Formerly a Museum gallery, Seapower was closed in October 2002 to create a new temporary exhibitions gallery.

Introduction

Over 95% of the world's trade goes by sea and, at the turn of the 20th century, the seas of the world carry more goods than ever before. The volume of goods travelling by sea has increased ninefold since 1950.

There are many reasons for this continued expansion. Sea transport is by far the cheapest form, both economically and ecologically. The latest fuel-efficient diesel engines operate on cheap, low-grade oil. Modern communications and weather forecasting mean that ships are no longer completely at the mercy of the elements. The revolution in cargo-handling brought about by containerisation means that a container ship can carry the equivalent of several thousand road vehicles, and can be unloaded in a few hours with the minimum of labour.

Rotterdam container port The relative cheapness and efficiency of sea transport, however, has also brought about a profound shift in the location of maritime and industrial activity. As in the heyday of European imperialism, factories can still be situated a long way from their markets. Raw materials and even sources of energy can be shipped from distant suppliers, and the finished products shipped to equally distant markets. The difference is that manufacturing now takes place increasingly in Eastern countries with low-wage economies, such as Korea, Japan and Taiwan, the products being shipped to the West.

Just as global corporations have taken advantage of these conditions to move their centres of production to the East, so ship owners have increasingly moved to 'flags of convenience', registering large numbers of ships in countries such as Panama and Liberia where labour is cheap and largely unprotected by unions and regulatory bodies. Britain, which in the 1900s owned half the world's trading ships, now owns less than 2%.

Ironically, therefore, even though the seas are busier than ever, to Western eyes they seem emptier, devoid of activity. With fewer but more mechanised docks, fewer dock workers and the removal of port facilities from the centre of the great maritime cities like London to remote estuaries at the end of motorway systems, the very presence of trade is no longer so visible, although its volume is greater than before.

The car is a symbol of the late-20th century and road transport seems to dominate everything else. Yet there is a very close relationship between sea and road transport. Raw materials such as steel and rubber are shipped round the world. Car components are made in many different countries and moved, usually by container. Completed cars are shipped, thousands at a time, from the Pacific rim to Europe and America.

The roll-on roll-off (ro-ro) ferry is specially designed for road transport links. Cars and lorries can drive straight on and off, to save time. Oil, the life-blood of all modern transport, is shipped in giant tankers, carrying up to half a million tons each.