude and refined fuels across the continents.
After pipelines, super tankers are the second best method for transporting huge quantity of oil
in the world.
v.

Passenger Ships

As the name suggests, passenger ships are primarily used for carrying passengers. It also
includes cruise ships that are mainly used for pleasure voyages.
vi.

Specialised vessels

Specialised ships are designed in a way to transport specific goods such as vehicles and
machinery. Specialised vessels are those vessels that have onboard machinery and equipments
to perform various tasks related to marine industry. Specialised marine vessels include Anchor
Handling Tug Supply Vessels, Drilling Vessels, Well Intervention Vessels, Ice Breaking
Vessels, Cable Laying Vessels, Well Testing Services Vessels, Field Support Vessels, Seismic
Vessels, and Fire Fighting Vessels to name a few.
vii.

Offshore Vessels

They are specially designed ships for transporting goods and personnel to offshore oil
platform that operate deep in oceans. The size of these vessels ranges between 20 meters and
100 meters. They are good at accomplishing a variety of tasks in the supply chain. The
category may include Platform Supply Vessels (PSV), offshore barges, and all types of
specialty vessels including Anchor Handling Vessels, Drilling Vessels, Well Intervention
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Vessels, Ice Breaking Vessels, Cable Laying Vessels, Seismic Vessels, and Fire Fighting
Vessels.

Biggest Shipping Company in the World

1. A.P. Moller

A.P. Moller Maersk Group is a conglomerate based in Copenhagen in Denmark that was
established in 1904. It is considered as the largest container ship operator and supply vessel
operator in the world. The company has held that distinction since 1996. It operates 600
vessels with 3.8 million TEU. It also owns the ship Emma Maersk, considered as the largest
container ship in the world. The company has a presence in 135 countries around the world.
2. Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A.

The Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A. is a shipping line based in Geneva in

Switzerland. Established in 1970, the company has a presence in all the major ports around
the world, though its most important port is the one in Antwerp in Belgium. It currently
operates 474 vessels with a total combined capacity of 2.3 million TEU. It has vessels with a
capacity of 13,800 TEU, including the MSC Beatrice and the MSC Emanuela, the latter of
which is considered to be one of the largest container ships in the world. It has been named as
Shipping Line of the Year six times in a span of 11 years starting from 1996

3. CMA CGM S.A.

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CMA CGM S.A. is a transportation container and shipping company based in Marseilles in
France, with a North American headquarter in Norfolk in Virginia. It traces its roots to 1851
with the founding of Messageries Maritimes, or MM, which merged with a company called
Compagnie Generale Maritime, or CGM. CGM was a state company that was privatized in
1996 and sold to Compagnie Maritime dAffretement, or CMA. As CMA CGM, it went on to
buy the Australian National Lines and Delmas of France. The company now has 200 routes
operating in 400 ports in around 150 different countries.
4. Evergreen Marine Corporation

Evergreen Marine Corporation is a shipping company founded in 1968 and based in Taiwan.
It has over 150 ships that call on 240 ports around the world in around 80 countries. Its ships
are easily distinguishable by the color green and the word Evergreen painted prominently on
the side of the ships. The company also owns another company in Taiwan called Uniglory
Marine Corp., and has subsidiaries in the United Kingdom called Evergreen UK Ltd. and Italy
called Italia Marittima S.p.A.

5. China Ocean Shipping Container Line

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China Ocean Shipping Container Line, or COSCO, is a provider of shipping and logistics
services based in China. The company was established in 1961. Its main lines of businesses
are freight forwarding, shipbuilding, ship repairing, and operation of terminals. It is the largest
liner carrier and dry bulk carrier in China, and one of the largest dry bulk shipping operators
in the world. It has more than 300 subsidiaries and owns and operates around 550 ships. Its
total carrying capacity is 30 million metric tons deadweight.
Shipping Route over Century

