Maritime

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Reading 1

1. Look at the factors that may affect the choice of the transportation mode. Explain in what way, give examples.

• Geographical position;

• Money at your disposal;

• Time limitation;

• Type of product;

• Product’s safety.

2. Skim the following texts and find more considerable factors to the list above.

A Diversity of Modes

T

Road transportation. Road infrastructures are large consumers of space with the lowest level of physical constraints among transportation modes. However, environmental constrains are significant in road construction. Road transportation has an average operational flexibility as vehicles can serve several purposes but are rarely able to move outside roads. Road transport systems have high maintenance costs, both for the vehicles and infrastructures. They are mainly linked to light industries where rapid movements of freight in small batches are the norm.

ransport modes are the means by which people and freight are carried. They fall into one of three basic types, depending on over which physical environment they travel – land (road, rail), water (maritime shipping), and air (aviation). Each mode is characterized by a set of technical, operational and commercial characteristics:

Air transportation. Air routes are practically unlimited, but they are denser over the North Atlantic, inside North America and Europe and over the North Pacific. Air transport constraints are multidimensional and include the site (a commercial plane needs about 3,300 meters of track for landing and take off), the climate, fog and aerial currents. Air activities are linked to finance and tourism sectors that require movements of people. More recently, air transportation has been accommodating growing quantities of high value freight and is playing a growing role in global logistics.

Maritime transportation. Because of the physical properties of water conferring buoyancy and limited friction, maritime transportation is the most effective mode to move large quantities of cargo. Main maritime routes are composed of oceans, coasts, seas, lakes, rivers and channels. However, maritime circulation takes place on specific parts of the maritime space, particularly over the North Atlantic and the North Pacific. The construction of channels, locks and dredging are attempts to facilitate maritime circulation by reducing discontinuity. Maritime transportation has high terminal costs, since port infrastructures are among the most expensive to build, maintain and improve. High inventory costs also characterize maritime transportation. More than any other mode, maritime transportation is linked to heavy industries, such as steel and petrochemical facilities adjacent to port sites.

Rail transportation. Railways are composed of a traced path on which are bound vehicles. They have an average level of physical constraints linked to the types of locomotives. Heavy industries are traditionally linked with rail transport systems, although containerization has improved the flexibility of rail transportation by linking it with road and maritime modes. Rail is by far the land transportation mode offering the highest capacity with 23,000 tons fully loaded coal train being the heaviest load ever carried.

A general analysis of transport modes reveals that each possesses key operational and commercial advantages and properties. However, contemporary demand is influenced by integrated transportation systems that require maximum flexibility. As a result, modal competition exists at various degrees and takes several dimensions. Modes can compete or complement each other in terms of cost, speed, accessibility, frequency, safety, comfort, etc. Although intermodal transportation has opened many opportunities for complementarity between modes, there is intense competition as companies are now competing over many modes in the transport chain.

(edited from http://wordiq.com)

3. Read the texts once again and fill in the table.

Mode	Pros	Cons
Rail
Road
Maritime
Air

4. Match pairs of synonyms.

1. constraint a. neighbouring

2. batch b. give

3. confer c. add, perfect

4. friction d. interruption

5. discontinuity e. limitation

6. adjacent f. place, area

7. site g. make easier

8. facilitate h. group

9. complement i. resistance

5. Find the words in the text, which can be defined as following.

1. closely packed together (part 2);

2. ability of an object to float (part 3);

3. a part of a canal or river that is closed off by gate so that the water level can be raised or lowered (part 3);

4. making the bottom of the river deeper by removing mud or sand (part 3);

5. a track or way that trains go over (part 4);

6. chained transport (part 4).

6. Explain the following word combinations with your own words.

   • road infrastructure;

   • space consumer;

   • operational flexibility;

   • multidimensional constraint;

   • terminal costs;

   • factor of accessibility.

7. Now that you learnt a lot of information about different modes of transport, say which of them you consider as the most perspective. Give reasons. Taking into consideration its disadvantages, say how you would improve or upgrade it.

Language Focus: Pronunciation

3. a) Listen to the tape and practice saying these rivers and ports.

Country	Port	River
France	Marseilles	The Loire
Spain	Barcelona	The Tagus
Portugal	Lisbon	The Douro
Italy	Genova	The Tiber
Germany	Bremen	The Rhein
The UK	Bristol	The Severn
Greece	Thessaloniki	The Aliákmon
Turkey	Izmir	The Kizilirmak
China	Shanghai	The Yangtze
Japan	Yokohama	The Shinano
The USA	New Orleans	The Mississippi
Russia	Astrakhan	The Volga
Canada	Quebec	The Mackenzie
Brazil	Rio de Janeiro	The Amazon
Poland	Danzig	The Oder
Morocco	Tangier	The Draa
Egypt	Alexandria	The Nile

b) Think of other countries important for the world’s maritime circulation and add them up to the table, including their largest ports and important rivers.

Language Focus: Grammar

1. Report the following sentences. Consult the help boxes.

a) Transport analyst gives logistics manager some comments.

1. “You know, each mode is characterized by a set of

technical, operational and commercial features.”

2. “More recently, air transportation has been

accommodating growing quantities of high value freight.

He said that…

He remarked that…

He assumed that…

He reported that…

He informed that…

And I want to add, it is playing a growing role in modern logistics!”

3. “However, maritime circulation takes place on

specific parts of the maritime space, particularly

over the North Atlantic and the North Pacific.”

4. “High inventory costs also characterize maritime transportation.”

5. “Intermodal transportation has opened many

opportunities for complementary between modes.”

b ) Logistics manager is asking transport analyst some questions.

1. “Do the road transport systems have high

maintenance costs?”

2. “What are the air transport constraints?”

3. “Can you suggest the most effective mode

to move large quantities of cargo?”

4. “Is it better to use maritime transportation in heavy industries?”

5. “Could you point out the advantages of rail transportation over other modes?”

c ) The logistics manager gives instructions to the employees.

1. ”Do not wait for me, start the meeting”.

2. “Give some comments on the project, please.”

3. “Give me a hand in this deal, Tom.”

4. Please, make an appointment with our transport analyst.”

5. “Don’t make a fuss over this situation.”

d

He exclaimed that

He remarked that

He admitted that

) The transport analyst is sharing his ideas about a recent business trip.

1. “It’s really economical!”

2. “What an efficient strategic plan!”

3. “He is a really good specialist!”

4. “What a far-reaching effect it has!”

5. “I’ve never had such a useful business trip!”

2. Report these telephone messages. Make sure that you changed the tenses, pronouns and adverbs as necessary. Consult the help boxes.