Our Say: Shipping's Soft Spot

摘要

Whilst Watching the Olympic Games on television last month I realised how much these sporting tourna-ments bring countries together. It enables countries of any size, population and political background to compete on an even playing field. Small countries from which very little is heard on a regular basis through the media have their chance to shine. It occurred to me that in some ways parallels can be drawn with shipping. Being a truly international industry involves collaboration across the globe. Every element of transport by sea is as important as the next - security, safety and logistics - and it only takes one part of the system to be out of phase for there to be severe consequences.rnEritrea and Djibouti are two small countries on Africa's east coast of which very little is heard of on an ongoing basis. And yet they sit at the epicentre of one of the world's most important trade routes - the opening of the Red Sea which leads on to the Suez Canal.