16th Century

21th Century
Merchant shipping in Malaysia
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Shipping is the lifeline of the economy, plays a vital role in driving our exports and imports,
serving an important link in the overall national transport system, and provide employment to
many. In order to become a global, maritime competitiveness, the rapid development of the
maritime industry and the increasing complexity has led to a growing demand for ancillary
capital and financial products and services.
Malaysia has embarked on a journey towards setting up its own commercial shipping
company in the late 1960s to serve its own exports and to address balance of payments
difficulties due to the absence of the national carrier. Encouragement also comes from the
dissatisfaction of the local shipping companies in the rates charged by shipping conferences
cargo handling most of Malaysia.
The establishment of the national airline, MISC in 1968 with equity participation of the
government marks an important milestone in the development of modern commercial
shipping in the country.
PETRONAS buys a 29 percent stake in MISC and took over its management in 1997,
marking another historic progress in the transformation of the company into the leading ship.
Its growth has been further enhanced with the acquisition of 'Smelting' and 'PNSL' in 1998.
The merger MISC with PETRONAS Tankers in the same year increased its stake in the
company to 62 percent.
Today, MISC has grown into top worlds largest shipping operators with over 100 vessels.
MISC has a modern and well-diversified relatively young fleet of 27 LNG tankers, making it
the world's single largest owner operator of LNG tankers.
Besides MISC, major commercial shipping companies such as Malaysian Merchant Marine,
Halim Mazmin, Nepline, Gagasan Carriers, Global Carriers, Malaysia Bulk Carrier, Wawasan
Shipping also have modern and well-diversified fleet, plying the worlds oceans carrying all
types of cargos and loads. Some are listed on Bursa Malaysia and most are members of
Malaysian Ship-owners Association (MASA).
As of 1 January 2008, Malaysia had 392 vessels of 1,000 GT and above with a combined
tonnage of 11.17 million DWT, making it the 20th largest controlled merchant fleet in the
world.

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The local shipping sector has benefited from substantial rise in the country's foreign trade and
the rising demand for shipping services. The cargos carried by Malaysian ships consist mainly
of its export products, heading mainly to our largest trading partners which include the US,
Singapore, Japan, China, Taiwan, Korea, Germany and UK.
Malaysia has also made great strides in ship financing to support the growth of the shipping
sector. The establishment of Bank Industry in 1979 was testimony to its intent to develop the
shipping sector.
The bank earmarked shipping as a prime sector to benefit from its loans provided at special
rates and terms. The creation of a shipping fund in 1992 was another show of support by the
government towards shipping. From the fund, US$2250 million was set aside for the ship
financing facility, directly managed by Bank Industry, and US$140 million for the Shipping
Venture Fund.
In 1994, another US$84 million was added to the fund aimed at financing expansion of
shipyard capacity to build larger vessels. In the 2000 budget, the government announced
another US$280 million to replenish the fund.
These funds were made available to shipping players at further to this, a shipping venture
capital company, Global Maritime Venture (GMV) was formed in 1994 to act as a catalyst to
the maritime sector by forming strategic alliances with Malaysian partners involved in the
maritime sector.
In addition to shipping activities, Malaysia also has several shipyards of international class,
albeit limited in their building capacity. Generally, they have a maximum building capacity of
around one million DWT and a majority of them is dedicated to ship repair. This inadequacy
continues to force local shipping companies to purchase vessels and commission major
reparation works from foreign shipyards. The biggest shipyard, Malaysian Marine & Heavy
Engineering became a subsidiary of MISC in 2004, marking a huge leap forward in taking the
industry to greater heights.
Malaysia can rightfully boast of having a shipping sector which is internationally competitive
and capable of leveraging on the strengths that the country has in maritime transport shipping
and other supporting activities. But despite the steady growth of its national fleet and the
shipping sector over the years, Malaysia still has some way to go towards achieving selfsufficiency in shipping.
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The governments commitment in promoting commercial shipping in Malaysia is underlined

by the many fiscal, financial, administrative and legislative efforts it has taken. In promoting
local commercial shipping, the government offers attractive financial incentives to shipping
players which include:
Tax exemption on income derived from activities involving Malaysian ships, applicable only
to Malaysian residents,
Tax exemption on income of any person employed on board a Malaysian ship,
Competitive financing in the form of shipping loan and venture funds.
The government also encourages activities in the country that provide training for maritime
personnel. Departments teaching marine technology and marine science have been set up at
public universities. The government also lends its support to many local and international
training programmes, seminars and conferences held in the country. It actively promotes
seafaring as a profession to Malaysian youths through promotional activities, financial
incentives and institutional support to reduce our dependence on foreign seafarers.

