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Merchant ships include:

Container ships
which carry most of the world's manufactured goods and products

Dry bulk carriers
which transport raw materials such as iron ore and coal

Tankers
transporting crude oil, chemicals, and petroleum products

Cruise ships
and international passenger ferries

Specialist ships
e.g. heavy lift vessels and support vessels for the offshore oil industry

The shipping industry is transporting 90% of the world's trade. Most ships move from country to country as part of their normal trading pattern. 

The safety record of shipping is the envy of shore-based transport sectors, and shipping is the most environmentally friendly form of transport. 

The 50,000 ships that make up the international trading fleet are technically sophisticated, high value assets. The cost of a new ship can easily exceed US $100 million. Merchant ships generate an estimated annual income of over US $200 billion in freight rates within the global economy.

The shipping industry is a truly global community. It is intrinsically international; indeed it was the very first global industry.

In addition to moving cargo around the world, ships may be owned in one country, managed from another, registered in a third country and manned by seafarers from one or more others. Multinational crews are very common, and the international language in shipping is English.

Approximately one and a quarter million seafarers are employed worldwide in shipping, which relies heavily on the expertise of officers, especially senior officers, from countries in the developed world. But most ratings, and a growing number of officers, are employed from countries in the developing world.

Modern shipping comprises companies from across the globe with virtually every nationality represented as seafarers and in the industry's shore-based workforce.

Because of the international nature of shipping, its safe operation is regulated by United Nations agencies. Ships' officers, regardless of their country, are trained and qualified in accordance with precise global standards. There are also 30 international conventions directly governing the  employment standards of seafarers, more than any other industry. They cover  issues such as living and working conditions, which are generally very high, as well as health and safety, the payment of wages and repatriation.

There are other inter-related sectors of the shipping industry not directly concerned with the operation of ships. For information on these, try the Contacts area of the main ISF web site.