Transport 3

(b) Sea Transport

This is where goods and people are transported in seas and oceans.

All types of water vessels may be used in sea transport. Sea transport is important as it

connects continents of the world thereby facilitating international trade.

Kilindini in Mombasa provides a good natural harbor facilitating sea transport
between Kenya and other countries of the world. Ferries also connect the island of Mombasa and the mainland.

Types of Water vessels

a) Ships

A ship is a large vessel that transports people or goods through water.

Their sizes however vary depending on quantity of goods and passengers they carry.

Ships help in connecting countries or places which borders the sea.

They load and offload in terminals referred to as harbors found at sea ports. For example,
the Kilindini harbor is found in the port of Mombasa.

Ships that transport people are referred to as passenger ship while those that transport goods are referred to as cargo ships.

Cargo ships are c are convenient for carrying heavy and bulky goods.

Ships may also be classified as either liners or tramps.

Liners

These are ships that are owned and operated by shipping companies called conferences.

Each conference is responsible for specifying the route on which each liner would operate the rates to be charged and setting the rules and
regulations to be followed by the members.

Characteristics of liners

-Have fixed routes

-Follow a fixed timetable

-Charges are fixed

-Call at specified ports along the route at

specified intervals

-Travel at regular intervals.

Tramps

These are ships that do not follow a regular route or time table.

Their routes therefore depend on demand. During times when demand is high, they charge
higher rates and when demand is low they lower their rates.

Tramps can therefore be likened to matatus. Tramps may be owned by either individuals
or firms.

Characteristics of tramps

- Do not have a fixed rate. They therefore move to wherever there are goods or passengers to carry.

- Have no set timetables. They therefore move according to demand

-Their fares change according to demand.

- Their travelling patterns are irregular and therefore cannot be relied upon

NB: Liners and tramps owners are in constant competition business.

Traders therefore need to choose the type of ships to hire.

Liners are however more popular than tramps among traders because of their reliability.
When a trader hires an entire ship to transport goods to a given destination,he/she and the ship owner signs a document called a charter party.

This document shows the terms and conditions under which the goods would be transported.

Other information included in the agreement are destination, nature of the goods and freight charges.

When the ship is hired to carry goods for a given journey the document signed is referred to as voyage charter.

On the other hand, if the ship is hired to transport goods for a given period of time, the
document signed is called time charter.

Ships may be specially built to carry special commodities. These may include tankers specially built to transport petroleum products and other liquids.

Refrigerated ships may also be available to transport perishable commodities such as meat, fish and fruits.

b) Boats and Ferries

These are water vessels used in transporting goods and people over short distances.

They are therefore found in both inland water transport and also the sea transport.e.g the Likoni ferry in Mombasa carries people from and to the island of Mombasa and the main land.

Advantages of water transport

- Sea transport is economical to the owner as the number of employees to carriage volume ratio is less compared to road transport

- Suited for transporting heavy and bulky goods

- It is cheap as the way is natural and free

- Connects countries of the world which border the sea

- Special types of ships are available for transporting goods

- Large volume can be carried thereby reducing cost per unit

-Not affected by traffic congestion

- Some ships can be very luxurious for passengers and may even provide swimming pools.

- At the port/dock, there are many depots for storage of goods.

Disadvantages of water transport Sea-sickness,

sea-pirates and storms may occur

-They are slow therefore not suitable for transporting perishable and urgently required goods

- It is expensive to construct and maintain artificial harbors

- Unfavorable weather conditions may affect water transport

- Sea transport is not accessible to land locked countries

- Lack of loading and off-loading facilities may lead to delay

- Cost of acquiring and maintaining ships is high.

-Theft of cargo and other valuables may occur during loading and offloading.

3) Air Transport

This refers to the movement of goods, people and documents by aircrafts.

Aircrafts/ aeroplanes are the units of carriage and air the way.

The terminals include airports and airstrips.
Aeroplanes are fast compared to other means of transport i.e. they are the fastest means of transport. They are therefore suitable for transporting urgently required goods like drugs and perishable goods Such as flowers over
long distances.

Aircrafts may be classified as either passenger planes or cargo planes.

Passenger planes transport people from one place to another. On the other hand, cargo planes transport light cargo to the required destinations.

Aeroplanes may be fitted with special facilities for handling special goods.

Aeroplanes are expensive to acquire and to maintain.

Their operations may also be affected by weather conditions.

Advantages of Air Transport

-There is less handling of goods on the way since aeroplanes may move direct to the final destinations.

-The way does not require construction or maintenance as it is natural and free.

- Planes can move through places where other means cannot, such as over the earth poles and across high mountains/ planes are not hampered by physical barriers.

-Have efficient interconnections between airlines all over the world which makes it convenient

- Suitable for long distance travelers especially from one continent to another

- Very fast therefore suitable for transporting perishable and urgently required goods.

- Chartered planes can be used to reach remote areas.

- The movement of aircrafts is smooth therefore suitable for transporting fragile goods such as glassware and eggs.

- Passengers are given the highest degree of comfort and personal attention making it the most comfortable means of transport.

Disadvantages of Air Transport

-Causes noise pollution

-Air fields are not available in all places

-Cannot be conveniently used to carry heavy and bulky goods

-Expensive to acquire and maintain aircrafts

- Requires highly trained manpower e.g. air traffic controllers, pilots e. t. c

- Unfavorable weather conditions such as fog, mist and heavy rains may cause delay

- It is an expensive means of transport in terms of freight charges

- Not suitable for transporting inflammable goods such as cooking gas and petrol

- In case of accidents results are catastrophic/ accidents are rare but fatal.

- Has limited carrying capacity that should not be exceeded.

- It is not flexible.

- Most airfields/ terminals are located some distance away from town/ city centers and therefore require transport or railway links that are affected by jams occasionally causing delays.

- Recent hijackings by terrorists have made air transport an insecure means especially for transporting valuables.

4) Containerization

This is a recent development in transport.

It refers to the packaging of goods in standardized ‘box like’ containers designed for use in transporting cargo.

The containers are mainly made of metal though a few are made of wood.

They can either be hired or bought from firms that provide them.

The hired containers are returnable to the owner after the goods have been transported.



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