Maritime Industry Statistics

Is this a living industry?

According to the Maritime Industry Foundation’s Maritime Industry Knowledge Center, there are approximately 1.2 million people currently employed at sea in the maritime industry!

This doesn’t take into account all of the employees working in related maritime jobs on shore, such as those in the Navy or those working at docks. The maritime industry is booming, and it is still much less expensive that travel or transport by plane. The MIKC also reports that 90% of the world’s trade is done by ship.

Some more statistics, from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration:

• The United States increased container trade by 52% from 2000-2006. The average size of containers increased by 25%.
• Cruises are beginning to leave from more varied ports. In the United States, the top 5 ports for departing cruises are Miami, Port Canaveral, Fort Lauderdale, Galveston, and Los Angeles. In 2003, 62% of all cruises left from these posts, but this was down to 56% in 2006, meaning that there are more cruise ship jobs available in other parts of the country.
• Over the last five years, the largest growth in the United States maritime industry has been for offshore supply vessels.
• As of the December 2006, there were approximately 40,000 privately-owned ships operating out of the United States
• Next to rail transportation, water transportation is the most energy efficient way to travel or ship items. Air travel is the least energy efficient.

Source: http://www.jobmonkey.com/maritimejobs/maritime_industry.html