Approximately 71% of the Earth’s surface is covered by water, of that, 96.5% forms the world’s oceans. It should not be surprising therefore that maritime transport is the backbone of the global economy. Roughly 80% of global trade by volume and over 70% of global trade by value is carried by sea and handled by ports worldwide. To put that into perspective, in 2016 alone the international liner industry shipped in the region of 130 million containers with an estimated value in excess US $4 trillion. As of January 2018, there were 53,732 ships in the global merchant fleet and 1,647,500 mariners.

The purpose of this book, therefore, is to introduce the reader to the fundamental aspects of container ship operations. This book covers many of the core aspects that govern safe working environments, operational regulations and standards, the shipboard safety organisation, inductions and new crew member familiarisation, safe means of access to enclosed spaces, general housekeeping, risk assessment and management as well as specific hazardous activities such as cargo loading and unloading, drydocking, drills and what to do in the event of an emergency. It is important to note this book is not a definitive handbook but serves rather as a handrail to introduce the reader to the vast, wide ranging and expansive nature of living and working onboard a modern container ship.