ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses issues of maritime transport not only in the simple context of movement but also within the mobilities paradigm. It begins with geographic and institutional mobilities. The chapter examines negative system effects caused by blockages and inefficiencies, and also examines delays and wastage of resources. It identifies negative externalities, explores power relations and also identifies the winners and losers in the globalised trade system with a particular focus on the maritime network. Government responses to the development of the maritime system must also be considered. Geographers working in the port sector contributed some of the early works of transport geography. A mobilities approach teases out some of the questions that tend to be neglected in traditional geographical approaches. A differentiation between productive, unproductive and induced mobilities is essential to an understanding of material mobility. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