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i.

Maritime support services

There is a wide variety of maritime support services in Malaysia focusing on providing

support to ports and shipping companies and facilitating maritime trade. A number of
companies are involved in these activities, as shown in Table 1.
Table 1: Number of companies offering ancillary services
Service

Number of companies

Cargo handling

165

Freight broker

13

Cargo clearance

52

Logistics management

50

Shipping agencies

733

Stevedoring contractors

24

Storage

28

Freight forwarding

1,084

Customs clearance

71

Warehouses

222

Source: www.eguideglobal.com.my

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Number of companies offering ancillary services

1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0

Number of companies
Cargo handling

Freight broker

Cargo clearance

Logistics management

Shipping agencies

Stevedoring contractors

Storage

Freight forwarding

Customs clearance

Warehouses

Malaysias resolve to attract foreign participation is clearly evident in the maritime sector.
Although the Malaysian Government is committed to developing the maritime industry and
encourage local participation, Malaysia very much welcomes the involvement of foreign
players in the sector. Aware of the fact that the maritime sector is one of the most international
of activities, Malaysia acknowledges the need to welcome the participation of foreign
companies, many of which have greater capacity, experience, skills and knowledge than local
players, in the maritime sector.
The presence of foreign companies in activities such as logistics, shipping, ship classification
and ship management underlines Malaysias openness to foreign investment, resources and
talents to help develop its maritime industry.
Malaysias openness is also evidenced by the privatisation of federal ports, and by allowing
foreign companies to hold equity stake in local ports and by granting foreign shipping lines
permission to provide services in the domestic shipping under certain conditions. These mark
Malaysias commitment to liberalise its economy and integrate it with the global economy in
order to enlarge its share of the global trade.

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The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) under the aegis of World Trade
Organisation (WTO) has delineated six main support services in the maritime industry. These
activities, also termed as maritime ancillary services, are as follows:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.

Cargo handling
Storage and warehouse
Customs clearance
Container station and depot
Maritime agencies
Maritime freight forwarding

Although many local players are involved in these activities, the development of the maritime
support services sector is neither backed by a coherent strategy nor by a structured, long-term
development approach. This results in non-linkage between the activities with one another
and also between the maritime sector and other production sectors of the economy.
ii.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

List of Malaysian Shipping Company

Inter Maritime Management Owner, Manager Malaysia Kuala Lumpur
Yayasan Sabah Shipping Sdn Bhd Owner, Manager Malaysia Kota Kinabalu
MISC Bhd Owner, Manager Malaysia Kuala Lumpur
Prima Shipmanagement Owner, Manager Malaysia Kuala Lumpur
Bormill Line Sdn Bhd Owner, Manager Malaysia Kuching
Malaysia Shipyard & Eng Port Service Malaysia
Malaysian Shipowners' Assoc Maritime Organisation Malaysia Kuala Lumpur
Sabah Shipyard Sdn Bhd Shipbuilder, Repairer Malaysia
Akademi Laut Malaysia (ALAM) Other Malaysia Masjid
Bumi Armada Navigation Sdn Bhd Owner, Manager Malaysia Miri

CONCLUSION
In conclusion, merchant ship is one of the main assets for our industrial maritime trade. It is
the main source of income for our country in the maritime channel. Freight forwarding
activities in the country by boat trade, export and import activities even more using this
method between one country and another. There are different types of merchant ship that was
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used in the industry. E.g. dry cargo vessels, bulk carries, container ship, passenger ship, tanker
ship specialized ship and offshore vessel. Industrial companies trade also played an important
role towards our economic structure. Malaysias port was ranked as top 20 world busiest port
which this indicates we are depends most on transporting goods through waters.

References
http://maritime-connector.com
http://www.marineinsight.com
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https://en.wikipedia.org
K. Van Dokkum(2003). Ship Knowledge (A Modern Encyclopedia)
http://www.marine.gov.my
http://www.bairdmaritime.com

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