The book is the first to detail the 170-year evolution of the powered bulk carriers which continue to have a major role in the world’s trades and economies. Their design and technological development is traced from the screw colliers of the 1850s which revolutionised the British coastal coal trade. The same engineering principles were applied to produce ocean-going steam and later motor tramps. By the end of the 19th century, the capabilities and economies of these ‘black freighters’ had captured from the sailing ship much of the world’s trade in bulk commodities. In the second half of the 20th century, the tramps in turn evolved into multi-purpose, dry bulk carriers. These workhorses of the sea transport commodities including metallic ores, grain, coal, timber and other minerals. Quantities of up to 400,000 tons are carried in the largest, specialised ore carriers. In a parallel development, applying the same technical principles produced smaller yet efficient steam and later motor coasters which came to dominate short sea shipping. The book concludes with a discussion of how the economies of transportation provided by bulk carriers have had profound effects on industrialisation, globalisation and the world’s economy, and discusses the environmental impact of these ships.

Celebrated in the novels of Joseph Conrad and vintage films, tramp ships - the precursor of bulk carriers - are not well understood today. Yet, these vessels transported in bulk essential minerals and ores, grains, timber, and other commodities and played a vital role in creating the modern global economy. While the histories of some individual tramp firms have been written, this book uses personal correspondence and surviving company records to chart the development of the entire industry - the largest in the world- during a period of transformational technical change. Who were the bold, risk-takers who founded tramp firms? How did they mobilise the resources needed to enter this dynamic sector, build immense companies, and accumulate vast fortunes? Why did others fail? This study reveals how executives learned ‘the art’ of managing tramps and developed strategic networking skills. Tramp shipping resonates with many of today’s high-growth industries: it was an information intensive, high stress operation that required rapid - sometimes instinctive - decision-making within a turbulent market. Building business networks was supported by a distinctive culture that streamlined communication. This innovative study places information, knowledge, learning, culture, and communication at the centre of the analysis in order to transport readers into the minds of those fascinating entrepreneurs who helped build the modern world.

Provides comprehensive, practical guidance on every aspect of bulk carrier operations. It takes the reader through a typical voyage – from paperwork, hold preparation and loading to cargo care on the voyage and discharging. Carriage of both typical and unusual cargoes is detailed. An important new section highlights the dangers of liquefaction and dynamic separation. The various vessel types are described, along with their construction, maintenance, equipment, Rossand safety considerations, with particular attention paid to hatch covers, stability and trim.

The Fall and Rise of French Sea Power explores the renewal of French naval power from the fall of France in 1940 through the first two decades of the Cold War. The Marine nationale continued fighting after the Armistice, a service divided against itself. The destruction of French sea power—at the hands of the Allies, the Axis, and fratricidal confrontations in the colonies—continued unabated until the scuttling of the Vichy fleet in 1942. And yet, just over twenty years after this dark day, Charles de Gaulle announced a plan to complement the country’s nuclear deterrent with a force of nuclear-powered, ballistic missile-carrying submarines. Completing the rebuilding effort that followed the nadir in Toulon, this force provided the means to make the Marine nationale a fully-fledged blue-water navy again, ready to face the complex circumstances of the Cold War. An important continuum of cooperation and bitter tensions shaped naval relations between France and the Anglo-Americans from World War II to the Cold War. The rejuvenation of a fleet nearly wiped out during the hostilities was underpinned by a succession of forced compromises, often the least bad possible, reluctantly accepted by French politicians and admirals but effectively leveraged in their pursuit of an independent naval policy within a strategy of alliance. Hugues Canuel demonstrates that the renaissance of French sea power was shaped by a naval policy formulated within a strategy of alliance closely adapted to the needs of a continental state with worldwide interests. This work fills a distinct void in the literature concerned with the evolution of naval affairs from World War II to the 1960s. The author, drawing upon extensive research through French, British, American, and NATO archives (including those made public only recently regarding the sensitive circumstances surrounding the French nuclear deterrent) maps out for readers the unique path adopted in France to rebuild a blue-water fleet during unprecedented circumstances.